Home Studio setup

[Tha Govna]

Sound like an awesome gift!

You don't need a new little brother do you?

I'm already big brother broken!

But yeah, sounds good.

The only thing about the SM7B (and this is from reading about it, not use) is that it requires a lot of gain.

The Apogee Duet has 75dB of gain if I read correctly, so you should be good.

Wait for someone who has used it to chime in though.

After that is sorted, he'll need a place to actually record since the room he records himself in can impart itself onto the vocal.

Don't worry though. There are lots of cheap DIY things he can do with things around the house versus buying room treatment, which can get expensive.

Anyway, hope everything works out!

[Hoomiey]

Lol thanks he is pretty serious and studio time adds up VERY fast but I don't want him doing anything that's gunna sound really crappy so I thought this would be good

[jfed]

Good for you man, your brother is lucky to have you. I've also never used the SM7B personally but I've seen countless people testify for it for rap vox, supposed to be pretty flat and punchy (which to me is something you'd want with rap vocals). The setup you're looking at sounds just fine for your purposes, the most important thing in my opinion is going to be the room or recording space itself. There are lots of options for treatment as someone stated, look through some threads and I'm sure you can find a practical, affordable method for rap vocals. Good luck.

[SMARTGUY]

Nice! Snazzy set up for a beginner but if you have it, bless. I use the sm7b all the time. It's great for rap. It's a dynamic mic so yes it does require a lot of gain. I've used the Apogee Ensemble and Symphony so I don't think you will have a problem with the Duet. The sm7 comes with a mic buff but remove it and get a real pop filter. If you want less room noise, get some mic treatment like a reflection filter or my favorite the mic thing by sm pro. It comes with a mic boom already so no need to get a mic stand. Take this advice with a grain of salt. I have worked with many rappers that are new to recording and lack mic technique. The sm7 is great for this situation because it is not as sensitive as say your typical condenser and won't pick up breathing sounds and the like. But in the future get your hands on a used cheap condenser and listen to the difference. Listen to the nuances in the delivery. This will teach you breath control, mic placement, voice projection, things that occur naturally but can get in the way of a great take. Starting off with an sm7, you might not hear these things and never learn how to control.