SM7 vocal EQing tips?

[The Marrvel]

It's often mentioned that vocals through the SM7 require a decent amount of eq. Would anyone care to share any tips on successful eqing on SM7 rap vocal tracks?

[Ash Holmz]

i never vibed with the sm7 ... always sounded kinda dullish to me ... i preferred it with the presence boost on and the low cut engaged aswell... imo it benfited from a high end shelf i always thought when i had it ... at least for my voice.... and some others i recorded with it ... matter of fact thats why i sold it .. i needed to do too many things to it to make it sound good although i admit the final results were always solid.. ima emcee and a producer not an engineer so i dont really like messing with my vocals too much i would rather have something that sounds good from jump. but to answer ur question cutting some low mids and maybe boosting the high end is what always seemed to work on that mic for me.

[Osten Powers]

I use the sm7b through a neve 1272 preamp and an urei 1176. When I record I stand calm and I'm very close to the mic, sounds best for me. I record without mid boost but low cut on. When I eq I cut the lows at 150 Hz (for my voice) and I use a deesser because my voice is very sssss and needs that. Sometimes I boost a little around 2 kHz. Sounds good to me...hope that helps you a little! Excuse my bad english man.

[PettyCash]

Originally Posted by Ash Holmz

i never vibed with the sm7 ... always sounded kinda dullish to me ... i preferred it with the presence boost on and the low cut engaged aswell... imo it benfited from a high end shelf i always thought when i had it ... at least for my voice.... and some others i recorded with it ... matter of fact thats why i sold it .. i needed to do too many things to it to make it sound good although i admit the final results were always solid.. ima emcee and a producer not an engineer so i dont really like messing with my vocals too much i would rather have something that sounds good from jump. but to answer ur question cutting some low mids and maybe boosting the high end is what always seemed to work on that mic for me.

You gotta match up the SM7 with the right vocalist. From my experiences with it, it did not work best for everybody, but it really shined on some people. Infact, most of the people it shined on are those that I find sound better when matched up with mics that are on the more boring, neutral side, like for example, the Audio Technica line of mics.

Some ppl require brigther sounding mics from the get go in order to save you trouble later on during mixing. For some its quite the opposite, their voice would sound too treble heavy and overbearing using a bright sounding mic. You gotta try your best to get the sound you want right from the source, Your Vocal Chain. Which will require having more than one mic and one pre. If what you are recording is not already 85-95% there, than you should try something different for that particular vocalist.

There are some universal approaches that some like to use which fall in between the two extremes and seem to work good for almost all vocalist.

Thats why its so good to have a whole locker full of mics at your disposal. If possible, never sell any mic thats at least decent, just keep what you have and keep building up that collection.

[Ash Holmz]

Originally Posted by PettyCash

You gotta match up the SM7 with the right vocalist. From my experiences with it, it did not work best for everybody, but it really shined on some people. Infact, most of the people it shined on are those that I find sound better when matched up with mics that are on the more boring, neutral side, like for example, the Audio Technica line of mics.

Some ppl require brigther sounding mics from the get go in order to save you trouble later on during mixing. For some its quite the opposite, their voice would sound too treble heavy and overbearing using a bright sounding mic. You gotta try your best to get the sound you want right from the source, Your Vocal Chain. Which will require having more than one mic and one pre. If what you are recording is not already 85-95% there, than you should try something different for that particular vocalist.

There are some universal approaches that some like to use which fall in between the two extremes and seem to work good for almost all vocalist.

Thats why its so good to have a whole locker full of mics at your disposal. If possible, never sell any mic thats at least decent, just keep what you have and keep building up that collection.

i hear ya ..but like i said im not an engineer .. i only record a few people at my home studio but mainly myself .... i dont need a whole locker i just need one or two pieces that work with my voice and some others ... i leave the locker stuff to the bigger studios i travel to...... honestly i bought the sm7 off the internet hype alone ... it just didnt do it for me ... its funny u said audio techinica becuase My main vocal mic in home studio right now is the 4047.. i actually love the sound of the 4047 on my voice.. but not really sm7.... i really tried to make it work .. but just couldnt justify having it around.. im not the type to having anything around that doesnt get frequent use..

[LewisWu]

i bought the sm7 to mic my guitar cabs.. and like many posts mention, its great for screamers... its a dynamic mic, and needs healthy amounts of gain. a transparent pre is the wrong direction, unless you want to sound like a radio news or talkshow host. it really shines when the source is loud... so, if you're not belting it out.. you might consider a condenser. as far as eq'ing goes... it all depends on the room, the pre and any other gear in the chain, and the vocalist... i've also found that having the right headphones and headphone amp can help provide the vocalist with enough information to make decisions about how to alter their performance.

[neonjohn]

I must say, I love my SM7 on vocals, my own at least. I have an incredible Pearlman TM-1, and on rock vocals, I've found that using the SM7 (rolloff and presence on), pushing the EQ around 10k sounds BETTER than the TM-1. It's astounding. It has all the warmth and human quality, but with much less mouth schmutz. A beautiful smooth sound and it responds to EQ tweaks incredibly well.

On softer vocals, it certainly has less detail. But if the voice is not a highly polished one, that is not necessarily a negative.

It DOES need EQ. I don't view this as a negative. Most quality mics sound good upon recording, but need EQ for polish- to "bring out" the shine or remove the shrink wrap. With the Pearlman, I always have to EQ as well, the other way. Drop some highs, deal with simbilance and mouth noise.

Anyway, that's my suggestion. Push gently, but fairly wide in the 10k range.

neon

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by neonjohn

I must say, I love my SM7 on vocals, my own at least. I have an incredible Pearlman TM-1, and on rock vocals, I've found that using the SM7 (rolloff and presence on), pushing the EQ around 10k sounds BETTER than the TM-1. It's astounding. It has all the warmth and human quality, but with much less mouth schmutz. A beautiful smooth sound and it responds to EQ tweaks incredibly well.

On softer vocals, it certainly has less detail. But if the voice is not a highly polished one, that is not necessarily a negative.

It DOES need EQ. I don't view this as a negative. Most quality mics sound good upon recording, but need EQ for polish- to "bring out" the shine or remove the shrink wrap. With the Pearlman, I always have to EQ as well, the other way. Drop some highs, deal with simbilance and mouth noise.

Anyway, that's my suggestion. Push gently, but fairly wide in the 10k range.

neon

With the right tsatzkes,not only can you remove the schmutz,but also the dreck!! Feh!!!

[neonjohn]

More Bass in all fq? LOL- Right On, Philly!

[FULL-DUPLEX]

Yes the SM7 forgets if you have a sibiliant vocalist.

It sounds compressed and not detailed, perfect for Rock and Rap. This is really a screamers mic! Flat sounding so perfect for EQ action...

For removing "schmutz" you will hear more silky highs...:

[coyotekells]

How do guys feel the RE-20 compares the SM7b on vocals (especially rap)?

[DaKid]

Lately, I've been recording with the presence boost on.

I let my preamp take care of the HPF, and I record with a boost of 12k on my pre also.

From there on out it depends on the vocalist. One particular artist I work with barely needs anything touched after that. On another, I have to dip out a lot between approx 300-900hz.... His voice is just real muddy/bassy in that range.

Its a good mic. I like it. It does require some work to get it sounding great.