# SM7B vs. AT4040 - Not what I was expecting



## schwiz (Apr 17, 2017)

Did a little mic testing last night before a vocal recording session and my results were a bit surprising.

Gear:
API preamp clone
AT4040
SM7B
Scarlett 18i8 (preamp turned all the way down; pad turned on, line level)

AT4040: Holy .... this mic is crisp and clear. It picks up a lot of voice definition and the preamp color is most definitely apparent when playing back takes from this mic. We didn't need to boost the API very much as the AT4040 is a large diaphram condenser mic, but it still added quite a bit of color. This mic seems best for clean singing applications. It's very clear and you can hear a lot of articulations in the voice, especially the pronunciation of words; keep that in my back pocket. Once we started screaming, we could not get this mic to stop distorting. It was audibly noticeable. We had the screamer stand farther back, we turned the preamp down. Nothing we did stopped the mic from distorting. Granted, this screamer was SUPER loud, but nothing we did seemed to produce good results. 

SM7B: After avoiding using this mic for the screamer, we reluctantly switched back to it. We cranked the preamp to nearly +60db in order to get the levels hot enough coming into the interface, before clipping. I was quite surprised with how much gain this mic needed. It also made me a little nervous that it wouldn't fix our distortion issue. But once the screamer stepped in and laid down some screams, it was apparent that we made the right choice. The SM7B didn't have a lot of the articulations of the AT4040, but it was still clear, and most importantly, it wasn't distorting - like at all. We ended up sticking with this mic throughout the entire session last night, and overall I'm impressed with the results.

The reason I think the SM7B worked especially well for this application was because the screamer was LOUD. He wasn't a quiet or throat screamer. If the screamer was any softer, I think the AT4040 would have worked better. Overall I'm happy with the SM7B, but also excited to use the AT4040 for other styles.

Whats the point of this point? I don't know. It's more of me thinking out loud and sharing my experiences with these two pieces of gear. They are vastly different, and are required for different applications. People hate on the SM7B, but I was pretty happy with how it turned out. Does anyone else have some similar experiences with these two mics? Once I get the track edited and have a rough mix, I'll post for crits.

Cheers.


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## Drew (Apr 17, 2017)

Full disclosure, I mostly do instrumental music, but isn't the SM7B widely regarded as an excellent mic for screamers? I'm not at all surprised by your results here.

EDIT - this video is too fun not to share, lol, but if that isn't a 7B it's a damned close visual match.


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## tedtan (Apr 17, 2017)

Yeah, screaming vocals are one of the SM7b's strong points. It's good for other things, too (Michael Jackson on Thriller, Hetfield on the black album, Load and Reload, etc.).

I think there is some backlash to it online just because it's so common - any time someone asks for mic recommendations, someone mentions the Sm7b. But its does certain things really well, like screaming vocals.


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## schwiz (Apr 17, 2017)

I suppose my inexperience played a part in this. This is the first band that I've actually recorded that isn't my own, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

I've seen videos of Joey Sturgis and others using the AT4040 for screaming vocals, so we wanted to give that a shot first to try something different. I guess I was just surprised that it distorted so much, regardless of the variables we changed. The SM7B seems to have a reputation of being "finicky", so I wanted to share a success story (if you will).


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## AngstRiddenDreams (Apr 17, 2017)

I've never heard anything but praise for the SM7B. It's what Joe from Gojira uses. Devin Townsend uses them to record too.


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## thevisi0nary (Apr 17, 2017)

Unpopular opinion here, never liked the sm7b, in fact I am trying to sell one with a cloud lifter. Always just found it to have this scooped radio sound. I have an Akg C214 that I have preferred on everything, including screaming.


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## TheEmptyCell (Apr 18, 2017)

thevisi0nary said:


> Unpopular opinion here, never liked the sm7b, in fact I am trying to sell one with a cloud lifter. Always just found it to have this scooped radio sound. I have an Akg C214 that I have preferred on everything, including screaming.



Hey, it's an opinion about what works for you. Everyone is different. There's a time and place for every piece of gear. 

The best place for an SM7B is an untreated room. The mic is designed for broadcast (the B at the end), so it has excellent rejection. But it works great for screaming or other aggressive vocals. 

Personally, I'd like to have one for voice over work in my music room (which is totally untreated). But then I'd also like to treat the room and then get a pair of C214s for recording everything else.


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## Drew (Apr 18, 2017)

tedtan said:


> I think there is some backlash to it online just because it's so common - any time someone asks for mic recommendations, someone mentions the Sm7b. But its does certain things really well, like screaming vocals.



I think there's a lot of truth to that for ANYTHING that's "common knowledge." I suspect this is the same reason people keep looking for alternatives to the SM57 - it's so commonly recommended on guitar cabs that there's a lot of temptation to "do something different," and while there are some good supplimental options out there, I've never played anything else I like alone on a cab than a SM57. It just does the job very, very well.


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## schwiz (Apr 19, 2017)

Ditto what you said Drew.

Was originally trying to do something different, but in the end, ended up sticking with what works.


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## bostjan (Apr 19, 2017)

Thanks for the post. In the post modern era, there is always a backlash against any obvious answer.

The SM7b is a low-noise, low sensitivity, flat response, dynamic mic. It ought to be right up the alley of "loud vocalist," whereas a large diaphragm condenser has a much higher sensitivity, so it's easy to overload. I even blew the diaphragm before on an AKG C3000, while recording drums. The mic was there, then it was not.


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## Drew (Apr 19, 2017)

schwiz said:


> Ditto what you said Drew.
> 
> Was originally trying to do something different, but in the end, ended up sticking with what works.



Hey, ALWAYS try something different. Try something stupid every once in a while too. You just never know.


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## coreysMonster (Apr 19, 2017)

AngstRiddenDreams said:


> Devin Townsend uses them to record too.


Recently he's moved to an AKG C414 for vocals, but he totally did several of his older records using only an SM7B for vocals.


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