Shure SM7b Review
February 13, 2010
Ghostface Killah(and others from Wu-Tang Clan), John Mayer, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other such notables have used the Shure SM7 to record masterpiece after masterpiece after masterpiece. This thing is just pure gold when it comes to vocals. Purists will disagree and say that any condensor or ribbon mic will outperform the SM7 in every department, but I (plus a whole lot of other people including the late King of Pop) would disagree. Although it’s a dynamic mic (generally considered worse than condensors and ribbons) like it’s cousin, the SM57, the sound quality is in a totally different league. This thing (with the right amount of good gain) is a MONSTER(in a good way). It can hold its own against most condensor mics in the thousands of dollars range, so if you can get the chance to, buy this. As usual, here are some reviews:
My review: I haven’t had the chance to buy this beauty yet, but I did get a chance to record with it. And I was in love. This is just sooooo good. It does everything well, especially vocals. I paired it with a Golden Age Pre-73 preamp (I’ll do a review on that soon) and the results were amazing. I cranked the gain up to 65dB, and I was good to go. I am, by no means, a good rapper. It’s an outlet for me to relieve stress and have fun. But when I recorded with this, I knew why Ghostface records his albums with this. I knew why Michael Jackson recorded Thriller with this. It’s got a magically quality to it that not too many microphones have, and it sounds, looks, feels, and does everything wonderfully. The SM7b made my vocals a LOT more smoother and added a punchiness to it that I enjoyed. At around $349 street price, it’s not as cheap as many other “budget” mics, but for the performance that it delivers, you just CANNOT skip on this deal. Honestly, don’t.
Little video of course:
