Electro-Voice PL44

The Electro Voice PL 44 is a very budget minded microphone. All of you may know me as the guy who just loves cheap things. I love everything about saving money on audio gear, especially for live sound, because I do know that you can surely and definitely get a very good sound and a lot of positive energy from getting a great mic sound out of something that cost almost nothing. And the PL 44 from Electro Voice is something that can fulfill that desire very easily and very well. The PL 44 is advertised as being that mic that can give you tightness in all of the frequencies. It says you can get a tight low end, a smooth mid range, and a crispy, but not overly harsh high end. I am inclined to agree with that statement. It is a handheld vocal microphone. It is a dynamic, and like many of Electro Voice's latest entries into a microphone segment, a super cardioid microphone. This is very important because of feedback rejection and elimination of sound bleed from other instruments or singers on stage. It has a frequency response that starts down at 80 Hz, not too low, but I like to think of it like a built in roll off filter, and extends above the "required" 15,000 Hz all the way up to a nice even 16,000 Hz.

OVERALL OPINION

In my experience, this mic like many other mics can easily dethrone a SM58 in the right situation. It is a much more articulate mic than the muddy overly aggressive SM58 and retained that crispiness but not the grittiness of a 57. I also love the styling of the PL series microphones, so it's a plus for me. This is a great microphone on a budget and it can compete easily with the big boys.