Amplification Requires Forethought_006
Problems with my SM7B microphone and its solutions
Hello!
Did you come here from the last one? Or, first timer? I’d be keen to know.
Anyway, we’re exploring the issues I ran into with setting up my podcast, specifically on why the preamp wasn’t powerful enough. Whilst my new SM7B was an awesome purchase, I for the life of me, couldn’t figure out why my voice had such little input signal.
6 January 2024, 22:01
I learnt something new today about audio interfaces and mic gain readings. Despite having studied Music Tech and having a dedicated module on “Audio recording techniques” the interaction between the mic and interface clearly wasn’t properly explained to me. Either that, or the fact that it was in 2011, might have something to do with it.
Would you believe that I consider the above layout to be messy and required some tidying up?
As it turns out, my Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen audio interface doesn’t have enough oomph to give good headroom on Logic Pro X (my digital audio workstation) when recording using my Shure SM7B. Apparently, the gain range for this Scarlett is 56dB and the mic requires a minimum of 60dB.
The fact that it is short by 4dB isn’t game over, I did a test drive take last night and it worked, but it doesn’t feel good whacking the gain to 100% on the input and jamming the mic directly in my face.
So, I spent the better part of my morning researching all of this, and have now bought the CloudLifter CL-1 in-line preamp, to give my set up an additional 25dB before the signal enters the Scarlett. This way, I’ll have a total of 71dB, sufficient for most mics, and more importantly, giving me enough headroom to record at a lower/safer input gain.
Thanks to Audio University on YouTube for their explanatory video on the topic!
Part of the fun in getting the Remaining Mark Podcast up off the floor is the experiment and learning process. The fact that I have gone through a lot of equipment to get to this stage is quite funny, especially given my background.
Mic wise, the AT2020 was the first I tried, with the second being a Shure SM58 that had been lying in the bottom draw of my father’s desk for at least a decade. And that didn’t work properly—it sounded like it had built in echoes/excessive noise and reverb. The kind of thing you would hear from an unreliable input device.
Now that the CL-1 and another XLR cable will be delivered this week, I’ll hopefully have all the equipment I need!
~M.