Shure SM7B + Rode PSA1: for sure a great combo

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.

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 from 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.

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.