subject says it all.
Will I need to use a Cloudlifter before my Shure SM7B goes into my Model 12 mixer?
TIA
Will I need to use a Cloudlifter before my Shure SM7B goes into my Model 12 mixer?
TIA
Shure SM7B need a Cloudlifter with the Tascam Model 12 mixer
- Thread starter Caiaphas
- Start date
SkywaveTDR
Soundaholic
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2014
- Messages
- 1,069
- Karma
- 228
- From
- Chicago area
- Website
- s609729863.onlinehome.us
- Gear owned
- Teac, Tascam, Sony
Cloudlifters are very overhyped (so are sm7s) although I do own the one with impedance knob.
Let's begin with no cl...
Set the Tascam mixer chnl input fader about halfway up, connect your sm7 & if you can hear it ok against your other overdubs/monitoring, my vote is don't buy a cloudlifter.
It's especially not necessary if your normal procedure is to move the tracks to computer daw....where you can normalize after-the-fact to position daw faders in good relative gainstaged positions to each other.
On the other hand, if everything you do is in the Tascam and stays in the Tascam....and you find you really have to crank the 12s fader way up to hear the sm7, perhaps a cl investment will be your preference. Then, you can run the 12's fader lower, which theoretically places the channel in a better s/n range.
I don't like the sm7 myself. Unless you're eating the mic (in which case a 57/58/re20/441 are much better to sing into imo), the sm7b just simply picks up too much crud around the room....which is amplified (by the way) if you introduce a cl and insist on singing more than 2" off the mic.
I bought the Cloudlifter-Z mainly to experiment with shifting the impedance knob on 57s, ribbons, re20 etc to experience what happens when tracking....which is pretty much pretty subtle.
It is nice to have pre-gain for dynamic/ribbons, but again, you can simply normalize in a daw.
It's your call.
Let's begin with no cl...
Set the Tascam mixer chnl input fader about halfway up, connect your sm7 & if you can hear it ok against your other overdubs/monitoring, my vote is don't buy a cloudlifter.
It's especially not necessary if your normal procedure is to move the tracks to computer daw....where you can normalize after-the-fact to position daw faders in good relative gainstaged positions to each other.
On the other hand, if everything you do is in the Tascam and stays in the Tascam....and you find you really have to crank the 12s fader way up to hear the sm7, perhaps a cl investment will be your preference. Then, you can run the 12's fader lower, which theoretically places the channel in a better s/n range.
I don't like the sm7 myself. Unless you're eating the mic (in which case a 57/58/re20/441 are much better to sing into imo), the sm7b just simply picks up too much crud around the room....which is amplified (by the way) if you introduce a cl and insist on singing more than 2" off the mic.
I bought the Cloudlifter-Z mainly to experiment with shifting the impedance knob on 57s, ribbons, re20 etc to experience what happens when tracking....which is pretty much pretty subtle.
It is nice to have pre-gain for dynamic/ribbons, but again, you can simply normalize in a daw.
It's your call.
Last edited:
SkywaveTDR
Soundaholic
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2014
- Messages
- 1,069
- Karma
- 228
- From
- Chicago area
- Website
- s609729863.onlinehome.us
- Gear owned
- Teac, Tascam, Sony
I have nothing against Shure Brothers Mics and have used the SM58 for many years. I have been in their facility at AES meetings. If you get a better mic you won't have these problems. I put some TLM103 on a Radio mixer once and this is a condenser- against my own judgement but they had to have them and it was their money- then they kept on asking me why they sound strange and I told them to speak into the front of the mic not the rear. There is no need for TLM in a Radio studio as most have EV RE20 or RE27 but some people you can not reason with. The SM7 might be fine for internet radio studios and they did use them at Moody when I was Chief there but they were there before I started. I had to fix some of them too. ESPN was all RE27 when I built that place. Select a better mic and you have no issues. I did a Radio program in my studio for 7 years with a Tascam M50 and a SM58. I never had a problem at all.
