So I was thinking about buying an audiotechnica at4040 for vocals, but I've recently seen that the Shure Sm7b it's a better option for the type of vocals that I do (ussually rap) but some people say that the microphone it's too quiet and it needs a cloudlifter to get a good recording, so I wanted to ask if the cloudlifter it's really that important?, or if I can use the microphone without it? Because with the cloudlifter the price goes too high compared with the other mic

 

The AT4040 is pretty high pitched and weak for a lot of hip hop voices in my opinion, I like it for instruments though. I went with an sm7b to try some vocal experimentations myself and didn't want to run laps back and forth to record vocals and avoid ambient noises. Its a broadcast mic so it picks up more of a full tone but I did use a small cheap tube mic pre, haven't used it much yet actually because my vocals suck so far. I guess it would depend on the pre's in your interface or board.

 

I was thinking of buying Shure Sm7b but went for Neumann TLM 102 instead

 

You could get a Fethead, almost the same quality and gain boost as the cloudlifter for 50 or so less dollars. It depends on what kind of audio interface you have in the first place, if it has enough clean gain then you don't need a cloudlifter or fethead to boost an SM7B.

 

i own Sm7b and i have to say that YES you need cloudlifter!

sm7b is a quite mic and need the good preamp with at least +75db of gain, but if you don't have this type of pre-amp then you need cloudlifter or somthing similar,
The cloudlifter can add +25db of clean gain (without noise) to the mic signal,

i'm happy with it, i really recommend you to get one CL-1 which is a single (if you want to get sm7b)


Best regards.

 

I need round about ~50-60db of gain to get a proper signal from my sm7b. If you got a preamp with 70+ db of gain, it will work fine without an "in-line microphone preamp". If not you should get one. I had a cloudlifter great product. Sold it and got a tritonaudio fethead great product too. But ~ half the price. If you are from Europe, take a look at MartiAudio - Pro In-line Preamp Booster. Small British
"boutique-company". They sell on eBay and on their page. I got 3 of these. ~50 Bucks 1, working perfectly. Comparable quality to a cloudlifter and a fethead.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Oct 15, 2018

So true, I tend to crank the input knob on my mic pre which is an ssl channel strip that everyone is tired of me talking about lol

..well what you call potato I call a diamond in the mix, not talking about an sm7 here..

 

If your room is not very quiet because of ambient sound from outside, the television on a couple of rooms away or your room is not adequetly treated for reflections and has fugly nodes, a mic like an SM7b or an Electro Voice RE-20 can be great to have as they are not as sensitive in regard to capturing sound as a condensor. I personally like the RE-20 as for me it is more a useful mic and one that I have used on kicks, bass, percussion that begs the high end sizzle to be rolled off, and besides a fine vocal mic has filled in on acoustic guitar. I have a Trident FetHead which I bought when I was just using the noisy preamp from a Focusrite Saffire USB (WAY less expensive and does the same work as a Cloudlifter...even better because it saved me using one less mic cable as I just attached it directly to the RE-20), but now haven't the need with quieter and mo-better external pre's.

 

I own one, and the problem is that it is not a very pleasing mic if you don't like your voice the way it sounds at the source. This mic won't lie much to you. I've used an SM7b in a session with an Allen & Heath mixer's board pres and it had no issues at all, and it sounds beautiful on thin voices. If money is an issue, an old SM58 is great, especially if you record shouty singers or rappers. You can sing close to it to take advantage of the proximity effect, blow into it, and still have a pleasing result. I've seen singers in blind tests choose the SM58 over the TLM102. If money is no issue, then add the SM58 to your list.

 

Last edited: Oct 15, 2018

Yepp SM7b has a lot of low end, too much if you ask me. Great for voice-over and podcasts. Pretty easy to manipulate the TLM102 to sound like SM7b with a little bit of EQing. The TLM102 has a little bit of character and low end, but the TLM103 is what I call a "wont lie mic"... too bright for my taste.

 

Last edited: Oct 15, 2018

I've used the TLM103 a couple of times, but call it lack of experience, or taste if you like, but the cheaper TLM102 has always won my preference. It's a well-rounded mic for a reasonable price.

 

I tried both tiny, diminutive mics, the Neumann 102 against the Gefell m930 and the Gefell kicked it's butt from here into the next county. It has a fantastic off axis response which is true to the source and has a very tunable proximity effect. With proper placement on the source, you don't need to resort to EQ, using a combination of proxomity and axis can suffice if you have a plan up front. It also takes eq really well. Every source I have used it on sounds stellar. I bought it used for 700 bucks which was a lucky break because they really never come up for resale, at least around my world zone. Usually it goes for between 11 and 1200 bucks.

 

Different price tags on those two mics, but when I read about the Gefell m930 many preferred Neumann 102 on vocals

 

Me too. For a while I tried replacing my go-to Gefell UMT70S in my chain with the m930, if not for anything else but for a change, but it only lasted one feeble attempt, it's stable mate going back on the stand permanently (or until such time I might be able to afford a great 47 clone). Through for everything else I have to go with the m930 as it so versatile and to my ear captures more the essence of the source in a true fashion. For that reason, I have read that a goodly amount of people use them to record orchestra as a room mic and as a spot on certain instruments. Not everybody's voice sound universally good on every mic, and if one is fortunate enough to have options they should consider themselves lucky...I know I do.

 

I use it without, but it's just better to have the cloud lifter and have some more db of's clean gain. look at it like an extension. With it you could record a nice clean whisper track for instance... it would be more noisy etc if done without. gonna buy one soon talking bout it