How to Make Your Shure SM7b Sound Better
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2024
- If you're using a Shure SM7b to record a podcast, vocals, UA-cam videos, or voiceover, I'll show you how to use EQ and compression to make your SM7b sound crisp and punchy.
00:00 Intro
01:11 Switches on SM7b
02:40 Do you need a FETHED or Cloudlifter Cl-1?
03:20 Preamp levels with SM7b
04:00 Setting EQ settings on different recordings
04:38 Raw recording examples for podcast, rap, singing, and UA-cam videos
06:03 EQ and compression for spoken podcast
12:11 EQ and compression for hip-hop
15:39 EQ and compression for singing
18:26 EQ and compression for UA-cam videos
21:03 Raw vs processed examples for podcast, rap, singing, and UA-cam videos
22:07 Bye bye!
"jamie pull up that slide about dmt" killed me
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. JRE went on a whole dmt spree last couple years .
Foreal 😂
LOOOOOOL!!
What an amazing entertaning and comprehensive vocal processing tutorial
. You got a new subscriber.
Man, did I had to endure crappy videos about editing the signal of sm7b until the algorithm finally allowed me to see this one
This was exactly what I was looking for, thank you so much! All I heard was I needed to buy a CloudLifter so I am glad I found this video. My audio sounds a lot better now and I can actually hear my voice whereas before I couldn't hear anything.
this helped a ton with the noise floor hiss I was having on my sm7b! I just adjusted around my compressor settings to be more in-line with what you did and it pulled out so much more rich sound with much less squashing. Was definitely over compressing a bit too far before due to just not knowing what I was doing. Thank you!!
Excellent example of how knowledge of where you are going is needed to know how to get there… great vid!
One of the most enjoyable videos about EQ I have ever seen.
Thanks for the video. I wasn't certain if I should adjust the SM7B switches until I heard your voice quality with the presence boost switch on.
Hey Thomas! Thanks for the video, again - everything just on point!:) your chanel is the only one (literaly) which has this youtube bell enabled:)) keep it going man!
Amazing info man, getting into write off time and picked up the sm7b with minimal knowledge of optimizing my audio and this was a massive help. Thanks a million!!
Write off time is here for me too! Debating on what to get.
@@ThomasBoykin if you wanna step your videos up big time, tube lights would be such a great addition to your already solid lighting setup. Adds great soft, dynamic background lighting with an even spread and they’re super easy to use! Would definitely make your background pop like crazy!
@@ThomasBoykin yo could I ask a favour please could you put a download link to download the Pro Q3 and pro C2 preset please?
Dude I am in AWE that you dropped that Mad TV reference
this was awesome and I have watched a lot of videos like this yours is one of my favs
I'm glad someone made a video on this because people talk about this mic shows how good it sounds but don't show how it's supposed to be Eq to get the best use out of the sound
Thanks Jess. Most mics benefit from some EQ and compression. The SM7b is no different.
Easily the best SM7B video I've seen on UA-cam. This is helping me resist the urge to blow a bunch of money on a higher end mic. Also I LOVED the MadTV reference.
That Mad reference cracked me up for some reason lol And I'm with you on not wasting money on some expensive mic.
buying the sm7b was me blowing a bunch of money on a higher end microphone lmao
Another stellar video. Just a generally good instructional on EQ as well. Keep it up!
EQ is really difficult when you are starting out. I need to figure out a way to show more on this subject.
@@ThomasBoykin EQ is one of the most subjective parts of the audio post process, but there are certainly good processes and practices to learn. I would love to see more on your EQ'ing process for sure.
I remember when starting out I used to EQ way harder than I do now to try 'fix' badly placed mics. Techniques I learned from music production mostly. It tended to make things sound more harsh and unnatural in the end. These days I mostly notch out resonance and do light EQ aiming for natural clarity.
Informative and entertaining! Love this, definitely have to subscribe. Great information, just what I was looking for.
Watching this 2 years after it was posted. Great content here. FYI- Sure just released the new SM7dB which has a Cloudlifter built in!! Check it out if you're in the market for a mic.
