Let’s learn how to set up and connect the Shure SM7B dynamic microphone to the GOXLR Mini audio interface for live streaming and recording. We also discuss the best settings for steaming and for general purpose recording.
The Shure SM7B is a super high-quality studio-grade microphone, which makes it a favorite for live streaming. This microphone is great for situations where there is too much background noise, and you need good quality sound without picking up too much background noise. The GoXLR mini is a perfect size and has tons of useful features for live streaming.
Connecting Shure SM7B to GoXLR Mini
Connect the Shure SM7B to the GoXLR mini using an XLR to XLR cable. We don’t recommend using an XLR to headphone jack cable and then using the headset mic input because that preamp is not as good as the XLR preamp.
Shure SM7B Microphone Switches
We recommend leaving all the switches on the Shure SM7B flat. So the high pass filter and mid boost should be flat. With the EQ settings that the GoXLR mini offers, you don’t really need to use these switches.
Gain Setup and Mic Positioning
First, open the mic set up window on your laptop and set the microphone type to dynamic. Next, set the gain; you need to make sure that when you’re speaking naturally, the gain is in the good section on the meter. We recommend a gain of about 63 dB.
In terms of mic positioning, we recommend keeping the microphone about a fist away from your mouth. At this distance, you also don’t need much gain.
GoXLR Mini & Shure SM7B Noise Gate Settings
A noise gate is a powerful tool that you can use to unmute your microphone as you speak into it. You can set a threshold, and when you exceed that volume, your microphone will break the noise gate, and it will unmute the microphone. This tool is really effective for things like drum kits where you want the mic to open up when you hit a specific drum. But you can also use it for live streaming to mute the microphone when you’re not speaking into it.
We recommend the following settings for noise gate:
- Threshold: Around -50 to -55 dB
- Attenuation: Around 50 %
- Attack: 10ms (default)
- Release: 200ms (default)
GoXLR Mini & Shure SM7B EQ Settings
Shure SM7B is a great-sounding microphone, so if you’re doing a talking head video, we recommend leaving the EQ flat. But, you can use the EQ in some cases to make your noise clearer. For example, if you’re doing a video game, you want clear frequencies for the microphone and make sure the microphone is punchy when it needs to be and not too muddy where it would interfere with the game sound.
We recommend the EQ settings below to make your microphone more clear, remove the frequencies that you don’t need, and also make room for the game noise.
(To change the EQ settings, you have to enable the fine-tune option)
- 30 Hz: -9. This takes your microphone out of everybody’s subwoofer and allows you to build your own high pass filter.
- 100 Hz: 0 (for female). For male voice, we recommend changing 100 Hz to 120 Hz. This will set the high pass filter to come back to its full volume at 120 Hz.
- 400 Hz (310 Hz changed to 400 Hz): Around -2 to 3. This will allow you to do a low mid-cut and makes the microphone clearer.
- 2 kHz (0.8 kHz changed to 2 kHz): +1
- 2.5 kHz: +2
- 12 kHz (5.1 kHz changed to 12 kHz): -2
GoXLR Mini & Shure SM7B Compressor Settings
The compressor narrows the volume range of your microphone. It basically makes your loudest parts quieter and your quietest parts a little bit louder.
We recommend the following settings for the compressor:
- Threshold: -15. This means everything over -15 will get compressed.
- Ratio: 3.2:1 or 4:1
- Attack: 10ms (default)
- Release: 200ms (default)
- Make-up gain: Around 5 dB
GoXLR Mini & Shure SM7B Pricing
To help you get the best and most up-to-date prices of all the equipment used in the video, we’ve linked the current price from a variety of online retailers below
- TC Helicon GoXLR Mini: https://currentprice.io/goxlr_mini
- Shure SM7B Dynamic Microphone: https://currentprice.io/shure_sm7b
- Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm Headphones: https://currentprice.io/beyer_dt_990
- XLR Cable: https://currentprice.io/xlr_cable
- Mic Stand: https://currentprice.io/desk_stand
- Rode PSA1 Boom Arm: https://currentprice.io/boom_arm
GoXLR Mini & Shure SM7B Setup | Best Microphone Settings Topics
- 0:00 – Introduction
- 0:32 – Shure SM7B
- 1:01 – GoXLR Mini
- 1:19 – Pricing & Specs
- 1:36 – Connect Shure SM7B To GoXLR
- 2:10 – Shure SM7B Switches
- 2:40 – Gain Setup & Mic Positioning
- 4:30 – Noise Gate
- 7:33 – EQ & Equalization
- 13:02 – Compressor
- 15:39 – Final Thoughts
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