Shure 55SH:n taustatarina
Assembling Your First Pedalboard
Tätä juttua on alun perin julkaistu suomeksi Rockway-blogissa.
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Even though the first guitar effects were already introduced in the mid-1960s, guitar pedals only started to become affordable and widely available in the late-1970s with brands such as Boss. Ibanez and MXR.
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Why do I need a pedalboard?
Back in the early Seventies most guitarists used one to three effects at the most on stage, if any. Back then the signal chain was straightforward and easy to set up and tear down. There were maybe a couple of guitars, a guitar lead, a couple of effect pedals, a short patch cable, as well as a long cable from the front of the stage to the amplifier.
In the early days most guitarists weren’t even too particular with their live sound. If the guitar sounded a little different from one show to another, who cares? The main objective was to keep the show on the road.
These days both the musician and his/her audience are much more discerning, and want to hear a fairly accurate version of a song’s recorded guitar and bass sounds live as well. Most players are very knowledgeable and specific when it comes to their signature sounds, as well as the pedals they use. A dependable and ”secure” signal chain is a prerequisite for the professional musician of today.
If you carry your effects around in a sports bag, setting up your signal chain – and troubleshooting it in case of problems – is much more time-consuming than pulling a clean pedalboard out of its gig bag (or case) and connecting only a couple of audio cables; one for the guitar and one for the amp.
A pedalboard also protects your effects and patch cables from damage by keeping them firmly in place during transport. Additionally, powering all your effect pedals is much easier using one central power supply for the whole board.
Luckily, the 2020s offer us a wide array of different solutions for the budding ’board builder, making even the assembly of a complex signal chain relatively easy.
If you want to find out all there is to know about pro-grade pedalboard assembly, I can heartily recommend you check out Kimmo Aroluoma’s in-depth online guide.
Kimmo Aroluoma, who is the founder of Custom Boards Finland, has spent years on the road as one of Finland’s most sought-after guitar technicians. Kimmo has worked for acts such as The Rasmus, HIM, or Hanoi Rocks. These days Kimmo spends most of his time running Custom Boards, a company dedicated to making world-class pedalboards, as well as supplying pro-grade components to DIY pedalboard builders.
Is there a ”correct” order for effect groups?
Making music is a creative process, so any type of experimentation is highly encouraged, but if you want to ensure that your ’board will work in the desired way with the least amount of hassle, the above picture will get you there. Of course this effect order works also with effects that are not placed on a pedalboard.
The yellow box is home to such effects that will only work reliably with a pure/dry guitar signal. The orange box contains effects that add gain and texture to your signal. Next up are modulation effects. The green box adds space to your signal, as well as providing a good spot for a master volume pedal. And if you use an audiolooper and/or a booster pedal they should be placed last.
Plan before you act
You should definitely plan your new pedalboard, before you buy anything. Otherwise you can easily end up buying something that isn’t right for what you’re trying to achieve.
Choosing the effect pedals
What is the purpose of the ’board? What type of music do you play? Are you in a Metal band or do you play Top 10 covers?
The fact that there’s an old pedal lying around somewhere in a box isn’t a good enough reason to add this pedal to your new pedalboard. There should be a logical, musical or practical reason behind any addition to your effect chain, because any unnecessary addition could potentially degrade your guitar signal.
I had been dreaming about a compact board for playing Psychedelic Rock music – a bit ”Hendrix-ey”, but not necessarily totally authentic.
Because my main objective is ”compact” I have chosen a Jim Dunlop CBM95 Mini Crybaby-wah-wah for this project, as it is small enough to fit almost any ’board. Next up there are three blocks of different gain effects – a fuzz-style Electro-Harmonix Nano Big Muff Pi, as well as an EHX double-pedal – the Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi – to provide slightly wonky overdrive and distortion effects. The last pedal is a vintage-style phaser – the EHX Small Stone Nano. Tremolo, reverb and additional boosting are provided by my combo amp.
Patch cables
You should buy the best patch cables you can afford, because a poor quality cable will degrade your sound noticeably by ”eating away” your signal’s dynamic and treble content (especially with traditional passive pickups). There are many different models of ready-made patch cables available.
The number of patch cables you’ll need is dependent on the number of effect pedals you’re going to use. The individual length of each patch cable is determined by the physical placement of the pedals on the ’board. You should also remember to make sure that the plug design on a patch will fit in the space between two pedals. Choosing a relatively fat cable with large-bodied plugs will automatically mean that your pedals will have to be placed a little bit further apart.
Many professional pedalboard makers use bespoke patch cables for their clients’ pedalboards, using top-grade thin cable material coupled with special (no-solder) screw-on plugs. These patch cables save a lot of real estate on the ’board, while also being thin enough to be secured with the same security clips used for the ’board’s DC-power cables.
The physical placement of pedals and patch cables
My compact pedalboard will need no complicated wiring. I will place the effects in the physical order in which they appear in the signal chain in one simple row. This makes it very easy to use pre-made, off-the-shelf patch cables, because the signal continues straight on from one effect to the next.