Cool, I'll check it out
That processing on the UA-cam segment really made me want to subscribe to your patreon😂. Thanks for the video!
Don’t do it. Because I don’t have one.
@@ThomasBoykin I'll just stick to ringing that bell then so you can send me notifications 😂
Man this was awesome! I have an RE20 but plan to implement some of these EQ tips. Thx!
Great video, appreciate it a lot! Was really helpful for me with my RE-20
this was very good, thanks. I have SM7B, still trying to figure it out, this hekped a ton.
man, this is the best guide for a new sm7b user on youtube, trust me ive seen most of them
Thanks so much! I just recently got an SM7B so this is def. going to help me get more out of it. 🤘♥🤘
Glad to help. It’s a great mic and just needs a little love to really shine.
@@ThomasBoykin A lot of help indeed, I was too focused on the compression and saturation etc (Trying to find the sound I wanted to get out of it, but youre video made me stop and think) Ok let's go back to the EQ and start over and WOW! Made such a big difference.
love your humor! Great video!
Just bought the mic and did close to everything you did... 👍🏾
Great, thank's mate, these tips may really improve the quality of my podcast ;)
Awesome video, super helpful
Your videos always rule man!
Such an amazing video! :D
Thank you so much! This video was super helpful🎉
one of the few good videos out there, thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome tutorial! Great info and made me laugh a few times:). thanks!
Thanks for making this video!
Glad to help
Love your style!
Thank you for making this video
Very entertaining,the rap break too!
incredibly helpful exactly what i needed thank you man, I am not gonna push I know you are too close to the Mic.
Super helpful, thank you so much!! Would love to see your process for using the SM7b in OBS for gaming streams
you can do the same as from this video "for youtube video" by adding VST fabfilter directly to obs and set it up like that. Or through virtual cables and for example pedalboard2
This was really helpful, thx
the best video on mixing vocals in general thats the best philosophy , i had an issue cause i was mixing my vocals on the chorus then i would listen to the whole song and it would suck cause the verse would be kinda rap and intro outro spoken words(style podcast) so i had problem with the lows and highs wow now i would put my vocals in 3 different channels spoken/rap/sing and eq//comp differently then send em to all vocals channel WOW thanks dude you are awesome !!!!!
what a legit guy. appreciate you!
Love your channel, invaluable stuff in the dialogue editing videos. One comment for this video though, what about deessing?! People gonna have S laser beams with all those highs.
All depends on the voice. I’ve found most sibilance is in 3-6k range. So you could easily cut there while boosting above. But each voice is different!
Thank you for this content
Great stuff as always. A video on making ADR sound more natural might be useful. I don’t think I’ve seen a good one on that. Keep at it sir!
I need to get a film with more ADR that I can use for that. Good idea!
@@ThomasBoykin sir with respect please help , do one for Samson Q2U
I got an sm7b for music and content creation at home. My room isnt treated and it was a great option for me and my room, but im kinda thinking and seeing some condenser mics be like the earthworks ethos, be quite good in untreated rooms. My room is full of stuff ofc. But its probably bcuz im overthinking a bit xD Love the video btw!
Great guide : like your style and no bs re promoting Cloud etc.
this helped thx man ❤❤❤
I got the lowered expectations reference. Mad!
Look what I can do!
Thanks for this video sir, starting my youtube channel and ive been having little issues with some mics that im trying to use, then im looking at my sm7b and …. Yeah i should just get that on a boom out of frame and use him 😆
Great video and explanations. Thx
Thanks Scottie. I appreciate your patience since I can blabber on too much.
@@ThomasBoykinIt was the perfect amount of talking and explanation in my opinion. Keep it up, man
LOL the lowered expectations took me out . Wasn't expecting it lol
Best tutorial so far 🙌🏻
Quick question, any tips on DeEsser? A video about it would be super!
Good idea!
what do you mean the sm7b curbs the sibilance good enough already... anyway try accusonus de-esser for speech
great video, and illustrative examples - just discovered this channel. Would be cool to see something like this but on the EV RE20, just to compare dynamic mics in different vocal performance situations.
