Shure - SM7dB

I would not buy a Cloudlifter just so I can use a mediocre mic like the Samson S9U. Seems like a waste of money. I would not buy an SM7B or SM7DB just for work calls and gaming. That’s ballpark $500 just so your coworkers and gaming buddies can hear you. People want the SM7B because we are living in an era of peak SM7B hype… every streamer and podcaster seems to use one. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good mic, but you shouldn’t buy an expensive mic just for the hype. Get a Røde NT1 or AT2035 or similar large-diaphragm condenser under $200. These all have higher sensitivity, which means you can turn the gain down on your audio interface. You’ll sound clear and the mic will work great with your interface. IMO, spending $400 instead of $200 doesn’t get you a much better mic. Most of the really good-sounding mics cost somewhere north of $700, with a few excellent, less-expensive dynamics below that price point (but you need more gain to use them).

I would not buy a Cloudlifter just so I can use a mediocre mic like the Samson S9U. Seems like a waste of money. I would not buy an SM7B or SM7DB just for work calls and gaming. That’s ballpark $500 just so your coworkers and gaming buddies can hear you. People want the SM7B because we are living in an era of peak SM7B hype… every streamer and podcaster seems to use one. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good mic, but you shouldn’t buy an expensive mic just for the hype. Get a Røde NT1 or AT2035 or similar large-diaphragm condenser under $200. These all have higher sensitivity, which means you can turn the gain down on your audio interface. You’ll sound clear and the mic will work great with your interface. IMO, spending $400 instead of $200 doesn’t get you a much better mic. Most of the really good-sounding mics cost somewhere north of $700, with a few excellent, less-expensive dynamics below that price point (but you need more gain to use them).

With mics you have Dynamic and Condenser. Dynamic mics are great for noisy environments, they reject most sound that aren't directly going into the diaphragm, so you do need to practice how to speak into it, likely want a pop filter to reduce plosives, and it'll have to sit in your face on videos. I went with dynamic myself because I was living on the ground floor of a road that lorries frequented, but I had to learn to project my voice as I'm very soft spoken. The Shure SM7B's kinda everyone's favourite, but if money's no issue the SM7dB would be my pick - difference being the SM7dB has a built in preamp, which fixes the issue of the SM7B being too quiet and requiring a fethead, a preamp or a more powerful preamp inside your interface. I needed a fethead myself and have to remember to turn on the 48v phantom power (which can damage your mic if you forget to put in the fethead). The price of the fethead is about the same as the price jump from SM7B to SM7dB, without taking up the space in your set up. This mic also seem to favour masculine voices though, but it gives your voice that 'radio' quality to it. There are of course cheaper dynamic mics out there, Audio Technica and Seinnheiser are popular as well as Shure. Condenser mics are much more sensitive and I don't think they need preamps generally speaking. I'm not familiar with them but I think you need to give them the 48v phantom power to work (check your manuals / research), but they can pick up a great deal of noise easily in the general direction they're facing. They're great for quiet environments where you can put them a little away from you offscreen. There are also shotgun mics that can be much further away but only picks up sound from a very specific spot - not great if you're likely to move around in your seat, as we all do when gaming! Then there are lavalier mics that you can clip onto yourself with wireless transmitters - they're really good nowadays and it's often what you see people use on street interviews because they're so portable and easy to use.

Good quality top SM7db with Scarlett 2i2. A really good mic that will do the job extremely well, the HyperX QuadCast If you start the second, if you are pro the first

I have the SM7db which has a built in preamp. Which I honestly didn't need as I am using an external mixing desk with midas preamps, a boss rc600 with more gain options, all going into a focusrite with more gain. I upgraded from an sm58 and while the difference is massive for me as a musician, I don't know if chat notices a difference. If you have money to burn, go for it, but it's not really essential to start out.

I’m not recommending the Shure since you said not to lol, but did want to chime in that I got my SM7dB on eBay brand new for just over $200 and it works great. Whatever mic you go with, you might find a good deal there. As others have said, you can make even a bad mic sound good with the right software. Personally I just use the filters available on OBS, this video taught me a lot https://youtu.be/G1VzeT9t24Y

I don’t really have any issues with the SM7DB My voice is already a bit nasally and I don’t have a lot of acoustic treatment so it works wonders in that regard As far as the type of vocals are concerned I would probably say mine are a combination of sleep theory/Breaking Benjamin singing and a little screaming here and there I live in an apartment and used to have a RE20 and while it is still great at rejecting room noise it would still pick up neighbors walking around etc. Have you tried simply removing the filter on the SM7B Also my voice is already naturally loud so it does help when it comes to that I’ve only owned the SM7DB A cheap RODE Dash NT1 And the Swiss Army knife of microphones The SM 57 If you slap a foam filter on one of those it works great for vocals as well as well as everything else on the planet Since I live in an apartment I have to record everything else digitally Working on recording an EP that’s me on every single instrument Using modern and massive 2 on the V drums as well as some of Buster‘s stuff But just for the sake of trying them out I’d be down to know what plug-ins you use or anyone else uses for their voice on the SM7B Guess I would wonder the same question just for the sake of being curious

Gonna piggyback here and say that a cloudlifter is like a mini preamp and only gets you half of the way there; or makes up for the very low output of an SM7b and lets your other preamp (the Focusrite in your case) do the rest of the work. Mic level to line level generally needs about 50-60 dB of gain, and a cloudlifter will usually provide 20-30 dB. A boutique/professional preamp - such as from Cranborne or Rupert Neves, will GREATLY affect your sound. Also, for what it's worth I have a SM7dB that I'll use on pretty much anything and everything. Vocals, snare, bass cabs. It's very versatile and I'm almost never disappointed. That being said, my next mic purchase will likely be a RE20 for very similar reasons. I think you'd be happy with either of these options. Then the next step will be finding a preamp that you love. Focusrite is great (and also the interface that I use) but general utility gear will never beat out purpose built gear. Good luck and have fun!

FYI, OP is considering the SM7dB (note the d), which eliminates the need to amplify the signal more in-line. But OP will still need an interface with phantom power to A) connect the SM7dB to the computer and B) provide power to run the dB’s built-in preamp.

EDIT (10 hours after posting): Alright thank you you have been super helpful! I love how many people jumped on this to help me out. As for a sort of conclusion, I think I will try the SM7B (db version with built in preamp). And take it from there. Also EDIT: In case anyone wants to keep responding, I created a track with **vocal samples** (despite the username, this is not one of my anonymous accounts lol): [Soundcloud link](https://on.soundcloud.com/sWQ8MkgZR2itA1BQ4V) Sorry they are not all the same, I had to grab what I had and went with samples that hit both a bit high and low. Also sorry I should have normalized them more and I put the quietest one next to the loudest one, be warned. - Clip1: Completely dry (except whatever processing happened earlier in the chain), recent studio recording - Clip2: Completely dry, eating the mic C214 in a windshield - Clip3: Completely dry, recording at 1 inch distance with a pop filter in a dead vocal booth (enclosed by camera stands with duvets and sound absorbing blankets 360+above, standing on a rug). I hate how this one sounds. - Clip4: Not dry, but this is the goal/dream outcome, I love how my voice sounds here. Recorded in an audio engineering intern's home studio, no idea about gear but I think I was just in a non-soundproofed living room - Clip5: Not dry. Extremely high end studio, Justin Bieber has recorded there, $10000 mic. It's bright but still very nice sounding. Obviously autotuned, sorry - not my mixing! --- Hey audio engineers, I’m a female singer/songwriter/producer with a bright voice trying to get my vocals to sound good at home. I'm an amateur who has invested a lot of time, money, and effort lately: - AKG c214 mic, SSL2+ interface - upping my vocal mixing game - plugins (Melodyne, Vocalign, etc.) - home made elaborate vocal booth - also have a Samson Q2A (USB/XLR) and a CAD E100Sx (but it’s noisy) After a ton of testing, I realized I like how my voice sounds when I a windshield on the AKG and "eat the mic". It’s warm, full, and close to my studio dry takes, even without the booth. But obviously it’s too "up close" and not usable as-is. The problem is, even moving an inch back makes my voice too thin, and I just can’t EQ that warmth back in, it just isn't there. My question is: How can I capture that same warm, rich tone without the extreme proximity effect? - Would a reflection filter like the Aston Halo help (some youtube demos sound like it might)? - a new mic? - a pre amp? (if so, one that doesn't break the bank?) - all three? (I hope not) - something else? My studio session vocals had that same balanced warmth but without the proximity issues, I’d love to recreate that at home without spending $$$, the fact that I am close (by eating the mic) gives me hope. Also my performance is better at home and I like comping myself on the fly.

