Why an sm-7 ?

[notCardio]

To those of you who have said that you prefer an sm-7 as a vocal mic to most of the LD condensers:

What is it about this mic that you prefer? What applications is it particulary good for? I don't just mean vocals, but like, "screaming male metal vocals", or "quiet, breathy, female vocals", or "twangy country vocals", etc.

Also, I'm assuming that since it's not a condenser, it's not as likely to pick up background noises, which is probably why it's used for VO work. Is this correct or not?

I want to get a vocal mic (for myself only) and I was ready to get a v67, but my environment is so noisy that I thought maybe a dynamic would be the way to go, if it was possible.

Does anybody know how an sm-7 works on acoustic guitar?

Thanks all.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

To those of you who have said that you prefer an sm-7 as a vocal mic to most of the LD condensers:

What is it about this mic that you prefer? What applications is it particulary good for? I don't just mean vocals, but like, "screaming male metal vocals", YES or "quiet, breathy, female vocals"YES, or "twangy country vocals" YES etc. YES

Also, I'm assuming that since it's not a condenser, it's not as likely to pick up background noises, which is probably why it's used for VO work. Is this correct or not? YES

I want to get a vocal mic (for myself only) and I was ready to get a v67, but my environment is so noisy that I thought maybe a dynamic would be the way to go, if it was possible.

Does anybody know how an sm-7 works on acoustic guitar?. not all that great

Thanks all. [/B]

 

[fenix]

I haven't heard myself, but i have heard people having great results using it on guitar cabinets.

 

[chessrock]

Cardiod,

Glad to see you soliciting opinions from others instead of just taking my word for it. That's called using your head. And I second Harvey's notion about it not being all that great on accoustic guitar, by the way.

Harvey, do you think it would work well as a kick-drum mic? I have heard mixed reviews on it as such.

Here's a little secret (shhh. don't tell anyone): I've miced toms with these things by accident (I ran out of other mics), and wow!

 

[Henrik]

I think I've seen studio pics of James Hetfield in Metallica, singing into an SM7. Can anybody verify this?



Cheers
/Henrik

PS
To any Canadians: 5-2. Ouch.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

chessrock, it would probably work about as well as an SM-57, since it uses a similar element, but it's just too valuable to me to put it in that situation.

The Shure SM-7 is probably one of the best kept secrets in the music industry. There are a lot more records out there that have been recorded with the Shure SM-7 as the main vocal mic than most people realize. Also keep in mind that this mic carries a hefty $620 list price.

The two SM-7A's that we have here stay on mic stands 24 hours a day, plugged in and always ready to go.

 

[tubedude]

The current crop I see is SM-7b... whats the dealio?

 

[Harvey Gerst]

The original SM-7 was susceptable to hum under certain conditions and they added a little more shielding in the new unit. The old ones (like mine) never would lock down well, and they redesigned the mount. Finally, they put a removable cover over the tone setting switches on the back end, so musicians couldn't get at them easily. They still sound the same.

 

[chessrock]

Ooooh. No wonder it's such a pain in the arse to change those switches.

I thought they just did that to piss of the chessrocks of the world. Thanks for the info. They appear to be built like tanks, though. I actually have a friend who is getting a hold of a Peavey PVM 520 for me (and for dirt cheap). I'm really anxious to try one of these things out on kick. I've heard it's quite the well-kept secret in it's own right.

 

[TexRoadkill]

They have them for $379 right now at www.musiciansfriend.com

hmmm

 

[notCardio]

similar, yet not, to a 57?

Harvey,

When you say it has a similar element to a 57, I'm assuming that they don't have a similar sound, otherwise you wouldn't pay the difference.

Can someone point me to a popular recording that uses an sm-7 for vocals, or at least sounds like it, so that I can get an idea?

I understand that you want to be careful with a mic of that price range, but are you sugesting that it's relatively fragile compared to a 57?

Also, is the vocal micing technique different than for LD condensers? (I would assume it would be.) IOW, do stand back from the mic like you do on an LDC, or do get right up on it, like a 58/57?

How do they handle siblance and plosives (both of which I'm really bad about)?

Sorry for so many questions, but this sounds like it might just the ticket for me, even though I can't use it for acoustic guitar, not to mention the fact that I can't afford it right now. But if I go out and get a v67 now, it'll just be that much longer before I could get an sm-7. (Did that sound like I'm trying to convince myself to save my money for a bigger toy later? Doubt it'll work, though. Never has in the past.)

Thanks guys.

PS The local Mars has done away with their mic testing room. Big mistake, guys! That's one of the things that distinguished them from the competition around here. Tsk, tsk. Guess I'll have to go back to IRC Audio.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Re: similar, yet not, to a 57?