I don’t have one, but maybe I’ll buy one
Thanks for the video. I do find that a cloudlifter gives a lot cleaner gain than just boosting the preamp.
How bad is your preamp, then? most interfaces out today, even the cheaper ones, have enough gain. This is demonstrably and objectively true. It has been tested.
This guy has done tons of tests with the SM7B and various popular interfaces with real numbers and not just opinions....
ua-cam.com/users/JulianKrausevideos
Means you should have spend more on your preamp. The money you lose buying a cheap interface+cloudlifter isn't worth just having an overall good interface
True except a cloudlifter is about 150$… and a quality preamp to push the sm7 would at minimum cost 3 to four times more…
@@watch76 And a FetHead does the same job for about $90-$100.
Great video.
Great video!
Thanks Ben.
Very useful.Thanks!
I have no idea how to pronounce your name but thank you.
@@ThomasBoykin It's almost Serge)
Subscribed for the "jamie pull up that slide about DMT" line. so funny lol
really good video ! Simple and with a dose of humor :)) Thank you man :) I just bought this mic and to be honest your advices qbout eq will help me alot for sure :) Before I had Rode NT usb so condencer mic and usb mic and I had to remove harshness from it in higher frequences but it started to be anoying since I sing in Polish and we got many sibilants and my voice is quite high pitch so I was really tired de essing and searching for harsh frequences so I decided to buy this one. And straight from the mic, raw audio its way way warmer and much less harshness. I will test the switches that u showed in the beginning :) Okay, Take care !
Yes some languages, especially Slavic ones or German can be better suited to warmer mics. In general I think there is too much high end in modern recordings. It doesn’t sound natural to me. Dynamics also help keep the room sound minimized which is great for home studios.
@@ThomasBoykin you mean dynamics eq ? If so yes I use them ! Thanks for the respond Have a nice day !
@@ThomasBoykin hey came back cuz got a question :) Like I said before i used Rode NT usb mic and it didn't have much white noise that hiss sound to remove it was pretty quiet. But now I got this sm7b, focusrite solo 3 and Klark teknik mic booster and I hear much noise even if I use noise remover(gain is about halfway) than I use paralell compression and its even worse. You know something about that maybe ?
Yes, you don't necessarily need an inline boost. However, I don't like cranking my gain up nearly to max just to reach the proper recording peaks. I'm giving Cloud Lifter a try.
Same here, i own a focusrite clarett pre usb which i considered a decent interface but upon arrival of the microphone i noticed that i was only getting about -18dB of gain with my gain knob cranked out and the type of voice i have i would have to increase the gain of my recordings in my DAW which i hate doing since it brings more noise to the recording and loss of dynamic range. I bought a Dynamite DM2 yesterday and oh boy the difference is night and day and in my experience i didnt experience any noise floor in my recordings maybe because my room is about 70% acoustically treated. But whoever is buying this mic for vocal takes either get a really good interface like a RME or UAD apollo and if you cant afford those go for a cloudlifter it is a must trust me.
Yeah, I'm worried about recording a singer in a video where the mic is not supposed to appear in the frame. The room is poorly treated acoustically, so I don't want to use my large-diaphragm condenser. So he'll need to stand farther from the SM7B and there might not be enough signal even if I max my gain. I'm researching some cheaper alternatives to Cloudlifter.
@@utubewillyman get the tnt dynamite
@@oldtimer666 Thanks. I'm going to read some reviews. The Klark Teknik is so much cheaper though
You can get a wa12 for the price of a cloudlifter LMAO
Great tips and humor! Thanks....have some vocal harsh at 2-4K that I've dynamically (fabfilter eq) dipped about 4 db....maybe need to cut more. Waves C4 at master buss catching some more, but my voice cuts pretty strong. Perhaps i'm just too shy with cuts...
This is great. Using these techniques for my vocals that I record with my Re-20. The boost in the high end paired with the SA2 made my nips tingle. I use UAD plugins when I record my podcast, what do you suggest for podcast compression settings when using the LA-2A or 1176?
La2a into the 1176. Hit em both just enough and this chain will give you a great vocal sound.