In larger and more complex cases it may be more convenient to place the pedals that are used most in the bottom row of a ’board, with lesser-used effects placed farther away in the second row. On such ’boards the signal flow can be decidedly different from the physical order of the pedals. In such cases you should prepare a signal flow chart for yourself, so you can easily look up how you have planned to hook up all of the effects. Placing the pedals in their approximate place on the ’board frame will make it easy to measure the lengths of all the patch cables needed.
Choosing your pedalboard frame
To find the best pedalboard frame for your project you have to measure the outer dimensions (width and height) of your effect array, but you shouldn’t forget to take into account how you plan to install your pedals on your board. Most ’board frames these days are made from metal, and the pedals are installed with adhesive hook-and-loop fastener tapes – either generic velcro (sold with most frames) or industry-grade 3M Dual Lock-tape (bought separately).
There are also a few companies who use their own types of screw-on bottom plates or side clamps on their board frames.
Choosing a power supply aka PSU
You have to choose your PSU according to the physical space of your ’board frame, as well as according to the power needs of your effect pedals. There is a plethora of different PSUs available on the market these days; some pedalboard brands also offer frames with pre-installed power supply units.
Do check the power requirements of each of the pedals that will go on your pedalboard. You should check for voltage (9, 12 or 18 V), for milliamperes, and for the type and polarity of the connector plug. Note that there are a few pedals out there that will require alternating current (AC) in contrast to most effects that run on DC! Pro-grade PSUs come with a whole set of different pedal power cables. Make sure that the set includes all the cables (and connectors) you require. If not you will have to buy the additional cables you need.
Because a pedalboard runs audio effects the power supplied by the PSU has to be ”clean”, e. g. free from extraneous noise, buzz and hum. Most traditional pedalboard PSUs provide this type of isolated power with the help of a whole row of tiny transformers. The transformers make sure no mains hum gets into the pedals’ power cables, while also isolating each of the outputs individually.
Because I have chosen the very compact and flat Palmer Pedalbay 50S frame, most professional PSUs cannot be mounted underneath the pedalboard in my case. Luckily, a 1Spot ”wall-wart” can be a viable option, if you forsake the additional safety and dependability of a ’board-mounted PSU. I’m not planning on touring with this pedalboard, and all the transporting will be done either by car or public transport, meaning the long cable between the transformer and the daisy chain cable will not be a problem for me. Additionally, I’m not running more than four pedals concurrently, and there’s no power-hungry digital multieffect in the group, so a simple daisy-chain set-up will work here.
Building my pedalboard
Here’s where it starts
Here’s what everything looks like at the beginning. I forgot to put the scissors in the picture, used to cut the velcro to size. Additionally, I made a last-minute switch to black cable ties, because they looked better, after all.
Cleaning all connectors
Should one of your chosen pedals be faulty, you should have it repaired before it goes on the pedalboard. One faulty pedal will have a very detrimental effect on the whole signal chain and the reliability of your new ’board.
You should clean all audio jacks before you assemble your ’board by squirting a little bit of switch cleaner (like PRF 7-78 Kontakt) on a 1/4″ plug, and then inserting and unplugging the plug several times from the jack. Repeat for each audio input and output.
Cleaning all bottom plates
Before you can use any adhesive material on a pedal’s base plate, you will have to take off all rubber feet from the pedal. Velcro and 3M Dual Lock need a smooth and clean surface for them to stick reliably to a pedal’s bottom plate. Sometimes using an additional cleaning agent (like PRF Label Off) can help to get rid of any old glue residue.
On my Electro-Harmonix effects my work is made easier by the separate little rubber feet this company uses. Most Boss and Ibanez pedals, on the other hand, use large rubber or silicone mats, which are much harder to get to grips with. I’d recommend looking for the appropriate removal techniques in the Custom Boards online guide or on Internet forums.
Prevent leakage!
Remove all batteries from the pedals that go on your ’board. The patch cables stay inserted in each pedal’s input jack, which means any battery will be drained in a matter of hours (or a couple of days at the most). Taking the batteries out will prevent damage from leaking batteries in the long run.
Applying the adhesive
Now it’s time for the velcro to go on the base plates of the pedals. Make sure the adhesive tape sits nice and flat with no air bubbles.
The Palmer Pedalbay 50S comes with the loop side adhesive already installed on the frame. Most other models require you to glue the loop side yourself. If I were to use 3M Dual Lock on this ’board, on the other hand, I’d have to remove the pre-installed adhesive first and clean up all glue residue, before putting on the Dual Lock.
Installing the effects and patch cables
As there’s usually only a certain amount of space on a pedalboard, an effect pedal has to be installed on the frame with the patch cable already inserted in the previous effect’s output and this effect’s input. A 1/4″ plug is too long to be inserted after you’ve put all the pedals next to each other.
Installing the DC-cables with security clips
You’ll achieve a very clean and professional look by wiring the power supply cables from the ’board frame’s underside.
