- Hi, I'm Jordan from Kettner Creative. In this video we're gonna
compare the Shure SM7B dynamic microphone to the
Rode NT1 condenser microphone. Now at first glance, these
microphones come from very different neighborhoods. We have dynamic versus condenser, built in shock mounting versus
external shock mounting, foam wind screen versus
external pop filter. There's a whole bunch of differences but there are some similarities with these microphones as well. And we're gonna walk through all those and at the end, I'm gonna give my opinion on which microphone is better for which application in your home studio. Now for the purposes of this video we're using the SSL2+ Audio Interface. If you see the meters
come up on the screen that's to indicate which
microphone is active. So if you see the meter
on the left-hand side of the screen, you'll
know that the Shure SM7B is the microphone that you're hearing. And if you see the meter come up on the right side of the screen then you know that the Rode NT1 is the active microphone
When you're listening. If you're looking for
pricing or specs for anything that you see in these videos, the microphones, the optional
accessories, the stands, the interface, the headphones,
anything like that, we do have links down
in the description below with current up-to-date pricing and specs where you can buy these things from a variety of online retailers. So if you're looking to price
shop or anything like that we've made it as easy as possible by providing you with
links that offer pricing to a variety of online retailers. Before we get into some of
the more practical testing with these microphones, let's
quickly go through the spec. The Shure SM7B is a dynamic XLR microphone with a cardioid polar pattern. It has the end or top
address for the orientation of this microphone. It has a frequency response
of 50 Hertz to 20 kilohertz and it has an impedance of 150 ohms. And it has a sensitivity of -59dB. It has a weight of 1.69
pounds or 766 grams. Now the Rode NT1 is a
condenser XLR microphone. It has a cardioid polar pattern. It's a side address microphone. It has a frequency response
of 20 Hertz to 20 kilohertz. It has an impedance of 100 Ohms. It has a sensitivity of -29dB. It weighs 0.97 pounds and 440 grams. Next let's talk about
overall build quality and physical design of
both of the microphones. The Shure SM7B has an
all metal rugged design, it has a yolk based mounting system and integrated mount into it
and built in cable management. By design, dynamic microphones
are a lot more rugged and durable just due to the
components inside of them. So they do take a pretty good beating. I always recommend taking care
of them as much as possible but dynamic microphones
are known to be quite rugged and durable. The Rode NT1 also has a metal
build, but like I just said a condenser microphone isn't
quite as rugged or durable so you do need a baby at
a bit more transporting it in a box or getting a custom
pelican case made for it or something like that. In terms of mounting this microphone, you do have a couple of different options. In this video, I'm using the SMR Mount which I think looks a lot
more elegant for video. If you're gonna use this
pop filter over this one this is the SM6 Shock
Mount that Rode makes for this microphone as well. As you can see here, the microphone just screws into the bottom of either one of these
shock mounting systems and you can use the integrated pop filter or you can take the pop
filter off on either one. Now, speaking of pop
filters, the Shure SM7B, this is the one that most people use, they just like the low
profile design of it but Shure does recommend
this larger pop filter if you are doing voiceover applications. It's really up to you
and personal preference. I have a tendency to use the
bigger one more often than not but every once in a while I do switch it up just to
experiment and try new things. Now, the Shure SM7B does have some additional built in
functionality as well. On the back of the microphone
there are two switches. One switch will turn on a
built-in high pass filter and the second switch will turn on a built-in presence boost
for more vocal clarity. Now, as a general rule, I always
avoid using those switches. I either prefer to do all my editing and post or use an audio mixer. Rarely do I count on
changes that have been made on the back of a microphone. I just find it much more
simple to always count on those switches being neutral so you can get a neutral
recording out of your microphone. Now, if you're using either
one of these microphones for broadcast, podcasting, anything like that, voiceover applications, we're just gonna do a couple of
background noise tests here so you can see what the off
access rejection is like. So this is what the Shure SM7B sounds like if you're typing on what I would describe as an average laptop keyboard. And this is what the Rode NT1 sounds like if you're typing on an average keyboard. If you're working at your desk, this is what the Shure SM7B sounds like if you're clicking a
pen near the microphone. And this is what the Rode NT1 sounds like if you're clicking a
