The Home Recording Kit includes a shockmount, pop filter and carry case.
Does the latest member of Shure’s SM series have the potential to become as iconic as the SM57 and SM7?
As befits one of the world’s largest manufacturers, Shure have microphones for every conceivable application. Fom conference room to concert hall, sweaty club to swanky studio, harp to harmonica, you’ll undoubtedly find something in their huge range that does what you need. In many cases, in fact, Shure offer multiple microphones for the same applications, at different price levels.
Most of the Shure mics that will be of interest to SOS readers have model numbers prefixed with SM, which stood originally for ‘studio microphone’. This range encompasses most of the company’s most popular workhorses, including the SM7, SM57 and SM58, and there can be few studios worldwide that don’t contain at least one SM‑series mic.
Until now, though, the SM series has not featured a large‑diaphragm capacitor microphone of the type that’s so widely used for vocal and instrument capture in small and large studios alike. If you wanted such a thing from Shure, you’d need to look instead at the no‑frills PGA27, from their budget range, or models from their premium line such as the KSM32 and KSM42. That’s now changed with the launch of the SM4, a mic that’s actually more affordable than the PGA27 but is said to offer a significant step up in quality. (The older mic has now been discontinued to make way for it.)
SM4 Two Ways
The SM4 is available in two packages. You can buy it either with a simple standmount and zippered pencil case, or as part of Shure’s Home Recording Kit, which includes a shockmount, a pop filter and a good‑quality carry case. The mic itself is a compact cylindrical design, with no pad or filter switches to break up the clean lines of its cast zinc body. It attaches to the standmount or shockmount using a screw thread at the base, and the optional pop filter is held firmly in place by a strong magnet.
Whereas the PGA27 was an electret design, the SM4 is an externally polarised or ‘true’ capacitor mic that uses a conventional ‘one‑inch’, dual‑sided capsule. The capsule itself is an OEM item, but mic and accessories are built in Shure’s own factory, and build quality is outstanding, especially when you consider the highly competitive price. It’s a great example of how companies such as Shure and Rode are driving up manufacturing quality through investment in high‑tech machinery.
The capsule is unusually hard to see through the perforated metal grille, thanks to one of Shure’s typically understated but practical design innovations: a cylinder of metal mesh that entirely surrounds the capsule (and, presumably, the high‑impedance parts of the circuit). This has two functions. It helps to provide additional protection against plosive pops, but it also forms a Faraday cage to screen the most sensitive parts of the mic from interference. Shure say their research has shown this can be a major issue in an age where artists are commonly reading lyrics from mobile phones held near the mic.
In terms of specifications, there’s little out of the ordinary to report. The supplied measurements suggest a well‑behaved fixed cardioid polar pattern that shades towards figure‑8 at very high frequencies, and a frequency response that is pretty much flat through the midrange, with a broad 2dB emphasis centred around 4kHz and a larger 5dB lift spanning 10‑15 kHz. Sensitivity is a comfortable 13mV/Pa; no figure for self‑noise is quoted. The SM4 requires conventional 48V phantom power. The specs say that 1% distortion is reached at 140dB SPL into a 1kΩ load, or 145dB into a 2.5kΩ load, which explains why there’s no need for a pad!
Sound Foundations
A mic I often wheel out for comparison purposes is the familiar AKG C414 B‑ULS, which I think of as having a pretty neutral and flat sound. In comparison, the most obvious difference was that the SM4 had a much tighter low end. At a normal vocal recording distance of six inches or so, that worked to its advantage, controlling any tendency towards boominess or mud. Back off to a metre or so from the source, however, and the SM4 began to sound slightly thin in comparison. Still, if Shure’s thinking is that 95 percent of the obvious applications for the SM4 will involve putting it really quite close to the thing it’s recording, then I’d say they are probably dead right — and any lost weight at the low end is easily restored through EQ.
At the top end, the SM4’s smaller presence peak in the upper midrange is often more audible than its larger boost in the air frequencies, at least on most sources. And it’s not at all unpleasant, helping voices and instruments to assert themselves within a mix without sounding thin or peaky. There’s a fine line between producing a microphone that just sounds plain boring — a criticism that has often been levelled at the C414 B‑ULS — and one that has too strong a character, such that it begins to make everything sound the same, or works only with a minority of voices. I think Shure have judged things very well in this respect. The SM4 is less bright than many alternatives in this price bracket, such as the Austrian Audio OC16, but it flatters the sound just enough that you don’t need to immediately think about adding EQ as soon as you put it up. The ability to produce a ‘mix ready’ sound without additional processing is a very important consideration in a mic that is targeted not only at musicians but also podcasters, vloggers and live streamers.
If you’re going to use it for vocal recording at typical close‑miking range, the additional pop filter included with the Home Recording Kit makes a huge difference.
The discreet pop filter attaches magnetically to the front of the shockmount.The SM4’s internal screen gives its capsule some protection from air bursts and, in combination with the inherently tamed low‑end response, makes it less vulnerable to plosive popping than the C414. Nevertheless, if you’re going to use it for vocal recording at typical close‑miking range, the additional pop filter included with the Home Recording Kit makes a huge difference. It’s also visually discreet, which will be important for anyone using the SM4 on camera. The shockmount is likewise low in profile and high in effectiveness, while the carry case is practical and robust. For the relatively modest premium that the Home Recording Kit commands, I’d say it’s a no‑brainer.
Incidentally, I can happily say that I had no problems with interference from mobile phones or other devices during the review period, but even when I deliberately tried to cause problems by holding my phone next to the mic, I wasn’t able to trigger any misbehaviour from rival models either.
SM4 Or?
And talking of rivals, Shure are pitching the SM4 into a hugely competitive market sector. As well as the aforementioned OC16, it faces extremely strong competition from the likes of the Rode NT1 and NT1000, Sennheiser MK4, AKG C3000, Aston Origin, Sontronics STC‑2, Lewitt LCT 440 Pure, sE Electronics SE2200, Warm Audio WA‑47Jr and many more. I can’t claim to have tried all of these competitors, but those I have used, such as the latest NT1 and the LCT 440, have been excellent mics, with very similar strengths to the SM4. Yet, although Shure may be late entrants into this market, their offering will undoubtedly have a big impact. The SM4 sounds very good, and almost as importantly, looks and feels great too. And I think for most of its target market, its simplicity will be a selling point, not a limitation. It doesn’t offer multiple pad and filter switches because Shure’s design choices mean that they aren’t really needed. In the vast majority of situations you can simply plug it in, apply phantom power and be confident of getting a good sound straight away. And that makes it the perfect mic for the typical self‑recording artist who needs to be able to hit record as soon as inspiration strikes.
Summary
The SM4 is a heavyweight contender for all‑round studio applications, at a featherweight price.
Information
SM4 £195, Home Recording Kit £249. Prices include VAT.
$199; Home Recording Kit $269.
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