The SM7B

[RegressiveRock]

Sorry to be smug just picked one of these up again.

Why do I ever not allow myself not to own this mike?

Reg

[Bob Bickerton]

Why do I ever not allow myself not to own this mike?

The answer is because you are discerning and smart

Bob

[RegressiveRock]

Bob

I never knew you cared!

But...

It's rejection in my lounge with my echoey kitchen hanging off the back is legendary (although I like the hint of reverb over the indifferent room sounds), the low drop is well thought out as is the mid boost and its feedback rejection is so good I don't need phones, I can sing with my monitors on whilst writing and save the cans for takes.

What a fecking superb mike!

Reg

[Sam Inglis]

I bought one about a year ago and I've used it a lot, though somehow I've never quite been wowed by the sound. I think its greatest attraction is that it's impossible to stuff up too badly with it. You can put it in front of any singer, and even if they practically eat it, you'll get an acceptable recording.

[RegressiveRock]

I bought one about a year ago and I've used it a lot, though somehow I've never quite been wowed by the sound. I think its greatest attraction is that it's impossible to stuff up too badly with it. You can put it in front of any singer, and even if they practically eat it, you'll get an acceptable recording.

Okay good, the debate starts: this is why I did this...

There can be "wow" if you really know what you are doing with it, but it is not a "wow" mike. I, in fact, an not a fan of "wow" mikes: they make many people waste a lot of money.

This is:

1) A great writing mike;
2) An excellent "dubious environment" mike;
3) A blessed with swiss-army-knife on-board capabilities mike;
4) Hugely underrated!

Reg

[Mike Stranks]

It's on my "when my ship comes in" list.

[Stef Andrews]

A good friend has one and it just seemed to suit my voice (growly/rocky/a-bit-shouty so no surprises!) but it may have been the fact it was combined with a 1073 and 1176! However, I think it's a bit like an SM57 or a U87 - whatever you stick it infront of, you always know what you're going to get, and pretty much every time the result is more than acceptable. And yes, it's rejection is fantastic - great for tracking vocals with a loud band, in the control room with blaring monitors or in the live room!

It's definitely on the 'one day' shopping list.

[RegressiveRock]

Okay Mike and Stef we have talked about a few things...

Here we go:

Building a mike locker: 101...

Shall we evaluate dynamics?

SM57: obvious... a great box, cab and snare mike
SM58: less versatile IMHO... more vox balanced
Beyer201: here I am a bit prejudiced: I think of them as a drum mike...
SM7: does what the SM57 does but can also cope with other sources.

Sheesh, cheap at £299.

Reg

[Hugh Robjohns]

You're under-rating the m201 -- it's a great mic, and while it works brilliantly on drums, it's also a good allrounder. It was/is a standard table mic in BBC network radio studios with a nice tight pattern and well balance sound.

Hugh

[ProximityProduction]

I bought mine last week. It does exactly what I want it to do without too much thought, I didnt want a 'wow' mic, just one that I can rely on to do pretty much anything, and for this, it is triumphant. happy customer here.

[RegressiveRock]

You're under-rating the m201 -- it's a great mic, and while it works brilliantly on drums, it's also a good allrounder. It was/is a standard table mic in BBC network radio studios with a nice tight pattern and well balance sound.

Hugh

Hugh

Speaking as someone who just described the SM57 as a great "box" mike, (something we should all avoid), I'll just stick my hand up and say that I have only seen, heard and used the m201 as a drum mike.

May I just offer you a cuddle (I am on a no-smoking site right now and I get them all the time! (73 days "smober" (whatever that is)) and bow to your massively greater experience with Beyer201s and quietly carry on my "why you should spend £300 on a dynamic right now" rant?

Seriously, you quit smoking, then you shout at American people because you need nicotine and then they are nice to you.

It's great!

Any way back to the SM7B...

Reg

[Mike Stranks]

Reg

I know, I know, I know...

BUT as someone who's retired with only (currently) an occupational pension for income then £299 is a lot of folding stuff...

Have to agree with Hugh about the 201 - a great mic that can be used effectively on all sorts of sources.

I guess it's because of when I started doing all this stuff, but the dynamics on the wish-list - in no particularly order - would be:

Bey201; Senn421; Senn441; AKG202; AKG224; Senn211; SM7.

A few years ago when in my foolishness I though condensers were the answer to everything, I sold some of these and now they're out of my reach. And why didn't I buy 421s back in the 70s when I could have afforded them? Perhaps it was the beige that put me off.

[RegressiveRock]

Reg

I know, I know, I know...

