Best preamp to couple with Shure SM7b?

[FrancescoFiligoi]

Hey folks, need some suggestions. I need a badass preamp that couples well with a Shure SM7b, we have to finish album recordings and I wanna do it right.
It will be mainly scream/growl/harsh vocals.

This is our singer, for reference:

I was dead set on a Great River ME-1NV but I've heard the ISA One can achieve excellent results too.

Maximum budget would be around 1k$, tell me your opinion thanks!

 

[Studdy]

I have 1nv and 7b combo. It's pretty deadly.

 

[FIXXXER]

I have 1nv and 7b combo. It's pretty deadly.

+1

 

[derekmoffat]

You're going to need a pre with plenty of gain. I've got a couple API 312s and the 7b sounds awesome with it. GAP 73 (in your budget) sounds great with it as well.

 

[FrancescoFiligoi]

You're going to need a pre with plenty of gain. I've got a couple API 312s and the 7b sounds awesome with it. GAP 73 (in your budget) sounds great with it as well.

GAP 73 and ISA One would actually stay within the budget, not sure if it's just better to go with one killer pre like the Great River.

Regarding API, we actually did a test on two different studios and in both situations we compared API 312s with either a Neve 1073 or Chandler Germanium, both times I preferred 73 flavours to our singer's voice, I'd love API for guitars but it didn't couple well with our singer's vox.

 

[Alphanumeric]

The Chandler TG2 I used 3 times this week on a sm7b for rock vox (half shouty/scream) as well as Slipknot style vox, its so ripping man, low noise lots of gain. 2nd hand if you can find it as its a bit above budget, but its killer and super fat and growly in the mids with even lows. I have never tried the Germanium. the DPA 1073 is a bit out of range too but its soooo killer on vox if you wanna track with a lot of colour, seen as your Abiogenesis vocalist has good projection it seems.

I don't rate the ISA, too clean for metal, like an Avalon.

 

[egan.]

Another vote for the GR.

 

[FrancescoFiligoi]

any others?

 

[FIXXXER]

GR

 

[tempe]

I find anything slightly mid forward works well. I've had success with anything API or check out the A Designs Pacifica.

 

[DavePiatek]

I don't have any personal experience with the ISA One, but I have an ISA828 and it works REALLY well with my SM7b. They're (supposedly) the same preamp. You need LOTS of clean gain, which the ISA pres have.

 

[MatrixClaw]

My ISA 428 MKI, SCA A12b (API), SCA N72 (Neve), Avid PRE and Peavey VMP-2 all work great with the SM7b, but I prefer the N72, if I had to choose.

 

[nialldoran]

when i use it i tend to use it with the chandler germanium for vocals, just great pushing the output for more harmonic distortion, great pre all round love it on bass and snare too (not nesscessarily with the sm7 though)

 

[Josh Burgess]

Sounds awesome with my API A2D pres.

 

[BLUElightCory]

My APIs are my favorite with the SM7B. The way they deal with transients and push the mids forward complements the character of the SM7 really well.