Best preamp for sm7b?

[mattg082]

I have both the API 512 and Great River. 9 times out of 10 I go with the Great River and it's pretty much the go to for vocals in my studio. The API is good for somethings and sometimes I find it better suited on some of the female vocals I do as well as aggresive and punk rock. When I want a Pop or over the top big rock vocal I go Great River. I'm sure a Neve would work great as well. The Chandler gets a lot of praise too.

Narrowing it down with that mic my choices would be Great River, Never, Chandler. I also hear the ma5 is great, but haven't really tried it. The Great River has that Neve sound, but it's very versatile! I'd get a lunchbox with the GR and then you have room to grow and add later while saving a bit.

[Akoppenheffer]

Avedis MA5 with the 28k button engaged. Sounds great to my ears.

[Bopkit]

a better thread might be which high end preamp just DOESN'T work that well with an SM7.

[jgimbel]

Originally Posted by Bopkit

a better thread might be which high end preamp just DOESN'T work that well with an SM7.

I don't think anyone really likes Neve preamps on them. If you consider that high end, that is. Then again, I don't really know anyone who likes Neves on anything.

[Pfhuck]

el-9

Please and THANK YOU!
-Pfhuck

[The Marrvel]

Originally Posted by sfernald

That sounds like a killer combo. Got a sample?

It looks like the bae doesn't come with a high pass like some of the pres listed here. What do you use for eq? I think I will definitely need that.

I just used a high pass filter ITB. No samples yet.

[Slikjmuzik]

The 'best' preamp for an sm7, as someone might've already mentioned, is the one you pop up during the session and the both you and the client agree that it's the one! Seriously, there are times my Octopre wins over some high end pieces. It depends on the song and vibe. I've used it into Manley pres, Vintech, Burl...everything I have...it's at one point or other been puts through. Honestly, it sounds good going through everything. That sm7 is amazing! Awesome hi-hat mic too!!

[beau_mckee]

Buy one Neve 1073lb and one Classic API VP26 and a lunchbox for a round-about figure of $1825. Now you have the two of the most widely used flavours of the studio and by everyones recommendation in this thread. Crisis averted!

[beau_mckee]

If that's going to cost too much, start with lunchbox and a API flavour, as the Neve flavours will be more pricey due to the extra bits and pieces they use in their design. Buy a Neve flavor later + 4 extra spaces in lunchbox

[ArisA]

Im recording Sm7B over BAE 1084 and this sounds awesome! Also a vintage U87 and juno-6 synth. What comes in my DAW has never sounded as great as now! Outstanding!

[tmcconnell]

I use the SM7 a lot for male vocal. It holds up well against some very nice LDC's and ribbons.

I have a good selection of pre's. If I use te Great river mp2nv, which is 1073ish, I need to eq some lows out, but its juicy. If I use the Pendulum quartet, same thing. In Both cases, I need almost all the gain available in the pre so there is some noise.

The sm7 is more like a ribbon in terms of output. So the tracks are a bit noisy unless the pre is really quiet. If I use the the AEA RPQ, in "no phantom" input mode, the results are stellar, the rolloff can be done with quality in the hardware, a tad of high end can be added if required, in the hardware, the track is noiseless, and the gain is effortless. You can really hear the mic.

I woud say the crane song pres are a good fit for this too. You can kind of have your cake and eat it too with the Crane Song "fat" switch. Big quiet gain and a bit of juicy to go with it, and a high quality built-in rolloff.

So... IMO the key to that mic is effortless big clean gain + high quality rolloff thats variable f. Its easier to add distortion/color later (I often patch in a daking FETII), but getting great clarity is a good starting point.

[AKCSTUDIO]

Throw in another grand and go gtq2 Aurora

[junior]

SM7 + CAPI VP312 =

[popmann]

Sm7 into an LA610 is just a wonderful combo, IMO, for vocals. It imparts a kind of big softness to the Sm7...still retaining the chewy middle freqs. The EQ, I usually go ahead and click the first notch of +1.5db at 10k on the way in...which results in a very nice realistic level of air to the vocal.

Manual says they "voiced the LA610's pre amp brighter than other 610s"...so, I will refrain from just blanket saying that the 610 is a great match.

[dpolcino]

Working on a new album and just got an SM7 to add to my collection. It does sound really great, but that required +/- 60db of gain really taxes some of my pre-amps, so great thread here. I found that though all my pre's allow for 60db, it's at the extreme end of the knob, something they probably didn't expect people to use, so lots of noise in silent passages in my case.

Caveat: none of these sounded "bad", but they were noisier than I expected. Tried it in a JoeMeek oneQ, a Focusrite Liquid Channel (in the Saffire56), a dbx 376 and a Samson cValve. So then I went ahead and purchased an Aphex Channel. All I can say is wow! The Aphex coupled with the SM7 is an amazing match. The Aphex has a nice gain knob of 70 or 80 db, so it's the only one of the ones I tested where I didn't have to crank it all the way up. I left de-essing and the gate OFF on the channel and still the silent passages were... silent! Even when I ran it through compressors and EQ in post, the quiet parts still stayed quiet (unlike the other pre's I tested, hiisssssss).