Many guitar shops also sell stick-on plastic security clips, which are just the ticket to keep all the DC-cables in place and securely out of harm’s way.
Time to check out your new pedalboard
This is a good time for a trial run of your new pedalboard with a guitar and an amp. Check out if the placement and the distance between the footswitches is convenient for you. Do all effects power on and off as they should? Is the signal going to the amp free from extraneous noise and hum?
In my project everything worked fine, but if you need help troubleshooting your pedal, you should consult Custom Boards’ builder’s guide.
Securing the patch cables
Because I’ve used off-the-shelf MXR patch cables for my project, and the cables had a relatively large diameter and flat, but wide, plug bodies, securing the patch cables with small plastic clips wasn’t really feasible. This is why I’ve chosen cable ties.
The idea is to keep the patch cables out of harm’s way – or should that be foot’s way – so that it’s impossible to step on them. You apply only a minimal amount of pull on the cable ties. You only want to keep the patch cables from moving around, you don’t want to damage the cables’ outer insulating layer.
Many DIY patch cables are thin enough to be secured with the same type of stick-on security clips used for the DC-cables.
Testipenkissä: Shure SM7B – studioluokan dynaaminen mikrofoni
Siitä lähtien kun Shure SM7 esiteltiin vuonna 1973 se on ollut tärkeä työkalu monissa studioissa ympäri maailmaa. SM7 suunniteltiin ennen kaikkea dynaamiseksi broadcast-mikrofoniksi TV- ja radiostudioihin. Shure antoi kehitystiimilleen käytännössä vapaat kädet keksiä ”ultimatiivista broadcast-mikkiä” yhtiön Unidyne III -kapselin toimintaperiaatteen perusteella.
Hieman suurempi kalvo (membraani) ja SM7:n erilainen runkorakenne – verrattuna tyypilliseen käsimikrofoniin, kuten SM57:een tai SM58:aan – saivat aikaiseksi herttakuvioisen dynaamisen mikrofonin, joka tarjosi epätavallisen lineaarista taajuusvastetta. Kapselin sijoittaminen noin puoliväliin mikrofonin kärjen ja rungon väliin vähensi myös ei-toivottua bassovoittoisuutta, joka johtuu yleensä suunnattujen mikrofonien proximity-efektistä. Sisäinen fantomikela eliminoi tehokkaasti sähkömagneettisten häiriöiden aiheuttaman surinan ja sirinän muuntajista, himmentimistä, langattomista laitteista ja vastaavista.
Alkuperäisen julkaisun jälkeen Shuren SM7 on saanut muuttamia pientä parannuksia. Nykyinen versio on nimeltään Shure SM7B (katuhinta Suomessa noin 365 €).
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Myyntipaketista löytyy:
- Mikrofoni itse, johon on kiinnitetty laitteen ohuempi tuulensuoja
- Toinen, isompi tuulensuoja, joka on tarkoitettu ulkokäyttöön tai laulun/puheen lähimikitykseen
- Ruuvattava adapteri, jolla mikrofonin kehtoa saa kiinni myös eurooppalaiseen mikrofoniständiin
- Peitelevy, joka suojaa tahattomia EQ-kytkinten muutoksia vastaan
SM7B:n takalevyllä olevat kaksi EQ-kytkintä tarjoavat valinnaisen basson leikkauksen ja preesensalueen korostuksen. Kun laittaa molemmat kytkimet päälle, SM7B:n soundi on suhteellisen lähellä ”tavallista” herttakuvioista kapulamikkiä, kuten Shuren omaa SM57 tai SM58.
Riippuen siitä, haluatko käyttää SM7B:tä puomin varressa roikkuvana vai tavallisen mikrofonitelineen kanssa, saatat haluta muuttaa mikrofonin suuntaa ikeen sisällä niin, että takalevyn teksti on oikein päin. Käyttöopas kuvaa oikeat toimenpiteet, joilla SM7B irrotetaan ikeestä, ja miten sitä kiinitetään kääntämisen jälkeen takaisin pidikkeeseen.
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Hyvä tapa suorittaa kuuntelutesti mikrofonin taajuusvasteen selvittämiseksi on tallentaa mikrofonilla vaaleanpunaista kohinaa.
Vaaleanpunainen kohina on eräänlainen keinotekoisesti tuotettu suhina, joka sisältää koko kuultavan taajuusspektrin. Toisin kuin valkoinen kohina, jossa jokainen taajuusalue on samalla dB-tasolla, vaaleanpunainen kohina on ”korjattu” siten, että kaikki taajuudalueet kuulostavat yhtä kovalta ihmiskorvalle. Tämä saavutetaan vähentämällä jokaisesta seuraavasta oktaavistaa yhdestä kolmeen desibelliä edelliseen oktaaviin verrattuna. Ihmiskorvaan valkoinen kohina kuulostaa suhteellisen rajulta ja purevalta, kun taas vaaleanpunainen kohina tarjoaa paljon tasapainoisemman kohinaspektrin, mikä helpottaa erojen havaitsemista mikrofonien erittäin tärkeässä keskialueen vasteessa.