microphone on your desk while you're working on
your podcast or recording. If you're shuffling paper or plastic this is what it sounds
like with the Shure SM7B. If you're shuffling paper or plastic this is what it sounds
like with the Rode NT1. This is what the Shure
SM7B sounds like when you're about a fist away. And now this is what the
Shure SM7B sounds like when you get right up close to it. See if you can notice any proximity effect with this microphone. And this is what the Rode NT1 sounds like when one I'm about a fist
away from the wind screen. So about six inches away
from the microphone. And this is what the Rode NT1 sounds like when I get really close
to the wind screen. See if you can notice any type of proximity effect with this microphone. Now, in terms of the frequency response on these microphones, the Shure SM7B starts
rolling in at about 50 Hertz. It doesn't make it all the way up to zero until it comes close to
700 or 800 Hertz there, that's when it really comes down to zero. It has a pretty flat midsection. And then after about 4K gets pretty jagged and then falls off at 12K. Now the Rode NT1 is basically
ruler flat the whole way. It does have a small
built-in high pass filter kind of if you can call it that and then it does have a bump
of the upper frequencies which provides a bit more clarity. So which microphone do I
recommend for which applications which one's better for you. At first, I'm gonna come
at this from a voiceover voice recording application. That seems to be the most
commonly requested thing that people are trying to sort out which microphone is better
for recording my voice. I would say my recommendation on this microphone depends
highly on your space. I happen to record it in a
pretty noisy environment. So I'm a lot more partial
to the Shure SM7B. The Shure SM7B is war warm and flat. It's a little bit dull at the top so it does get accused of being dark. But that really works for
me the majority of the time because that those
characteristics also knock out a whole bunch of the
ambient noise that's around where I record most of the time. Without this built-in
EQ, when I use something like the Rode NT1 which is a lot more flat
with that upper boost, I do hear a lot more background noise. I hear cars driving by,
dogs barking, plane noise. It's a lot more sensitive. So to recommend the Rode
NT1 over the Shure SM7B you would have to have a room that's both very well soundproofed
and sound treated. Those are both different things. Our studio happens to be very
well with the sound treatment but it doesn't have
very good soundproofing. You do need both of those I think in order to recommend the Rode
NT1 over the Shure SM7B. With the Shure SM7B, you can fake it and you don't need a completely
soundproof environment which let's be honest,
not a lot of people have. That being said, both of
these microphones are used for a variety of applications
around the studio. So if you're doing something
that's not voice recording you may be better off with the Rode NT1. The Rode NT1 is much more known as an all-rounder microphone. It's way more flexible for recording a pile of different sources
from sensitive instruments to guitar amps, to things like that. It's not the best, maybe
for a kick drum where the Shure SM7B would do a better job but overall in the studio,
you can use it as overheads. You can use it on Toms. You could use it on whatever
you wanted much more so than the Shure SM7B. So even though the Rode
NT1 is a lot more flat, a lot of people prefer the sound of it. I happen to prefer it on the sound of my voice from recording my voice with the caveat that I will only use it if it's not noisy outside or I know I'm in a dead quiet environment. So that means if I was the
only choose one of these since the majority of what
I do is talking head video like the one you're watching right now, if I had to choose one,
the SM7B is a no brainer because it means that I can film and record much more
often than the Rode NT1 just because of ambient noise issues. So that's how I'd recommend
these microphones. The Rode NT1 is better, crisper, I like the sound of it a lot more but it's a lot more
sensitive to the environment but it's also way more
flexible in your studio in terms of what it can record
on a variety of instruments. The Shure SM7B here is all faithful. It's designed for vocal recording. It does work for other
applications in the studio, but if you're looking
for a podcasting mic that you can count on to constantly
record in noisy environments then this is a better choice for you. If you have any questions
about anything that I've said in this video, please leave a comment down
in the comment section below. If you do want to see
pricing or specs again for anything that you see in this video we have a ton of links down below so please check those out. I hope that there is helpful as they can be with helping
you find more information. And if you wanna see more
videos like this in the future, we do record a ton of these
videos almost on a daily basis. So please like, and subscribe to see more videos like
this in the future. Thank you so much for watching. (upbeat music)
