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moosers
Published on 04/26/10 at 14:20
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.
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.