Shure Condenser Microphones

The Shure KSM44 is a large-diaphragm dual-capsule multi-swith condenser microphone. 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 a pair of these about 3 years ago for right around $800.00 a piece from Sweetwater. They were bought to add to our mic catalog for a studio in a Recording Arts college in Nashville, TN. These mics have a very low self noise and great clarity making them the perfect mic for softer signals and crisp clear vocals. I also love the ability to switch between the three polar patterns; cardiod, omni, and figure-8. The shock mount included is just as secure and effective as the one that comes with the U87. I have no complaints about this unit thus far. It works great in so many applications. This mic is tough! It has a durable zinc die-cast housing and can take quite the beating. Bottom Line? This mic sounds simply incredible and you get set so much for the price. Whether you're starting a new studio on a budget or looking to expand your mic catalog, this dual-capsule condenser is a great value. This review was originally published on https://www.musicgearreview.com

Purchased at Guitar Center, NJ, for vocal recording in home studio. Paid $299. Crystal clear, sound quality. Extremely sensitive to even the smallest of aural detail. Very sturdy build. Nice shock mount included. Not a single thing! This microphone feels like a monster. So solid and rugged, yet beautiful and refined. If I were a microphone, I'd want to look like this (strange, I know). I absolutely LOVE this microphone! Shure must have been reading my mind when they designed this thing. I am an opera singer and also a voice-over professional, and the KSM27 fits both bills very nicely. Robust and smooth up close, and very sensitive at a distance. Let me put it this way; I demoed all the top mics in this price range and none even came close to this one. And when the salesperson accidentally "drop" tested the thing from five feet off the floor, I told him "if that thing still works, I'll buy it." It did, and so did I. I couldn't be happier. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I like to call this the SM57 of condensers because of its versatility. It's meant to be primarily an instrument mic, but unlike a lot of condensers, you can use them on literally everything and it somehow sounds good. Usually you will find these in studios but they are definitely usable in a live situation too. If you know what you're doing, it's abilities are far reaching. I also like that it has the filter switch on the side. In certain live situations it comes in handy. OVERALL OPINION I originally bought a pair of SM81's to use for my drummer's overheads. I was really really pleased with them in this setting. I quickly learned that while this mic sounds very transparent, it also has some kind of boost in the mid range that makes drums sound more "shimmery." Our drummer uses in ears and he agreed with me that the mix from the 81's sounds almost better than hearing his actual kit! After my initial success, I started using them for other things. One day I was tracking acoustic guitar in the studio and my large condensers didn't sound quite right in the mix. I set up my 81's together just to see what would happen. They gave my guitar the extra presence it needed to get heard on my track. Since then I've frequently returned to that setup a few times. I found later that the 81's sounded great on piano and pretty much any stringed instrument. The 81 really captures the character of anything it records, almost to a fault in some cases. It's very accurate and the extra presence it adds will definitely make sure mistakes are heard well. So be careful. Overall though I can't recommend these enough. They are tricky to learn how to use and you may not like them on everything, but I think every studio or venue could use a couple.

The Shure KSM32 is a large diaphragm condenser microphone that's for use in the studio or for broadcast purposes. The mic looks the same as most the others in the KSM series, like the KSM44 which is one that I've got more experience with. The KSM32 has a cardioid pick up pattern and has got a frequency response range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. It comes with it's own hard shell carrying case as well as a shock mount and mic clip. OVERALL OPINION The Shure KSM32 is a great option for a large diaphragm condenser microphone in any studio. It's best for the home studio owner looking for a great microphone at a great price, as it's got a professional sound without having to spend a ton of money. There are plenty of options in the KSM series, but the KSM32 is as good as any for the price. It's not as nice sounding as the KSM44, but it's also about half the price. I've used the microphone for a few different purposes, mostly as a vocal microphone. I recently helped out on a radio show that was broadcast from the studio I work at, and they were using this microphone for it. It was perfect for the job, as although there are better sounding mics out there for sure, this will get the job done in this situations more times than not. Having said this, I'd rather have a Shure SM7, which is about the same price or a little bit less and in my opinion is one of the best microphones out there, period. However, as far as condensers in this price range go, the KSM32 is definitely up there with the best. The KSM32 is worth looking into for anyone who's after a nice large diaphragm condenser at a more than reasonable price!