Vertailin ensin Shuren SM7B- ja SM57-mallit keskenään:
Minusta näiden mikrofonien väliset erot ovat helposti havaittavia:
Kun molempien mikrofonien kapselit/kalvot ovat yhtä kaukana äänilähteestä (Genelec 8030A -lähikenttämonitori), SM7B kuulostaa paljon pehmeämmältä verrattuna SM57:n suhteellisen voimakkaaseen preesenskorostukseen ja ohuempaan bassotoistoon.
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Seuraavaksi käytin samaa asetusta vertaillakseni SM7B:tä firman viimeisimpään ”podcast-malliin”, Shure MV7X:ään:
Minun korvaani Shure MV7X kuulostaa onnistuneelta kompromissilta yhtiön legendaaristen lavamikrofonien – SM57 ja SM58 – ja broadcast-mikrofonien elävän legendan – SM7B:n – välillä. MV7X:n soundi on bassoalueen lämmön suhteenlähellä Shure SM7B:tä, mutta tarjoaa samalla voimakkaamman preesenkorostuksen kuin SM7B:n EQ-kytkin.
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Shure SM7B ei ole erityisen herkkä mikrofoni ja sen lähtötaso on suhteellisen alhainen.
Nettiforumeissa väitetään usein, että tavallisen ulkoisen äänikortin mikrofonivahvistin ei riittäisi Shure SM7B -mikin vahvistamisessa toimivalle signaalitasolle. Tätä mikrofonia myydään myös usein valmiissa paketissa phantom-syötöllä toimivan pikkuvahvistimen kanssa, joka sitten nostaa SM7B:n signaalitasoa huomattavasti. Usein mainitaan Cloudin Cloudlifteria, Tritonin FetHeadiä tai Thomannin FetAmpia sopiviksi lisävahvistimiksi tähän tarkoitukseen.
Päätin tuktia asiaa omalla Focusrite Saffire 6 USB -äänikortilla, vertailemalla Shure SM7B:n interfacen omalla mikkivahvistimella vahvistettua signaalia Thomannin FetAmpin kanssa äänitettyyn vastineeseen.
On totta, että Focusriten mikkivahvistinta piti avata melko lailla (noin 90%), kun mikki oli liitetty suoraan interfaceen. Soundi pysyi kuitenkin hyvänä, eikä mahdollisesta kohinasta tullut minkäälaista ongelmaa.
Thomannin FetAmpin kanssa oikean äänitystason löytäminen olikin selvästi helpompaa, ja Focusriten etuvahvistimesta tarvittiin vain hieman lisäapua (gainia avattu noin 25-30%). Lisäpalikasta syntynyt soundi oli kuitenkin käytännössä identtinen suoraan äänikortilla äänitetyn signaalin kanssa.
Loppupäätelmäni on, että laadukas audio interface voi hyvinkin toimia moitteettomasti Shure SM7B:n kanssa, mikrofonin ja äänikortin välinen edullinen lisävahvistin kuitenkin lisää signaalitason suhteen liikkumavaraa.
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Koska pääpainomme täällä Kitarablogissa on musiikin tekemisessä kielisoittimilla, halusin selvittää, kuinka Shure SM7B toimii mikrofonina koti-/projektistudiossa. Tätä tarkoitusta varten äänitin kaksi demokappaletta.
Tässä akustinen demobiisi:
Samplatun bassorummun, haitsun ja lattiatomin lisäksi käytin laajan valikoiman erilaisia akustisia äänilähteitä:
- metallinen shaker
- puinen shaker
- tamburiini
- kontrabasso
- kaksi raitaa akustista kitaraa
- Weissenborn-tyylinen lap steel -kitara
- pianohaitari
- huuliharppu
- useammat lauluraidat
SM7B kuulostaa erittäin hyvältä minkä tahansa soittimen eteen laitettuna. Soundi ei ole koskaan korvia raastava tai ohut, vaan positiivisessa mielessä ”neutraali”. Tämän tasaisen luonteen ansiosta on helppoa käyttää äänityssoftan EQ:t jokaisen raidan hienosäätämiseen. Shuren mukana toimitettu paksumpi tuulisuoja, nimeltään A7WS, mahdollistaa bluesharpun tai laulun lähimikityksen ilman hengitysäänien tai kovien konsonanttien aiheuttamia ongelmia.