@@ThomasBoykin hell no, 1176 into la2a, u can adjust the attack and release before putting it into the la2a and that’s the most classic way of doing it
In case you need to record a voiceover for a film or a documentary, would you use this mic or would you go with a large diaphragm condenser one? I'd love to see your approach on that topic to understand what can be done with each type of mic and their limitations (probably with a large diaphrahm consender mic you'd get more detail and depth but less low end? not sure though).
Thank you for taking the time to make these videos, they're all super helpful.
Completely depends on the room and talent. But for most film VO work a LDC is the first choice.
God Bless you!
Amazing video, thank you so much for the clear explanation.
I wanted to ask; What's the best way to manage volume levels, think Audio Interface, Windows Microphone Level, Gain before & After Compression.
I've been tinkering with it for weeks and unfortunately I don't see anyone talk about these things. I'd love to know your thoughts, and if there are any dos or don't.
(Off the top of my head, I remember reading don't increase the Microphone volume in windows to 100 and rather in between 80 - 90. And to keep the hardware related gain to push the microphone levels well into the green, not the yellow.)
Main thing is don’t let peaks reach zero (clipping). Then I like to do volume graphing, de-essing, compression, and limiting in that order.
@@ThomasBoykin Thank you for your response! Could I perhaps email you a clip and ask for your feedback / advice? I've been tinkering with my settings on the SM7B and I've hit a wall regarding an issue I'm facing. If not, I completely understand.
amazing!
A video on pencil mics would be great! :)
Thank you for your videos! About this one, I noticed hiss in all the recordings, which happens to me with my Focusrite 2i2, but in your spoken word throughout the video there was no hiss or background noise. Is this because of some noise reduction plug-in or just the preamp levels?
No noise reduction in this. It is a combination of preamp levels and projecting. Louder source= less gain needed.
Great video! I am hesitating between Shure MV7+ AND SM7dB + interface shure MVX2U (to make it USB). Which one would you recommend? I have no gears and want to do video podcasting/ youtube interviews with remote guest. I want to keep it simple but with good sound. Thank you!
Great video bro, please I would love to make a special request for this type of video for microphones like Electrovox RE70, I would really appreciate it bro
First. It's a really good video. I am gonna get down on my EQ stuff later. Question: Is there a forum or any place where I can get feedback on my EQing? I am afraid my ears are not trained enough to understand what is good sound and not. So if there is a place where more experienced people could help me with my audio that would be amazing.
A forum would be a tricky place for that. You could have all sorts of people telling you different things. Try to find a local established engineer for that
supa hot fire? 🤣🤣 im sad i diddint see any other ones thanks alot man
Hey Thomas. Great tutorial especially as my sm7b will arrive next week mostly used for conferencing and podcasting. Is there any chance to get the same results just using obs?
Yeah sure, just set an EQ up in obs. You might also want a compressor in your chain.
Yes, you don't necessarily need an inline boost. However, I don't like cranking my gain up nearly to max just to reach the proper recording peaks. I'm giving Cloud Lifter a try.
UPDATE: I love my Cloud Lifter. It works perfectly, does exactly what I wanted and expected.
Hey I have a Yamaha mixer mgp 24x do u still need a cloudlifter with this mic thanx
nooooo - forget cloudlifters! read up!
@@serenitybase9888
I read, I bought, and I used. It works great - exactly what I needed.
@@RichardSpeights fet head is like 50$ compared
@@LilJoe3
Since I am producing audiobooks, I am willing to spend the money for the better product. Remember, this device handles the signal producing the sound, and the less money you spend, the cheaper the recording sound (generally).
! Great video!
Which program would you advixe to use for live podcast with all these features?
OBS
21:17 Man, absolutely one of the best videos of this kind out there!
Is there anyway you could devote a 10 minute video solely to EQing for singing vocals? Specifically, to add the warmth/fatness and remove the harshness of a vocal? I know you did that somewhat in this video, but I would love to see some real detail on what exactly you are doing in the EQ aspect.
Again man, I've seen tons of these videos, and nothing even comes close to this one! Thanks!
incredible tutorial. i'm asking alot but could you tell us the exact Fabfilter Settings For UA-cam!!??? i'll try to mimic EQ curves if not.