Harvey,

When you say it has a similar element to a 57, I'm assuming that they don't have a similar sound, otherwise you wouldn't pay the difference.

A very different sound than the Shure SM-57, but a similar capsule.

Can someone point me to a popular recording that uses an sm-7 for vocals, or at least sounds like it, so that I can get an idea?

Hmmm, a popular recording? How about the biggest selling album of all time? 75,000,000 copies sold. Michael Jackson's "Thriller". The Shure SM-7 was the vocal mic. Same vocal mic was used for Vincent Price's narration

I understand that you want to be careful with a mic of that price range, but are you sugesting that it's relatively fragile compared to a 57?

Nope, not at all. According to Shure, it'll handle 180 dB (about as loud as the space shuttle taking off, recorded really close up). But the wind from the kick will probably strech the diaphragm a little bit, lowering the resonant point, and I'd like to avoid that, especially since I already own 5 pretty good mics for kick drum

Also, is the vocal micing technique different than for LD condensers? (I would assume it would be.) IOW, do stand back from the mic like you do on an LDC, or do get right up on it, like a 58/57?

You can get right on it and it sounds great.

How do they handle siblance and plosives (both of which I'm really bad about)?

Handles both really well.

Sorry for so many questions, but this sounds like it might just the ticket for me, even though I can't use it for acoustic guitar, not to mention the fact that I can't afford it right now. But if I go out and get a v67 now, it'll just be that much longer before I could get an sm-7. (Did that sound like I'm trying to convince myself to save my money for a bigger toy later? Doubt it'll work, though. Never has in the past.)

 

[notCardio]

Last question(s), I promise

How would the sm-7 work for the following applications:

guitar cab - clean sound

guitar cab - bluesey overdrive

Bass cab

unamplified upright bass

Thanks again, Harvey for your straight, to-the-point answers.

(Now, if I could just figure out how to do that with my questions..)

 

[TexRoadkill]

I need a good mic for doing sound effects and voices for a video game. I need natural, realistic sound and minimal room ambience since the sounds are supposed to take place outside.

Would the SM7 be good for that application?

Could it handle fire crackers or gunshots? I was planning on using a 57 for the loud stuff.

 

[spectoar]

I do use my sm7 on kick (thanks for the heads up about it stretching harvey) and I like it alot! I like it on some vocals, for some reason mens more than womens voices in general. I agree that it's not a great mic for acoustic guitars but I think it works really great with horns, full rich, not too bright. Works well on guitar cabs although I tend to go for a 57 over it, a bit crisper. All in all it's a great mic to have in your cab, especially if you can get it for $3xx. MHO.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Re: Last question(s), I promise

How would the sm-7 work for the following applications:

guitar cab - clean sound Very well

guitar cab - bluesey overdrive Very well

Bass cab Pretty good

Unamplified upright bassDunno

Thanks again, Harvey for your straight, to-the-point answers.

(Now, if I could just figure out how to do that with my questions..)

 

[chessrock]

Please forgive me if I'm butting in on this too much. But yes, it should sound great on all of the applications you just mentioned.

Just remember that there are two switches on the back for bass roll-off or mid/highmid attenuation. You will need to play with those a bit to suit each source you are micing. For bass, you'll probably want to leave it in it's neutral or flat position instead of rolling it off. When micing the guitar cabs you'd probably want to engage the bass rolloff switch, especially for close-micing. For vocals you might want to engage the high/mid switch to it's up position and see if you like it.

Tex, I'd use the 57 for the loud stuff just as a precaution, but keep in mind that perhaps the most popular application for the sm7 is for voice-over work . . . also very popular in the broadcast industry (lots of djs can be heard using it and the Electovoice RE20).

Oh, and if that weren't enough, I would say there is probably no finer mic on HARMONICAS if you can believe it.

I'll shut up, now! I promise!

 

[Harvey Gerst]

I need a good mic for doing sound effects and voices for a video game. I need natural, realistic sound and minimal room ambience since the sounds are supposed to take place outside.

Would the SM7 be good for that application?

Could it handle fire crackers or gunshots? I was planning on using a 57 for the loud stuff.

An SM-7 would probably work ok, but it wouldn't be my first choice - I'd go with a Sennheiser 421.

Actually, I'd stick a Behringer ECM8000 at the end of a long mic cord out the window, get tape rolling, run outside, fire the gun, shoot off the firecrackers, then get the hell back inside before the police showed up.

 

[TexRoadkill]

Lol, thanks Harvey.

As a funny coincidence I was watching part of a live Greatfull Dead video from the late 80's last night and was wondering what type of mic they were using on vocals. Looks like it was the 421 or something with a similar case.

Is the 421 better for acoustic guitar than the SM7?

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Neither mic would be my first choice for acoustic guitar, but if that's all I had, I'd reach for the 421 first.