Toisessa demobiisissä kuulaan vahvistettuja sähkösoittimia:
Seuraavat äänilähteet on äänitetty Shure SM7B -mikrofonilla:
- Squier Bronco-basso soitettu Bluetone Bass 200 -hybridikombon kautta
- kaksi raitaa Fender Stratocasteria (komppikitarat; vasemmalta ja oikealta) maustettu EHX Nano Small Stone -phaserilla Bluetone Black Prince Reverb -putkikombon kautta
- yksi komppiraita Fender Telecasterilla (keskellä stereokuvassa) Bluetone Black Prince Reverb -putkikombon kautta
- Fender Telecasterila soitettu soolokitara, joka meni Mad Professor Simble Overdriven kautta Bluetone Black Prince Reverbeen
- metallinen shaker
- tamburiini
- yksi lauluraita
Jälleen kerran minulla ei ollut minkäänlaisia vaikeuksia äänittää biisin eri soittimia, ja miksauskin osoittautui hyvin ongelmattomaksi. Kuten totesin jo aiemmin, Shure SM7B kuulostaa erittäin neutraalilta, eikä vie ääntä mihinkään ennalta määrättyyn suuntaan. Tämä tarkoittaa, että tämä mikki ei koskaan toimi sinua vastaan, vaan jättää kaiken avoimeksi, jotta voit tehdä omat miksauspäätöksesi.
Shure SM7B:n kanssa käyttämästäni ajasta päätellen voin vain sanoa, että tämän mikrofonin legendaarinen maine ei johdu minkäänlaisesta hypetyksestä, vaan on pikemminkin sen toimivien ominaisuuksien seuraus. SM7B ei ole halpa mikrofoni dynaamiseksi mikrofoniksi, mutta se palkitsee käyttäjänsä erinomaisella, lähes lineaarisella taajuusvasteella, ensiluokkaisella hurinavaimennuksella, korkean äänenpaineen sietokyvyllä ja erittäin tasaisella suuntakuvalla.
SM7B toimii erinomaisesti lähes minkä tahansa äänilähteen kanssa. Kyllä, se suunniteltiin aikoinaan radio- ja TV-mikrofoniksi, mutta tämä Shure-malli tarjoaa niin paljon enemmän kuin pelkästään loistavaa puheääntä.
Review: The Shure SM7B – A Mic For All Seasons
Ever since the Shure SM7 was originally released in 1973 it has been a mainstay in studios – and even on stages – around the world. The SM7 was conceived, first and foremost, as a dynamic broadcast microphone for use in TV and Radio studios. Shure gave its R&D team virtually carte blanche to come up with the ”ultimate broadcast mic”, based on the design principles of the company’s Unidyne III capsule.
A slightly larger diaphragm and the different body design – when compared to a typical handheld mic, like an SM57 or SM58 – made it possible to come up with a cardioid dynamic mic that offered an unusually linear frequency range. Placing the capsule about halfway between the tip of the microphone and the body also cut down on unwanted boominess, often caused by the proximity effect present in unidirectional mics. An internal humbucking coil efficiently eliminates noise pickup via electromagnetic interference from transformers, dimmers, wireless equipment, and the like.
Since its original release in 1973 the Shure SM7 has gone through a couple of minor improvements; the current version is called the Shure SM7B (current street price in Finland around 365 €).
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This is what you will find in the cardboard box:
- The Shure SM7B itself with its regular, smaller windshield attached
- A second, larger windshield for windier outdoor applications, or for close-miking vocal performances
- A screw-in thread adapter from the larger US-standard thread to the narrower European standard for microphone stands
- A cover plate to make accidental changes to the EQ-switches at the back impossible
The two EQ-switches on the back give you an optional bass cut and a presence boost. Engaging both switches will tailor the SM7B’s frequency response to something more similar to a ”regular” cardioid dynamic mic, like the SM57 or SM58.
Depending on whether you want to use the SM7B hanging from a boom arm or placed on a regular mic stand, you may want to change the mic’s orientation inside the yoke to have the legend on the back facing the right way up. The owner’s manual takes you through the correct procedure to unscrew the SM7B from – and reattach the mic back to – the yoke.
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A good way of conducting a listening test to find out a microphone’s frequency response is to make a recording of pink noise.
Pink noise is a type of artificially generated hiss that includes the whole audible frequency spectrum. In contrast to white noise however, which features each frequency at the same dB level, pink noise is ”corrected” to have all the frequencies sound equally loud to the human ear. This is achieved by decreasing each higher octave by one to three dB in relation to the previous octave. To the human ear white noise sounds harsh and thin, while pink noise provides a much more balanced spectrum of noise, making it easier to notice differences in the all-important mid-range response of microphones.
My first comparison was between the Shure SM7B and an SM57:
The difference in sound is very obvious:
With the capsules/diaphragms of both mics being equidistant to the sound source (a Genelec 8030A nearfield monitor), the SM7B sounds much smoother compared to the strong presence lift and the discernible bass roll-off displayed by the SM57.
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Next I used the same setup to compare the SM7B to the recent ”podcast model”, the Shure MV7X:
To my ears the Shure MV7X sounds like a compromise between the company’s legendary stage mics – the SM57 and SM58 – and the broadcast-cum-studio legend that is the SM7B. The MV7X comes close to the bottom-end warmth of the Shure SM7B, while at the same time offering more of a presence lift than the SM7B’s EQ-switch.
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One thing the Shure SM7B is not is very sensitive (read: loud).