Every voice is different. Basic idea is a high shelf boosting up above 2k
Thanks Thomas
Thank you for watching. A little different from my post production videos but should be useful for podcasters.
@@ThomasBoykin I liked the way you explained the relationship between performance energy and equalizer tonal balance., very well explained
Thanks for that Video it helped me a lot to understand how it works. My sound is now crispyyyyy as fuck.
What software are you using?
Love the Mad TV reference lol
YOU WIN
Hi.. Thanks for this video!
Please which preamp did you use for this video.... Scarlett 2i2 or Rodecaster Pro?
Scarlett 18i20
If you can't afford the Fab Filter EQ the Melda Audio EQ is free and also has a visualizer.
a stifler AND mad tv reference in a single video! Damn. I have a shure running through a dbx 286s (shocking I know) and a steinberg interface. Im noticing the mic picking up a TON of background noise. I unfortunately am not in a treated room, but I'm not running a ton of gain and was under the impression this mic is great for reducing background sounds. Im wondering if it could be a faulty xlr cable or something else internal, any suggestions or am I just stupid? great vid!
Get right up on the mic. If you can’t smell the windscreen you are too far back.
So you recommend recording your audio in a separate audio mixing app? What about if I want to use my video editor Adobe Premiere Pro to mix the audio, can I get the same results ? I have the Shure SM7b with a cloud lifter and a focusrite scarlett 3rd gen pre amp.
Yes just use an EQ to process it a bit. You could even do this with hardware, but it’s much cheaper to use what you have
I’m 21, got the grandmaster flash reference 😂
You were raised right
Thanks
Thank you bro! I might do a video on documentary mixing next
@@ThomasBoykin That would be great please DO IT!!! 😃
Nice! Im interested what VST would you recommend for this mic. Cheers!
Stock EQ and compressor will be all you need
I think Jimmy should pull up that slide on dmt, but maybe that's just me 🤷♂
I'll mainly use the mic to record vocals, is the Elgato Wave XLR a good interface to use with it?
Unlike the Focusrite Scarlett, it provides enough gain without having to max it out, removing the need for a cloud lifter.
That looks like a great option. Would make a killer on-the-go setup
Does the process you went thru work for live streaming or can it only be used in post? Sorry if my question is too ignorant. I'm new to all of this and just bought the SM7B, but I can't hardly hear anything I record. I got a Motu M2 audio interface and I use a 1.6m hosa XLR cable. Thanks in advance! BTW your voice is not boring!
Should work for live just need to set up an EQ on the input in your streaming software
i hear my headphone in shure sm7b when i record (bleed) , how i avoid it ! , i try lowcut post nothing change , i use dt990
For recording you will need to use closed back headphones. Open back headphones bleed. As a short term fix you can lower your headphone level
will the Focusrite solo be good enough to use without a booster?
Hey, you got also that rising noise from 1k HZ upwards. Is this the basic noise or is it posible to fix?
could you make video to the rode podmic?
Is a focusrite Scarlett 3gen enough to power it if i add just enough gain for it to be heard? Can I not just compress and add gain to it iny DAW afterwards? I don't have the money to buy expensive interfaces or preamps.
This video was recorded through a Scarlett with the gain maxed on the SM7b. The levels you see in Pro Tools during the recording are without any processing. So yes it’s enough power.
How much gain are you using in this video for the mic. I am using an RME interface which is supposedly very clean gain, but notice if I add 50-60db of gain I notice a hiss in the signal, even without a microphone plugged in.
About 80%
Can anyone recommend a good preamp like he suggested? Ive seen other tutorials run the Focusrite Scarlett + Cloudlifter... Want to know which preamp i need to get so i don't need to buy the cloudlifter in this scenario. Also, not sure which is better- so any advice helps!! Thanks.
Just pick a preamp with lots of gain. Focusrite is cheap, but always check the specs.
Any tips for a goxlr
thanks for the tips! i have a lot of hiss even with a cloudlifter and im using a scarlett 18i20 3rd gen. is this normal? how do you deal with the hiss
Talk louder