Trying to get great sound on very low budget.

[guitarboy94]

SM7b is a terrific mic, I own one, but make sure that Mackie has enough clean gain. I looked it up and see that it goes up to 60db. My SM7b for vocals, takes about 50 db of gain to get a decent signal. Seems like cheap preamps start dishing out hiss after the 40db mark. A very decent preamp with the much acclaimed Burr Brown chip found in some higher end preamps is the Rane MS1b. You can get this used for 100 bucks. Mine powers my sm7b with pristine clarity. P

[kingjamesm]

Will I need to buy any cables? If so, how do I know if the XLR cable I'm getting is good enough to not ruin the quality of the other components in my chain?

[Kierkes]

I'm sure you've seen this.

[kingjamesm]

^^^ Dude thank you so much. So will an XLR cable be a breaking/making point in the chain as well?

[tINY]

No, the XLR cable won't matter much if it's shorter than a couple hundred feet long.



-tINY

[OmegaP]

Be wary of Mackies Drivers and Driver support.

[frans]

Great sound has to happen before it hits the mic so the mic/preamp/and so on CAN catch it. If you do vocals at home there are a few tricks to help yourself with untreated rooms.
Apartment Vocals Booths

[kingjamesm]

Soo where should I get an xlr cable? Are there certain kinds? What does a good one cost. I ended up buying the sm7 and an avid fast track c400

[guitarboy94]

You can get an XLR cable at any Guitar Center or Sam Ash, or just off of ebay/Amazon.

Another word of caution about the SM7b. With you being a beginner, there's a bit of a learning curve with this mic. It's golden once you learn how to EQ it properly for vocals. If you don't know how to EQ properly you're going to be disappointed with it. A lot of newbies hear about how amazing this mic is, then try it out, and discover that it doesn't sound all shimmery and glossy like they thought it would. The mic is pretty dark, dry and flat sounding on its own. I happen to love that quality about the mic, as I have no issue with doing some EQ'ing and adding in reverb, compression, etc.

So in summary, this mic is a bit of double-sided coin. For beginners, it offers amazing quality at a cheap price and also has terrific room rejection for untreated rooms. On the flipside, it can take years to get a firm grasp of proper EQ’ing. I thought this mic sounded like butt when I first got it 3 years ago. Having obtained more experience with EQ’ing, I’ve changed my mind about it since. It’s one of the best sounding mics vocal mics I own, and I own some high end condensers.

There's a condenser out there on the market called the Kel HM2D. It's voiced kind of like the SM7b, but has a more open top end. I was using one for a while. It's a decent compromise to the SM7b. I was using it for about a year, but I discovered that the SM7b sounded superior to my ears. I started noticing a bit of a stiff, grainy tone to the Kel that I didn't care for. The SM7b sounds much softer and fuller to my ears. I think I've developed a real appreciation for quality dynamic mics. Again, just learn to EQ the thing if you get it.

[kingjamesm]

So with that said, wanna tell me how I should EQ compress and limit etc. using this mic? Thanks for your help but you basically just told me I have a lot to learn, and you know what it is, but didn't tell me. If there is a quicker way to contact you about this, so I'm not just in the dark about figuring out how to get the most quality out of this mic, I would really appreciate it. I think this information is very specific and might be hard for me to understand by simply researching. I really hope to hear back from you!

[guitarboy94]

There really arent' any shortcuts in learning how to mix, compress and EQ properly. Just get a mic, hang around this forum and start learning. Type in some searches on EQ'ing vocals. You'll find loads of valuable info from professionals.

With the SM7b in particular, you'll need to learn where to cut the mud and where to boost the highs to really get the mic to sing. It's different with every vocal and mix, though, so there really isn't a magic formula.

[tINY]

In other words - it's a matter of taste. Like almost anything relating to recording vocals....

Ever seen video of the Butthole Surfers?


-tINY

This might solve the low-sensitivity issue of the SM-7b:

[kingjamesm]

I understand how to EQ, etc. But what I'm wondering is (as you said) there are certain things you found that made the SM7 into what you expected. Are you talking about things dependent on your voice? Or are you talking about certain techniques that bring the quality out of this mic in general. If these are general things I'm sure I could be pretty receptive to the lingo. Thanks again

[chessparov]

Similar sound to an EQ'd SM7 is the Beyer Soundstar, that looks like a 58.
Out of production, these sleepers are usually found on ebay for $150 to $200.

Chris

[chk23]

Originally Posted by kingjamesm

I understand how to EQ, etc. But what I'm wondering is (as you said) there are certain things you found that made the SM7 into what you expected. Are you talking about things dependent on your voice? Or are you talking about certain techniques that bring the quality out of this mic in general. If these are general things I'm sure I could be pretty receptive to the lingo. Thanks again

Like he said, boost the highend, try to keep out the mud in the lower mids - what to do specifically for your voice to sound good with the SM7b no one can tell without listening. As for the cable: Don't let yourself blind with esoteric cable discussions - ask the shopkeeper for a decent but not too expensive "high end" cable and it will do for you. Or if you're ordering online, don't take the cheapest but also stay away from the expensive stuff - that's for people who have brought all the other equipment in their studio to absolute perfection and are looking for the final bit to get just another 0.01% more out of it.

[kingjamesm]

I guess I should call a music store up and ask about an XLR cable for my mic (sm7b) and interface (avid fast track c400)?

[localrockstar]

don't worry about the XLR so much - just go to closest music store and buy the one in the middle (not cheapest, not most expensive) and you will be fine.

[guitarboy94]

Are you needing A/D converters as well, or just a preamp?

[dxavier]

Originally Posted by guitarboy94

Are you needing A/D converters as well, or just a preamp?

He mentioned the Mackie Blackjack, so preamp and converters all on board. Do you have another suggestion for a separate pre and A/D under £200? I am struggling. Perhaps, S/H M-Audio DMP-3, could be bought for about 100. They sound great for the price. Edirol FA-66 firewire interfaces cost about 300 new but don't hold their prices in the used market. They are good but go for 100 used all the time.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[teamalkos]

preamps and converters. a m-audio solo 610 will get you further for the a mackie and it can be had around 200 used on ebay. i find intriguing people get into recording and don't know what a xlr cord is.

[kingjamesm]

I bought a m-audio fast track pro c 400 and an sm7, what else is absolutely necessary? I thought I only needed those two things and an xlr cable.

[teamalkos]

that is all you need to record. now good recordings is relative to what you think is good

[kingjamesm]

Well can't I handle all the other components with a daw and good plugins?

[chk23]

Originally Posted by kingjamesm

Well can't I handle all the other components with a daw and good plugins?

Well, every gearslut knows, once you started, it will never be enough

But for the start you should be just fine. If you want to do some mixing and not just record you'll need something to monitor your mixes - either a pair of monitor speakers or some neutral sounding headphones (neutral = not "beats by dr dre" for example but something that leaves the sound unchanged instead of boosting certain frequencies to make everything sound pleasant). If you're on tight budget I would start with headphones, because for the price of a pair of low end monitors you get highend mixing headphones. You'll find some decent ones in this thread for example.