BUT as someone who's retired with only (currently) an occupational pension for income then £299 is a lot of folding stuff...

Have to agree with Hugh about the 201 - a great mic that can be used effectively on all sorts of sources.

I guess it's because of when I started doing all this stuff, but the dynamics on the wish-list - in no particularly order - would be:

Bey201; Senn421; Senn441; AKG202; AKG224; Senn211; SM7.

A few years ago when in my foolishness I though condensers were the answer to everything, I sold some of these and now they're out of my reach. And why didn't I buy 421s back in the 70s when I could have afforded them? Perhaps it was the beige that put me off.

And the Senny 4x1 costs?

...and you are back in the room. ;-x

Reg

PS... I will confess I am not a great user of AKG, beyond 451 E/B, (oops even the 414 is an occasional friend)... I was in a band who saved up together to buy an SM58 for our vocalist. Eventually we realised the saving was fine but his vox were not.

Anyway, back to the SM7B...

[Bob Bickerton]

I'm considering using the SM7 for next album and not because I have a poor room. Actually like to work it close, it has ascertain something.

Now I've always been interested in the M201, but have never heard one. A mic I use in live situations, which I consider to be multipurpose, is the Sennheiser e614, which seems to get very little praise. Anyone else experienced them?

Bob

[TheReson8or]

Am I allowed to stick my head above the parapet and add the Heil mics. I have not heard any of them but am intrigued by their rear rejection claims and great reviews. Dave

[The Korff]

The Heil mics are good — quite condenser-like, but they still seem to have the smoothness that makes dynamics useful (none of that crispy/spittiness you can get with some SDCs sometimes).

I use a PR40 from time to time, it makes a good vocal mic (in an SM7ish kind of way, it works well up close), and also sounds good on e. guitar and accordion.

Cheers!

Chris

[Sam Inglis]

I did a live session a couple of months back where I had three singers in the room with a full band. I used the SM7 and a 414 for the two main singers, and put up an old AKG D222 for the third singer who did a few backing vocals. The off-axis spill on the 222 was much nicer than on either of the others, and there was noticeably less of it than on the SM7 (though this could well be down to the singers in question). So although the SM7 has good rejection compared with a studio condenser mic, I don't think it's necessarily better than other dynamics from that point of view. (If I remember right, the diaphragm is located quite a way behind the grille, which is why you can sing right up into it without it sounding crap.)

It's a very useful mic that I would not be without, and it has saved my bacon several times with 'difficult' singers, but personally I tend to use it more for practical reasons than because of the way it sounds.

[RegressiveRock]

Am I allowed to stick my head above the parapet and add the Heil mics. I have not heard any of them but am intrigued by their rear rejection claims and great reviews. Dave

There is a lot of talk about Heil being rather nice. I've not used their dynamics.

I'm interested in Mike and Sam's talk about AKG dynamics however. Might have to see what is hanging around on eBay.

Reg

[RegressiveRock]

I'm considering using the SM7 for next album and not because I have a poor room. Actually like to work it close, it has ascertain something.

Now I've always been interested in the M201, but have never heard one. A mic I use in live situations, which I consider to be multipurpose, is the Sennheiser e614, which seems to get very little praise. Anyone else experienced them?

Bob

I've used an m201 a few times. Don't own one. It's a very useful general purpose dynamic mike.

Reg

[Sam Inglis]

You have to be a bit careful when buying the old AKG dynamics, partly because there are millions of models, not all of which are desirable, and partly because they tend to break. In particular the dual-element ones like the 202 often lose one of the elements, meaning that they still work after a fashion, but with no top end or bottom end.

That said, if you look around you can pick up 202s and 222s for about 50 quid, and 224s for less than £100, and you won't find much better for that money.

I like the M201 as a vocal mic too, but it needs a fairly serious pop filter -- you can't work it up close unless you put a foam windshield on it.

[Mike Stranks]

You have to be a bit careful when buying the old AKG dynamics, partly because there are millions of models, not all of which are desirable, and partly because they tend to break. In particular the dual-element ones like the 202 often lose one of the elements, meaning that they still work after a fashion, but with no top end or bottom end.

That said, if you look around you can pick up 202s and 222s for about 50 quid, and 224s for less than £100, and you won't find much better for that money.

I like the M201 as a vocal mic too, but it needs a fairly serious pop filter -- you can't work it up close unless you put a foam windshield on it.

The D200 is also a useful mic - another one from the dual element stable. I'd agree about the fragility of the dual element mics. I've had a 202 and a 224 lose their bass at various times.