I bought a Sure SM7B because all the reviews said that it
was brilliant at what it did. It's a large diaphragm dynamic
mic that can out perform a condenser microphone in the application
areas for which it was designed, as a voiceover microphone,
for narration and radio work. Its been engineered to make it
virtually impossible to pop and it has a really nice smooth
sound with a controlable proximity effect that you can really
work to your advantage. I know some engineers use it for kick
drums and toms but when I've tried it I didn't rate it compared
to the other large diaphragm dynamic, the Sennheiser 421. However
it does exactly what it says on the tin so use it for a voice
over microphone and it will get you a sound every time. For
some applications the SM7 is just an easier option than a condenser
because placement is less critical and there's no explosive
breath sounds, no sibilance issues and of course being a dynamic,
no phantom power is required. It has virtually no handling noise
and I have recorded rock songs with the singer holding it like
a 58. You can scream into this mic and it will laugh at you.
Infact with a supposed handling figure of 180 db spl, theoretically
the SM7B can handle any noise level you could produce in the
studio. The Krakatoa volcano eruption in 1883 was so loud that
it cracked one foot thick concrete 300 miles away, created a
3000 foot tidal wave and was heard 3100 miles away, and scientists
calculated the spl to be around 180db so the Shure is one hardcore
mic!
They
do seem to be pretty expensive over here in the UK especially
compared to the raft of cheap condenser mics on the market but
it's dead solid, reliable and built to last forever so if you
really are doing a lot of voice work its a great choice. Its
surprisingly crisp and clean sounding for a dynamic mic helped
by the switchable bass roll off which starts around 300hz and
is almost 10db down by 50hz. Added to this is the typical shure
presence lift and with both switches in its almost impossible
to get a muddy voice over.
For some singers it's perfect and of course the engineer Bruce
Swedien used the SM7 as the vocal microphone on Michael Jackson’s
Thriller album. I've also heard that the Red Hot Chili Peppers
have used the SM 7 on vocals on every album they have done and
you can see James Hetfield from Metallica singing into a Shure
SM 7 on the "Some Kind Of Monster" DVD.