I have a Pre73 coming in Monday, thanks to this forum, so will check that out. But I was really impressed with the Aphex Channel.


-Dave Corwin
Official Dave Corwin Site

[grrrayson]

Originally Posted by redrue

I really like the SM7b with the GML 8304

outstanding performance.

I've not used the 8304 but used multiple 2032 units and those preamps are a little noisy with dynamics. I'm wondering if the 830x is a lot less susceptible to noise.

[grrrayson]

Neve seems to be the classic match but I'm surprised no one has mentioned the John Hardy preamps. Clean gain for days but with balls. I've used this combo on everything from scientific narration to punk and it's very good.

[Pgraf88]

SM7 works really well with a shadow hills gama in the nickel position. A 9098 neve pre/eq both are work really well, the shadows hills I like for males and the 9098 for females.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by SortaLucid34

I really like the pairing of the Daking preamps with the SM7.

Dakings, BAE312a's, 512c's and now even my VP25's are my faves with this mic but I also agree with what Jim's saying. The mic is so coloured that pairing it with a nice, fast, transparent pre can be just the ticket. In fact, I loved my (much maligned around here) 737sp with the SM7b for this reason.

But this mic sounds great thorough the Daking and we had GR mic amps too,but a/b's setting up the singer, I never cared for the GR as much with this particular mic, but love that pre nonetheless.

[ericsvizeny]

Originally Posted by Plush

Of course the answer is a Neve 1073. That is what I use here for that Shure.

+1 buddy! Can't go wrong with a 1073

- Eric

[Ryan Gregory]

Originally Posted by yotonic

This is what Ethan Johns used on all of Ray LaMontagnes records, great vocal sound for him.

that's great info, thanks!

[trustyjim]

Originally Posted by SortaLucid34

I really like the pairing of the Daking preamps with the SM7. Most of the Daking pres have a LOT of gain which i think it super helpful with the SM7. Also because the SM7 can get a little dark and woofy in the lows, found that the highpass filter on the mic-pre one is really helpful. I was cutting everything under 120k, and it just sounded ballsy and awesome on all the vocals we did.

+1 for Daking. I've run vocals on our sm7 through BAE, LaChapell, and NPNG pres but surprisingly the Daking is my favorite for that mic.

[cheu78]

Originally Posted by Akoppenheffer

Avedis MA5 with the 28k button engaged. Sounds great to my ears.

+1!!
But I agree with Slikjmuzik that it depends on the song and the vibe..

Btw BAE 10xx or MA5 and you're golden..

Just my 0.02$,

Cheu

[cheu78]

Originally Posted by yotonic

This is what Ethan Johns used on all of Ray LaMontagnes records, great vocal sound for him.

In the new record (done by Ryan Freeland).. I think he used his M49 and an MA5
There's a thread on GS full with tech details and pics.. Ryan is a great guy and defintely knows his stuff..no ego whatsoever..
But I guess that with a talent like Ray you could use just about anything..




Cheu

[Magic Alex]

Just reading this now, as it was revived...I'm surprised that no one ever mentions the SM7 with a Forssell... When recording voiceover for narration, I ALWAYS choose the 7B, and the Forssell is always the best choice for me. Clean, powerful gain. So reliable that I no longer experiment with other combos. The 7b and Forssell is like a perfect marriage.

[recordinghopkins]

The best preamp for an SM7b is a Cloudlifter Inline mic amp. It's a phantom powered gain booster for dynamic mics that's the size of a Direct box. Then use whatever preamp you want, and open up a huge range of possibilities for your sm7 or other low output dynamic mics. I bought the two channel one with my Cascade ribbons, and now I never use the SM7 without it! It's really a great tool and quite uncolored, and there's even one with a variable impedance knob now!

[chessparov]

Not a pro AE (enthusiast here), mainly "just" a singer, but SM7>Little Labs LMNO sounds fantastic (including high level of condensorish detail) to me.

The only other two "premium pre's" I tested (at length) with the SM7 were the Avalon 737, and the UA610. Both otherwise quite excellent-but no LMNO!

Chris

[dpolcino]

Hooked up my new(used) Pre-73. That is very sweet! So for the more affordable preamps, I think this thing is a real winner.

BTW, the unit I received was missing a knob (thanks for not telling me the condition Musicians Friend!), but GoldenAgeProject sent me a new one immediately for free! Now that's good customer service!

[captainj]

+1 for Great River with SM7b. Great bang for the buck that will never sound bad especially for rock vocals

[mark714]

Originally Posted by yotonic

Has anyone run the SM7 through a vintage 1272? Does the 1272 have enough gain if you run it wide open?

I suppose it depends on the material, but on my old 1272's there isn't enough clean gain with that mic. For vocals the Great River was always a better match in my experience.