Internet forums are filled with threads discussing the compatibility of the Shure SM7B with regular computer audio interfaces. Many claim that the mic preamps in most audio interfaces may not offer enough gain to amplify the SM7B to an adequate recording level. Musical equipment retailers have also latched on to this idea, with many offering the mic in bundles with small phantom-powered JFET-amps that bump up the Shure SM7B’s output level by 20 or 30 dB. Products often mentioned in this context are the Cloud Cloudlifter, the Triton FetHead or the Thomann FetAmp to name only a few.
I decided to test how my Focusrite Saffire 6 USB got to grips with the SM7B’s output level, by first recording a bit of acoustic guitar strumming using the interface’s own mic preamp, after which I recorded the same passage using Thomann’s FetAmp between the Shure and the Focusrite.
I found that I really had to add a lot of gain on the Focusrite’s mic preamp (around 90% of the available gain) to get a healthy recording level out of the SM7B without the additional in-line amplifier. Despite the hefty gain level the recording sounded very good and wasn’t hissy or distorted in any way.
Inserting the Thomann FetAmp in the signal chain did make it much easier to get a good recording level out of the Shure SM7B. I only had to add approximately 25 to 30 percent of the Focusrite’s own mic preamp’s gain reserves. In terms of sound I could hardly make out any difference between using only the audio interface and adding the in-line amplifier.
To sum things up, I’d say that a decent audio interface should offer enough gain to work smoothly with the Shure SM7B. On the other hand, the signal boost that one of the relatively affordable in-line amps will bring to the table will make recording the SM7B noticeably easier.
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As our main focus here at Kitarablogi.com lies in making music with string instruments, I wanted to find out how the Shure SM7B works as a mic in the home/project studio. For this purpose I recorded two demo songs.
Here’s the acoustic song:
In addition to samples of a bass drum, a hi-hat and a floor tom, I used a wide variety of different acoustic sound sources:
- a metal shaker
- a wooden shaker
- a tambourine
- a double bass
- two tracks of acoustic guitar
- a Weissenborn-type lap steel
- an accordion
- a harmonica
- and several tracks of vocals
The SM7B worked great with any sound source I could throw at it. Nothing ever sounds harsh or thin through this mic, and it was easy to use the DAW’s own EQ to tailor each sound to my taste. The fatter windshield supplied with the Shure, called the A7WS, makes it possible to close mike a blues harp and vocals without any trouble caused by breath noises or plosives.
For the second demo song I chose an environment with electric guitars and amps:
This song contains the following tracks recorded with the Shure SM7B:
- a Squier Bronco Bass played through a Bluetone Bass 200 tube hybrid combo
- two Fender Stratocaster rhythm guitar tracks (stereo left and right) with an EHX Nano Small Stone phaser through a Bluetone Black Prince Reverb all-valve combo
- a Fender Telecaster rhythm guitar track (centre) through a Bluetone Black Prince Reverb combo
- a Fender Telecaster lead guitar track with a Mad Professor Simble Overdrive through a Bluetone Black Prince Reverb combo
- a metal shaker
- a tambourine
- a little bit of vocals
Again, I had no trouble whatsoever recording the different instruments, and the mixing proved unproblematic, too. The Shure SM7B sounds very neutral – in the most positive sense – and doesn’t push the sound into any predetermined direction. This means it never works against you, but rather leaves everything wide open for you to make your own mixing decisions.
Judging from my time with the Shure SM7B I can only say that this mic’s legendary status is not down to hype of any sort, but rather a result of its set of features. The SM7B is no cheap microphone, for a dynamic mic, but it rewards its user with an excellent, almost linear frequency range, great hum rejection, a tolerance for high sound pressures, and very even directivity.
The SM7B works excellently with virtually any sound source you can throw at it. Yes, it was once designed to be a radio and TV mic, but this Shure microphone can handle far more than merely close miked speech.
Shure SM7B – SM57 – MV7X – Pink Noise
Shure SM7B – You Tube: Electric Demo
Here’s a short electric demo song recorded with a Shure SM7B.
The Shure SM7B was recorded using a Cranborne Audio Camden EC2 preamp.
****
The following tracks were recorded with the Shure SM7B:
• Squier Bronco Bass through a Bluetone Bass 200 tube hybrid combo
• Two Fender Stratocaster rhythm guitar tracks with an EHX Nano Small Stone phaser through a Bluetone Black Prince Reverb all-valve combo
• Fender Telecaster rhythm guitar through a Bluetone Black Prince all-valve combo
• Fender Telecaster lead guitar with a Mad Professor Simble Overdrive through a Bluetone Black Prince all-valve combo
• A shaker
• A Sonor tambourine
• Male voice
****
The Shure SM7B was recorded using a Cranborne Audio Camden EC2 preamp.
Shure SM7B – You Tube: Acoustic Demo
Here’s a short acoustic demo song recorded with a Shure SM7B.