Again thank you, and I think you are right. I think I am going to pull the trigger on the sm7b: I have heard it multiple times in this thread, from people IRL, and watching comparison videos on Youtube it sounds like it might give me what I need (and if not I can return it, buying used from guitar center). I added some vocal samples to the post that you can check out, including a reference track, if that informs your opinion more!

Thank you! Yes exactly that, it sounds a bit muffled when I eat the mic. There is just no lingering of the sound whatsoever. I think I am going to pull the trigger on the sm7b (think I'll get the db version): I have heard it multiple times in this thread, from people IRL, and watching comparison videos on Youtube it sounds like it might give me what I need (and if not I can return it, buying used from guitar center). I added some vocal samples to the OP that you can check out, if that informs your opinion more.

> I don't know the lingo, so by reference track do you mean how I want it to sound? I basically now have both the eaten mic recording and the studio recording as reference tracks. I have tried a lot and I can't bring back that tone from the thinner recordings. It's like a part of my voice just isn't there. > > I settled on trying the SM7B first and can always return if it still isn't right (bought it used from Guitar Center and they have a 45 day return policy). Anything to spare me an extra trip somewhere lol. I watched some comparison vids with RE20 and it seems significantly brighter and since I already have a bright mic I figured I'd go for body and can dual mic record with the c214 if the SM7b doesn't give me enough brightness/shimmer. Generally I like to not buy the most popular option (SM7b in this case) and try to find the nerdier and more fairly priced alternative, but here we are. It was a good deal and the one with the built in preamp.

Okay awesome and thank you. I will 100% keep an eye out for a U47 and a TLM 193 when I go to a studio next. I pulled the trigger on a (used but returnable) SM7db (with the built in preamp) and was thinking I could try dual mic recording and maybe get the best of both worlds as a budget alternative to a high end mic that has it all - we will see. I saw you mentioned alternatives to Wunder M7 up there too, Sabrina's vocal recordings are honestly goals so I'll take those suggestions even if I am not pulling the trigger on a purchase like that *yet* there is a certain chance I could a few months from now. Though I guess with a mic at thousands of dollars I also need a multi thousand dollar chain but I will cross that bridge when/if I get there. The chase ends at some point, right? :')

Yes but I just love the sound of a clean single take for many sections. Working my way up there! I pulled the trigger on an SM7b and will try dual mic tracking and sort of do this but with the same take and that will hopefully get me somewhere.

Maybe I should change my artist name to my username lol. I have EQd my "correct" vocals (treated booth, pop filter, 1 inch distance) to death and I just don't think I can get it from where it is to where I want it to be with software alone sadly. I think the mic is the biggest issue, based on what I thought and other people's responses here. Got an sm7db (the one with built in preamp) and will hopefully get better takes..!

Thank you! I am listening to this and the others suggesting it. Have an SM7db on the way now. Fingers crossed.

Most viewers aren’t watching you constantly, and when they do they have different hardware. Many phones natively go to 480 or 720 video quality due to signal/wifi strength. As a result, most folks are cooking dinner, laundry, taking care of family, etc. My recommendation is to make sure you have a great mic/audio interface. I had HUGE ISP issues back in 2021-2022 but still achieved partner literally streaming at 480p. What I’ve noticed over the years is as long as audio is amazing and clear, folx will stick with you, as they don’t know if it’s your issue or their internet. I’d recommend a RODE NT1A (cheaper) or a Shure SM7db. I personally use the GoXLR for audio interface but I started with a $60 interface from Amazon (Yamaha AudioWave-or something like that). Let me know if you have any questions.