Fri. Jan 10th, 2025

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SE ELECTRONICS – V7 OR THE V7 MK, WHICH IS BEST?

I have been fortunate enough to be using sE microphones for a few years now. They are simply stunning pieces of kit. The VR Ribbon mic sounds glorious and the 2200 became my go to mic for recording all my interviews and radio show on Radio TFSC, that is until the Dynacaster came along. But that is another review that will be along very soon! The list of sE artists is very impressive; Billy Gibbons, Myles Kennedy, Amy Lee and Trivium to name but a few.

Today I’m looking at the V7, I’m particularly interested in comparing the different capsules, the original capsule, which can be found in the standard V7 as well as the Billy Gibbons model and comparing it against the Myles Kennedy signature V7. For the last twelve months, all my interviews at the various festivals and live events have been done using the V7 mics going into the Zoom H6 recorder.

Let me begin by saying that whichever mic you choose, the V7 will blow the more popular industry standard microphones out of the water. The first mic I ever sang with was an SM58 and I have been an SM58 guy ever since. Nearly 20 years now. The V7 quite literally blows it out of the water and believe me, I’m quite sad to be writing this. It offers so much more clarity and if you’re singing with a full band, it just cuts through and your vocals won’t be lost in the generic noise of the band. It is simply stunning and my 58 has been resigned to backup mic, at best, should my two V7’s fail! 

I’m investigating the difference between the two V7 capsules in this review and which capsule I think would suit you. 

Firstly, aesthetically; the MK signature is stunning, it’s got a vintage distressed look and everyone who sees it loves it. Even some of the sE artists who have interviewed this past year have been very jealous! The original is just plain black. But the differences don’t stop on the outside, the frequency range of the two microphones differ too.

As you can see comparing the two diagrams above, the original V7 has a slight dip in the top end, whereas the MK between 4 and 10 K is More elevated. This obviously is to suit Myles Kennedy’s higher vocal range, but even for someone with a lower voice, more top end gives a much brighter sound. The standard V7 has a dip around 8k, it’s not a problem, but I think it just loses that sizzle that the MK model has. They both sound great, but the MK delivers that tiny big extra punch! 

Both of these microphones are extremely well made, they’re durable, you can throw them around, and you won’t have to worry about damaging them. The bevelled edge around the grille will make sure your mic doesn’t roll when you put it down. The pop filter / windscreen inside is also excellent and has allowed me to conduct interviews outside, in very windy places.

I have used them out and about during interviews, and at a talking level they are in fact very similar, here’s me chatting to James Bay at BST earlier this year, on a particularly windy day. I was using the MK and James had the standard V7

Also, you can have a listen to Empyre doing an acoustic version of Titanium at Firestorm Festival. This was recorded outside with lots of people around. Simply great audio quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUi7VHnKHHE

So, which do I think is the best? I’ve been using these two mics exclusively now for around 12 months and I am so happy with them. The brand is quality, but this is a comparison after all. Personally, I prefer the V7 MK. The slightly elevated top end just gives it a bit more oomph. It cuts through that tiny bit more. The downside to that is, I have noticed the handling noise is much louder than the standard V7. Handling noise aside, the MK takes the crown!

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