SHURE SM7B and rode PSA1 - for shure a great combo for audio recording
I am always very careful when setting up new gear, and I was really careful when assembling the Rode boom arm but I completely forgot that even after assembling it, there is a very strong spring, that is obviously still there after putting it together! I had no microphone attached to the arm — and when I touched it, it released the spring and it went up straight towards my face missing my eye by half a centimetre!
I mean… it could have been a really nasty injury. It was a minor cut but it could have been a lot worse. My advice for anyone setting this thing up: BE EXTRA CAREFUL!
And maybe keep it nice and secured - either with the sticker they send or with some cable ties - until you’ve attached your microphone as the weight of it will keep it nice and secure.
Right, that warning out the way, let’s get into why I think this is a great combo.
Rode PSA1 Studio Arm and Shure SM7B microphone
Having invested quite a lot on a decent microphone I want to make sure I am getting the best sound out of it, without too much post processing. A bit of post processing is always needed, but I found myself having to fix a lot of issues due to the vibrations it was picking up when standing on a desk.
The desk stand itself was a Samson stand and to be honest…. it did do a great job and I am not going to go over the gain vs noise conversation as there are hundreds of articles and videos on that already. So I know the reason I am getting a lot of noise is helped by the amount of gain I am adding at the pre-amp. But I wasn’t yet sure I needed something like a cloud-lifter to add more gain.
Because from what I understand, adding that device for added gain would actually add to the problem slightly and I’d lose some of the quality of the SM7B.
For now, I am trying other solutions to reduce the noise rather than add another device in between.
I will probably change my Scarlett 4i4 pre-amp to a higher quality pre-amp before thinking about a cloud lifter.
The desk stand form Samson is great and for only about £10 quid is definitely a steal, it just wasn’t suitable for my usage.
I can see how it might work well on bigger desks, where you might be using something like a podcaster or a more purpose-built pre-amp or maybe a shock mount that will help reduce those vibrations before it goes into recording but I am trying to find a good balance between budget and quality so the boom arm feels like the right thing to do to reduce the vibration noises I was getting.
If that doesn’t work then my natural next step will be to look at a shock mount. But given the arm is now completely away from my desk, and the fact that the SM7B has an internal shock absorption design, I expect not to need it.
In essence, before I go spending more cash, I will give this a go and see if the vibration noises I was getting is reduced or hopefully - ideally completely gone.
Other than that earlier incident, I am pretty happy with the final result and I will post a link to my podcast as well so you can see… or hear for yourself.
If you want extra flexibility to move the SM7B around, you will need an extra piece from Shure that will allow you to have a full 360 degree movement WITHOUT having to unplug the XLR cable from the SM7B.
I was originally planning to drill the boom arm into the desk because it looks quite sturdy and has a nice chrome finish to it. And I thought that would go really well on my desk. But not having to drill the desk has a certain appeal to it so in my case I will stick to the desk clamp - even though I am using my window ledge rather than the desk.
R
