As previously mentioned, we will be posting about some of the equipment and tools we use in the studio. We also welcome the community to feel free to ask our engineers about equipment they have questions about. We will do our best to give our thoughts based on the information we have access to.
That said... Monkey Paul had written about one of his sessions where he used the beloved Shure SM7 microphone on an aggressive vocal performance. My comment on his post was that I would give a little insight on the SM7 as a studio secret.
Well, lets begin on describing what exactly the Shure SM7 is. This is a dynamic microphone that was mainly introduced as a broadcast microphone. (If you have ever watched The Howard Stern radio show on television, Robin Quivers used one of these mics.) Anyway, this mic I believe uses the same dynamic (cardioid) capsule as the famous Shure SM57. However, due to differences in the design of the microphone housing and some other differences in the design, they have similar flavors yet drastically different sounds.
This could be considered one of those "must have" mics in your arsenal. Especially at an average price of under $400, it is a very affordable mic with a wide array of uses. Here are some of the practical uses:
Snare Drum: When mic-ing a snare drum, where an SM57 is an old favorite, the SM7 shines well. We usually remove the "foam wind screen" from the mics "head." This is more so for the visual part as it makes it look a little more unobtrusive and gives more room for positioning between the high-hat & the toms. Run through a good EQ and you've got magic. (Hopefully the drummer has a little magic in the way he hits the snare and then you have a hit on your hands.)
Electric Guitar: As some of you may be noticing, where ever the trusty SM57 is an old standard, the SM7 becomes a breath of fresh air. This mic can handle high SPL's. (sound pressure levels - or in plain talk: the SM7 likes loud!) The results are tighter, with more definition in both the high and low frequencies then normally found in an SM57.
Now for the secret: The SM7 makes a great vocal microphone!!!! Most people tend to go right to a large diaphragm condenser microphone for vocals. Im some cases, I would go to the same, but for an affordable microphone that works well on a wide variety of voices, this mic rocks! Especially on male vocals and on less than perfect singers. I personally did a shoot out on a particular vocal session. I used a wide variety of mics of wide price ranges. I compared the SM7 to a vintage Neumann U67 (on ebay used for $7000), a Telefunken ELAM 251 (used value of these said to reach $25 to 30 grand), and an AKG 414 (about $800 new). The Shure SM7 really fit this singer's voice. (See some of those tracks at: http://www.myspace.com/indium)
This mic is fairly forgiving. Meaning, that if a singer may not have the best quality of voice (pitch, timing, etc.) this mic overlooks some of those details and for the lack of a better description, blends the vocal and smooths out the discrepancies in the vocal performance. In the mic shoot-out I mentioned above, it just sounded the best. This mic is also very user friendly when adding EQ and Compression. You'd be surprised how many commercially available records are out there with the SM7 used on the lead voice.
So not to forget, the SM7 is a great go-to mic for all sorts of applications including instruments, amplifiers, percussion, voice and more. We like this mic... Alot! Okay, this may not be the mic to use on everything recorded onto a single recording, but is a contender for lots of applications and big bang for the buck!
Now, where did I learn about the magic of the SM7? I have had the pleasure and honor to be in the studio with Ron Saint Germain. He has worked on, produced, and/or engineered on the likes of Sound Garden, Creed, 311, Tool, Jimi Hendrix, and tons more iconic artists. Many of the tricks of the trade I have graciously learned while watching Ron at work in the studio. His use of the SM7 totally made me see microphone choice in a whole new light.
Please feel free to comment and give your thoughts...