****
Instruments used:
• Samples of a bass drum, a hi-hat and a low tom (Garageband)
• Two shakers – one small metal, one wooden from the Gambia
• Romanian 3/4 double bass
• Tanglewood acoustic guitar
• Bediaz Weissenborn lapsteel
• Vintage Frontalini accordion
• Hohner Marine Band harmonica
• Male voice
****
The Shure SM7B was recorded using a Cranborne Audio Camden EC2 preamp.
Review: Three Solid Mahogany Soprano Ukuleles – Flight MUS-2 + Ohana SK-38 + Sigma SUM-2S
Alkuperäinen suomenkielinen juttu on ilmestynyt Rockway-blogissa.
Most of us will have started learning to play the uke with an affordable instrument, whose soundbox is probably made – at least in part – from laminated wood. Over time our playing will have improved, making us feel that it was maybe time to step up to a higher quality uke, which in most cases will mean an all-solid instrument.
If you’re interested in the history of this diminutive instrument you will have noticed that C. F. Martin & Co is a legendary maker of ukuleles. Even though Martin is a company based in Pennsylvania, they have started crafting ukes during the ukulele boom of the 1910s already. Not content making mere copies of Hawaiian instruments Martin almost singlehandedly developed the ukulele further, raising the benchmark for how a great uke should look and sound in the process. Martin also sold bucketloads of the little instruments – their ”economy model” alone, the Martin Style 0, sold almost 90,000 units between 1922 and 1994, when the original production run ended (temporarily).
The Martin Company originally introduced three soprano models in 1915, named Style 1, Style 2 and Style 3. The higher the Style’s number the more intricate the cosmetic features, like bindings and rosettes, would be.
My personal favourite is the dark brown all-mahogany Style 2, which is why I’ve chosen three all-solid Style 2-copies for this review.
A word about friction tuners
Most ukuleles these days are made with geared guitar tuners, which make tuning relatively easy for beginners. This is due to the so-called gear ratio, meaning the number of turns on a machine head’s knob relating to a full turn of the actual tuner post. This is normally somewhere between 14:1 and 18:1, meaning 14 or 18 turns of the knob shaft will give you one full turn of the tuner’s post.
Originally, all ukuleles came with simple wooden friction pegs that kept the strings in tune by simple friction between the hole in the headstock (aka peg head) and the wooden peg. This is exactly the same type of system that’s still in use on violins or cellos.
In 1920 Martin started introducing new-fangled friction pegs – first on more expensive models, but then across their whole uke range – which offered a much smoother tuning action. Friction tuners contain no gears, meaning their ”gear” ratio is 1:1 (like on a wooden peg), but here the friction is caused by metal washers, or plastic washers, or metal springs, that are forced against the front and back surfaces of the headstock. Their ”action” or stiffness can be adjusted with the screw at the top of the tuning button.
I would never recommend giving a beginner an instrument with patent pegs, because learning to tune your uke properly is hard enough in the beginning. But there is no reason to be afraid of friction pegs, either, once you know the basics of tuning your instrument. Just keep in mind that very little goes a long way with patent pegs, when it comes to hitting the correct pitch. You should also keep the right screwdriver handy for quick adjustments of the pegs’ stiffness, which can shift between summer and winter, due to the headstock wood expanding and contracting according to the relative humidity.
Nowadays friction tuners are mostly found on vintage-style ukuleles, like on the three instruments reviewed here.
****
Flight is a Chinese brand concentrating mostly on ukuleles.
The Flight MUS-2 (current price in Finland: 199 €; incl. gig bag) is their version of a Martin Style 2 soprano ukulele. This is a beautiful instrument that invokes its vintage mojo with the help of a matte open-pore finish over a rich brown wood stain.
Flight’s own additions to the recipe include wooden body binding – instead of the celluloid plastic used on the original – as well as a cream rosette around the soundhole.
The Flight MUS-2’s neck is solid mahogany, too, but made of three parts, with the neck heel and the upper half of the peg head glued to the neck’s long main part. This way of doing things is both more economic and better for the environment than carving the neck out of a much larger wooden blank.
The Flight’s fretboard and bridge have been made from walnut, while the top nut and the bridge saddle are genuine bone.
The MUS-2 uses a set of Gotoh friction pegs, which employ plastic knobs, silicone washers and metal sleeves to build up the necessary friction for keeping the strings under tension.
Neck width at the saddle is 34 mm, which is the de facto standard for most modern soprano ukuleles, even though this is two to three millimetres narrower than on most vintage ukes. The MUS-2 has a scale length of 34.9 cm, which is three millimetres longer than on a Martin soprano.
The MUS-2 has a nicely rounded D neck profile.
The workmanship on the Flight is on a really high level. My only, tiny bit of criticism points to the matte finish which is something of a fingerprint magnet on the test sample.
The MUS-2’s string action is modern and low. I measured 2.4 mm at the 12th fret for the g-string and 2.1 mm for the a-string. The action and the nicely rounded neck make for a very comfortable playing feel. Despite the low action, the Flight offers a very good dynamic range without any string rattles.
The Flight MUS-2 has a surprisingly big and full-bodied voice that projects very well, both to the player and to his (or her) audience.
