Absolutely! 441 all day long!

SM7B is not too terrible. But SM7 is the one that really shines.
SM7 was also used on MJ’s thriller, not SM7B.

( I like how one engineer says “the B in SM7B stands for “bad” )

Well, there will always be people complaining about every change that happens.
I worked with the SM7A (with an SM7B foam) and the SM7B in the same studio. I really didn't know which one I was using at some specific point, and nobody of us could tell the difference.
There WILL be differences (also with an original SM7), but neither of the "successors" of the SM7 sounds bad.

Does anyone know if Alctron MP73V2 preamp has enough gain to drive a SM7b? I just got the preamp and I'm yet to test it out. I need to get a cord to hook it up with my Focusrite scarlett 2i4 1st generation.

If anyone knows the right way to hook these up, kindly drop a note too. I need the directions urgently, the manual doesn't seem to be helpful. Very scanty information on it.

I haven't used one but the MP73V2 is a Neve 1073 clone quite similar I would imagine to my Golden Age Pre73.

These have 80db of gain which is a ton and plenty for the SM7b. If you are loud and close up on the mic (as you should be) you may only need to use maybe 50db of gain on the Alctron.

You need a cable with 1/4" (6.3mm) TRS at both ends or a female XLR to TRS to connect the MP73V2 to your Scarlett.

Connect either the 1/4" or the XLR output of the MP73V2 (these outputs are the same besides the connector type) to the 1/4 combi input of the Scarlett.

Set the instrument/line button on the Scarlett to line level.

Now it's a matter of figuring out what exact gain staging gets you the sound you are after and whether you prefer the 300 ohm impedance setting or the 1200 ohm.

yes DhandyR..... I had the Alctron 73V clone and it was more than enough gain for the SM7b.
I had the version with dual transformers, not that it matters. Basically, with the Gain low, Ouput high you get clean or crank the gain and set Output as needed, for a little crunch (which I didnt really here much of anything on a mic....but with a guitar it was much more noticeable).

Its really a very similar cheap clone of a Great River preamp, with the buttons 300/1200 Z, etc..
you probably wont ever use the Phase, +48 is for Condensor mics...not SM7b so you wont need that either. If you dont have outboard eq or comp, you probably wont ever use the INSERT either. Its a good deal for a Mic Pre and a Instrument DI, for $300?

to hook up,
plug your SM7b mic to MIC In, the 73V line output (XLR or TRS) to your 2i4 INPUT....set 2i4 to LINE IN and you should be good to go.
you can use a TRS jack or a XLR for the output.

Kind of strange to call the Alctron a Great River clone as the GR is sort of a Neve clone itself.

Somewhat like calling another Strat shaped guitar a Yamaha clone.

Not knocking the Great River or even talking about quality at all here... just saying that Fender and Neve are the originals which usually makes them the "name" for comparison.

Since we're bumping 7 year old threads now, figured I'll add a hot take nobody asked for : I always hated the meme that the sm7b is a panacea for a bad room. Is it a dynamic with a tighter polar pattern than a condenser? Sure. So is an SM57.

But the way people insist on over-compressing their vocals, and with as much gain as an sm7b needs, you're going to still get a lot of room sound if your room isn't treated.

Better off doing -something- to make that untreated room more tolerable. Build a tent out of moving blankets or whatever. Hell, for the price of a new sm7b you can get 2 6pack boxes of 2x4ft OC703 and enough fabric to wrap and make your own panels. Even with today's inflated costs of materials. I just did it for my new space actually.

Keep your SM57, treat your space, and compress to your hearts delight.

Try evre20 if you like the sm7b….. wew!!!!

Thanks so much @ JLast and ZEF. You know I'm not much of a noob. I was connecting it exactly as described above, but I was getting almost no output in the DAW(REAPER) until I crank both the input and output all the way up. This way, all I get is a distorted mess.
On the flip - when I plug the SM7b into the preamp input and directly monitor by plugging my headphones into the TRS output of the preamp, it sounds smooth from 50 to 60db gain and the output at 3 o'clock or 4.

I'm thinking could it be as a result of bad cable? I'm using a DIY XLR to TRS cable. Or maybe it's as a result of my very old Scarlett 2i4 1st generation.
I'm thinking of getting a nice quality cable to test with, before looking at the option of changing my audio interface.
Anyone knows a budget audio interface that has a direct line input that totally bypasses the inbuilt preamp?

But for now, I found a fairly usable sound by having the gain at 55db and output at 3 o'clock on the preamp, while having the gain on the Scarlett at 4 o'clock. Without the preamp I used to crank it all the way up before.

Maybe you didn't get the memo...Whenever you say "there are others that are better" you have to name them. Otherwise you are really just talking out of your ass.

@ enroper

You are making far to much sense about the SM7b for this forum.


Plenty of interfaces have true line inputs that don't put your signal through a mic input and don't even have a volume pot.

Staying in the Scarlett line there is the 6i6 which isn't a ton more than the 2i2 and has two 1/4" line inputs on the back in addition to the two combi inputs on the front.

Currently I'm using the MOTU 16a which has 16 TRS line inputs with digitally controlled analog trims.

Another option is to get an interface that has inserts and use them as inputs, this jumps you past the micpreamp.

The Audient and Arturia boxes have inserts as does the lowly but powerfully budget Behringer UMC404HD and a number of others as well.