SeriesBeyerdynamic M

(Originally written by pitchoune/translated from Audiofanzine FR) See manufacturer's features. OVERALL OPINION - How long have you been using it? One year - Which feature do you like the most / the least? Ultra versatile, like a SM57 but much better! It's the best mic I found for a rock or heavy metal snare. Also great to record distortion and crunch guitars. - Did you try any other models before buying it? SM57, Beta 56, Audix I5, etc. - How would you rate its value for money? There is no big difference in price compared to a SM57. - Based on your experience, would you buy this product again? I own two. If I could I would buy a truckload of them!!! :-)

The Beyerdynamic M 160 is a small diaphragm hypercardiod ribbon mic with TWO ribbon transducers. It looks a little bit like a childs toy but don't get it confused! I am a student, musician, writer, and pretty good line dancer residing in beautiful Nashville, TN. I've been a drummer and guitar player on and off for the past 10 years of my life and have began engineering and producing in the past 4. I currently play drums for the band Brookline and you can see me rockin' an Orange County Drum and Percussion or Mapex kit decked out with Zildjian K Hybrids. Our studio bought this mic about 3 years back when it was looking to expand it's ribbon mic catalog. We purchased it from Sweetwater online for right around $600.00. This mic is supposedly the go to mic on stringed instruments and it is - but I have found it to be incredible on guitar amp's. Much like the Royer 121, it has a very hi max SPL (around 130 spl) and can handle a amp pushed up to 11 (or further). As with any ribbon mic it claims to sounds great on brass instruments as well. While it does sound better than some small diaphragm condenser, it's no match to a 121 or any of the older RCA's. My only complaint about this mic is the junky clip that is included. Replace it as soon as possible because it will break on you and you never want to drop any mic, but definitely not a ribbon! The mic is very small and rather fragile. Definitely needs to be kept in a padded case and covered if left on a stand as dust is no good. Bottom Line? If it's good enough for Eddie Kramer go-to mic on Jimi Hendrix's guitar, it's good enough for me. This mic is much more versatile than it lets on and has been a great addition to our collection. In the realm of great mics, this is rather cheap and very useful - a great value! This review was originally published on https://www.musicgearreview.com

The Beyer Dynamic M422 may look plain but it's one of the most dependable durable microphones whether you're playing local clubs or touring miles from home. It is especially one of the best mics to have for those who care how they sound! I gig 2-4 times a week at many different venues in town that have all sorts of various acoustics to contend with and this mic provides consistent clean and crisp vocals with a lot of gain before feedback. I'm a drummer so the on-off switch is a good added feature and it's only a few dollars more than the sm58 without the on-off switch. I've had my mic with the on-off switch for several months now and I've had no problems. I had an M422 about 3years ago and foolishly got rid of it so over the years I've tried many other mics from many other companies, some I thought were good like the Crown headset mic, the EV 767 and Audio Technica makes some good mics but very few overall compared to the sm58. The only other vocal mic probably a little better is the Shure Beta 58 but it's also more expensive and for most vocalists it's not necessary. The M422 is simply a great mic at a decent price as is the sm57. Both have been around before most of us were even born and will probably still be sold at music stores long after we're gone. OVERALL OPINION Most performers do not need the on and off switch feature but where you want quality vocals and control over your microphones without using a sound person to set the levels this is what you need. Preset the volume on your PA and when it's stage time a flip of the switch gets your performance underway. SM58 is the choice of professionals.

The BeyerDynamic M380TG is a vintage dynamic microphone that I have experience using in a professional recording studio. The mic is designed for recording bass drum, as it has a very good low end response which starts at 15 Hz and goes up to 20 kHz. Not too many mics out there will pick up all the way at 15 Hz. The mic has a very high SPL and has a bidirectional polar pick up pattern. I don't know exactly how old the mic is, but the one that I used looked like it had been around for a very long time. I'm also pretty sure that they are no longer making this microphone. OVERALL OPINION The only application that I've used the BeyerDynamic M380TG is for recording bass drum. We had a Shure Beta 52A on the inside of the kick and this one on the outside. I was extremely pleased with the sound we got with the M380 TG on the outside of the kick, as it was detailed and extremely boomy and thick in a good way. Between the two mics I was able to get a very good sound that I could blend to my perfection. The mic's great low end response really shines when it is on the kick drum, and I would imagine that it would work very well for a bass guitar cabinet and other similar applications, although I've yet to have the chance to try any other applications with the M380TG. It does look like I'll be in the studio where I used it more than I have been, so hopefully in the near future I'm able to try it out it some other situations. I haven't seen very many versions of this microphone in too many studios, but it does seem to have somewhat of a cult following since I read that it is Steve Albini's mic of choice for kick drum. Don't let the outside appearance of this microphone fool you, it will get the job done and then some. If you've got a chance to buy or just to use the BeyerDynamic M380TG, I'd highly recommend taking advantage as you never know when the next time will be that you'll come across one of these.