****
Ohana is brand situated in the US, but with most of its production in China. Ohana is the Hawaiian word for ”family”.
Ohana’s 38 Series comprises of all-solid Style 2-copies in different body sizes, with the Ohana SK-38 (current price in Finland: 348 €) being the soprano model.
Cosmetically the SK-38 probably comes closest to the spirit of a vintage Martin Style 2, except for the slightly larger-than-vintage soundhole (about 2 mm more in diameter) and the position markers copied off a Style 1 instrument. Our test sample was a tiny bit heavier than the Flight ukulele, but still super-light compared to most string instruments.
In terms of colour and finishing the Ohana SK-38 is almost identical to the Flight, with the finish seeming even thinner here. Visually the SK-38 evokes the pre-1926 Martins that sported a brushed on cellulose-based finish. In 1926 Martin phased in spray finishes to speed up production.
The soundbox’ top sports three-ply plastic binding (b/w/b), while the back is single-ply. The vintage-type rosette is made up of alternating thin black and white rings.
The Ohana SK-38 sports a modern solid-mahogany neck with separate parts for the neck heel and the headstock’s top half. The Gotoh patent pegs are the same model found on the Flight, too.
The fretboard and bridge have been carved from ovangkol. The top nut and bridge saddle are both bovine bone.
Neck with at the nut is 34 mm on the SK-38, while the scale length is 34.9 cm.
I would call the Ohana SK-38’s neck profile a slightly flatted C-profile, which comes close in feel to modern Martin soprano uke necks. In terms of playing comfort there’s not much to divide the three reviewed sopranos.
The SK-38 displays a very high level of workmanship; I own an older version of this uke – one that sports a nut and bridge saddle carved from ebony – and I must say the build quality on the new version has clearly improved.
The very low string action on the test sample is a good indicator of the quality of the fretting. I measured 1.3 mm for the g-string and 1.4 mm for the a-string at the 12th fret. Despite this low action I experienced no problems whatsoever with fret rattle.
The Ohana SK-38 has a very balanced voice with a tiny bit less bottom end and a tad more sparkle, when compared to the Flight. The Ohana projects very well.
****
Originally, Sigma Guitars was C. F. Martin’s far-eastern brand, founded to combat the ever-increasing flow of Japanese Martin-copies in 1970. In 2007 Martin sold the brand to German company AMI GmbH, who has done quite a lot to raise the brand’s profile. Apart from copies of Martin guitars Sigma’s model range now also includes several Gibson-style acoustic guitars. Sadly, Sigma’s ukulele range has been discontinued at the start of 2022, meaning that the current stock of Sigma ukes in shops now will be the last, at least for the foreseeable future.
The Sigma SUM-2S (current price in Finland: 315 €; incl. gig bag) looks a bit more refined than the other two instruments in this review, due to its flat matte finish. The finish is very thin, but has been buffed to a flat matte sheen.
The SUM-2S is in the same weight class as the Ohana SK-38.
Anoraks would say that the Sigma SUM-2S is more of a ”Style 2.5” soprano, because it comes with the longer fretboard – offering 17 instead of 12 frets – of a Style 3 (and Style 5) uke.
In some respects, though, the SUM-2S comes closer to vintage Martin specifications than the other two contenders in this review:
Arguably the most important point here is the one-piece mahogany neck, which is a genuine rarity in this price range. Other features include a 36 mm wide neck at the nut, a smaller soundhole, the vintage-correct size and spacing of the position markers, as well as the original (shorter) Martin-scale of 34.6 cm.
The fretboard and the bridge have been made out of Indian rosewood, while the top nut and bridge saddle are genuine bone.
The Sigma SUM-2S uses Chinese Ping friction pegs, which produces the require friction by pressing the plastic tuner knobs into fat plastic washers. These pegs have been in for some criticism in a number of reviews, but to be fair, I haven’t had any tuning problems with the Ping pegs over the whole duration of testing the Sigma uke.
The neck profile on the Sigma SUM-2S is fatter than on the Ohana, but flatter than on the Flight, combining the best aspects of the two necks.
Even though the difference in neck width at the nut is only two millimetres, the Sigma’s neck feels roomier. This can make a huge difference in feel for people with large (or thick) fingers!
The Sigma’s set-up is very comfortable. I’ve measured an action of 2.1 mm for the g-string and 1.8 mm for the a-string at the 12th fret. The fretwork is excellent, meaning I’ve experienced no string rattles.
Like the other two instruments in this review the Sigma, too, came with Aquila Nylgut strings. Due to the slightly shorter scale length the strings feel maybe a little bit too slinky. I’d recommend trying fluorocarbon strings on the SUM-2S, which generally tend to feel a bit stiffer.
At first I thought the Sigma was quieter than the other two ukes, when in fact it even offers more of a vintage-style ”bark” for the audience (or a microphone). The smaller soundhole simply makes this ukulele project slightly less in the direction of the player himself (or herself). In terms of its sound the Sigma SUM-2S is the brightest sounding of the three reviewed models.
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