Will Mbox 2 have enough gain to power SM7B?

[Fourth Quarter]

I plan on purchasing a Shure SM7B for hip-hop vocals, and I also plan on purchasing the Mbox 2 with Pro Tools to accompany it in recording. I've heard about problems with using the SM7 with an interface/pre that doesn't have enough gain to handle it, so I was just curious if the Mbox 2 will work well to get solid, clean recordings with the SM7.

Thanks!

[Spencypants]

I don't seem to have a problem with my SM7s going into the Mbox2 but you might want to get a good outboard pre. The Mbox ones are OK but a good API would do the trick especially for hip hop.

[Fourth Quarter]

Can you link me to one of these that you're saying would be ideal for hip-hop?

Thank you so much.

[Mike Brown]

Hey Fourth, you got a lot of options... I would say if you are totally serious about this I would spend the dough and go with a Great River... or if you have some technical knowledge/soldering skills I would build myself a couple seventh circle audio ones...

The A12's are similar to API's
the N72's are similar to Neve's etc

A quick google search will bring you to a variety of resources...

Cheers!

[Spencypants]

This is close to the one that I used when I recorded and assisted on a few sessions at my school (The console was a vintage 70's API). It's good at making vocals sound forward and punchy. Pretty Ideal for Hip Hop.
API 512C Discrete Mic / Line Pre

I don't know your budget but the 512 is around $700 and you need the lunch box API 500-6B 6 slot Lunchbox with built-in Power Supply about $425. Plus the other gear SM7 $350-400 and a Mbox 2 is $450. The API are the type of gear that keeps on giving and you can add more pres, eqs, and comps to the lunch box later! You could send your tracks through them to beef them up give them some analog goodness!

[Fourth Quarter]

okay, well i definitely dont have the money for all of that right now... so i guess my question is, for now will the Mbox 2 and SM7 be compatible and give me good, clean recordings?

[roger]

it'll be clean and it'll sound ok BUT it will be a bit noisy.....i just checked and the mbox 2 pres only give you around 50db gain.......not quite enough to get above the noise floor of the sm7....in a dense track you won't have a problem and in fact hiss ain't the end of the world anyway.....just close your eyes and pretend it's just tape! haha
have fun!

[Spencypants]

I recorded a soft female vocalist and I didn't get any hiss. But the other tracks should drowned out any low hiss. I think you should be fine with the MBox 2 and a SM7 no problem. It will sound clean but the pres aren't the greatest but aren't the worse. In the future think about upgrading to better pres! That's what I'm doing now!