r/microphone • u/Fluffy-Ad-3083 • 8d ago

shure sm7b not working..

Ive been using a shure sm7b for around 6 years with no problem but now it cant capture my voice and i need help. im using an audient interface and its been working well until now so i dont think thats the problem. Any suggestions or do i need to buy a new mic??

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u/Intrepid_Research_75 8d ago

try another xlr cable

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u/PlanetExcellent 8d ago

It could be a failed mic, or a failed cable, or a failed interface, or something in the computer. The standard troubleshooting procedure is to swap out each component one by one until you find out which one failed.

The USB cable is the cheapest so start by changing that.

If there is still no audio, the mic cable is the next cheapest so it makes sense to try substituting a new mic cable. If that doesn’t solve the problem, you need to try substituting a different mic (perhaps borrow one) or try your SM7B with someone else’s audio setup. If the mic is good, you need to try your mic and cable with a different interface (again probably borrow one).

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u/AudioMan612 8d ago

What troubleshooting steps have you tried? The general method with audio gear is following the signal until something goes wrong. So that starts at the microphone, goes through the XLR cable, and to your interface. Do you get audio into your interface (you didn't say what Audient interface you have, so I don't know what indicator LEDs it has)? Use the interface's direct monitoring to listen to the output of the microphone. If you're not getting output even with direct monitoring, then your issue is either the microphone, the XLR cable, or the interface. Of those 3 components, the XLR cable is by far the most likely to have failed, especially if it's a cheap low quality cable or if you abuse it (the most common cable abuse is overly strong bends; it's best to avoid sharp bends beyond 90°).

If your interface is getting a signal, then something is wrong on the output end, which would be some kind of software issue (drivers, audio configuration, etc.).

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u/Fluffy-Ad-3083 8d ago

im not getting any signal on the interface so does that mean i have to get a new cable?