The Shure VP88 is a high quality stereo condenser microphone to be used in the recording studio. I wouldn't recommend using the mic in any other situation, as it isn't designed for use on the stage or anywhere else really. I can't even think of another application other than a studio one where you'd need a stereo mic. The VP88 has a slew of unique features on it in addition to the single point pick up pattern and the frequency response of 40 Hz to 20 kHz. It's got built in M/S encoding as well as a stereo width parameter that allows you to choose between three different points. It also has a high pass filter and is powered by either phantom power or a battery. OVERALL OPINION Being unique in make up, the Shure VP88 can be used for all sorts of different applications as it boasts a great deal of versatility. While a stereo microphone might not be the best mic for some applications, in the applications that it does work on, it works extremely well. I've used the VP88 for recording a few different things in a professional recording studio, including drum overheads. Unlike most stereo microphones, this isn't the best one for recording room sounds, as it does have a large enough pick up to get everything going on fully. While it can be used for this application, it isn't the main thing at all that I'd recommend doing with the VP88. Essentially, any time when you'd want a stereo signal coming from a signal place in a room, the VP88 will do some magic. It's like having a matched pair of high quality mics that you can easily set up for a stereo spread. As far as stereo microphones go, the Shure VP88 is priced extremely reasonably. I don't think you'll be finding too many stereo microphones that sound this good with as many unique features for this sort of price in the least. The price makes it accessible for larger home studio owners in addition to professionals, so I'd steer just about anyone looking for a stereo mic to the Shure VP88.

The KSM 27 is a very cheaply priced large diaphragm condenser from the legendary mic company Shure. Shure is so well known in the audio world that you can basically trust anything they put out to be a quality product. The KSM27 is in my opinion definitely no exception. It's a large diaphragm condenser type microphone that is supposed to be for studio usage but I have also seen people use them on stage to mic up a latin percussion section. They had a stereo pair of them mounted on booms pointing down at the section, and it sounded awesome coming through the venue speakers. More commonly you will find these in studios though. I know some people swear by using these as drum overheads even though they are not that expensive. They seem to have a frequency response that works very well for capturing an entire drum set with focus on the cymbals. Even though they're large diaphragm they have a very tight high frequency response that really can make the cymbals shimmer. It's a cardioid mic and unlike the other KSM mics you can't change the pattern on it, which is too bad since that makes it a lot more flexible. Shure will give you a nice case and shock mount with this mic which is a nice deal. OVERALL OPINION I have been using KSM mics pretty much since they came out. They are very common in nicer studios as well as home studios. It's very good sound quality for relatively short money, so it's no surprise these things sell very well. They are very solid and heavy mics as most Shure mics are, which is reassuring since you feel like you could drop it and it would be fine. It does lack a few key features like a low cut filter, but overall for the price it's hard to be disappointed with this mic. I recommend it.

The Shure KSM44 is a large diaphragm condenser mic. It would be primarily used for recording, but one may want to use it as a drum overheard in a larger production. The mic comes in a very nice metal case, with a velvet slip-case for the mic. It also comes with a shockmount, and a normal mount that you attach the the boom. The mic has a switchable polar pattern, offering cardiod, figure 8, and omni patterns, which makes the mic extra versatile. It has a switchable 15 dB attenuation pad, which comes in handy when you have very loud sources, such as a hard rock drummer. It also comes with a high pass filter with different steepnesses on the filter - this can be useful to cut down on proximity effect if you are recording vocals, or if you're afraid of some mechanical noise leaking in. OVERALL OPINION I have been using this mic for about 2 years, and I have a pair of them. I frequently use them for drum overheads as a pair, and for acoustic instruments such as acoustic guitar. I also love this mic on background vocal recording. One of the best features is the switchable pattern, so you can use these as an omni room mic, a cardioid close mic, or even a figure 8. I've used my pair of these mics in a mid-side stereo with one mic in cardiod, and the other in figure 8, and the results were great. This mic is quite transparent, without too much color added. The highs can sometimes be just a little bit too much, but other than that there isn't much hype. In fact, the added brightness on this mic is just what you may want for something such as drum overheards, which is my most frequent use for these. Being a shure product, they are built in the USA and are rock solid - so if you drop them it's not a huge deal unless you're very unlucky. I'd definitely recommend the KSM44 as your drum overheads, and also just a great all-around workhorse condenser for other acoustic sources.