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mooseherman « Cheap Condenser! »
Published on 04/25/11 at 19:32This is a really, really low-priced condenser microphone. It's technically a small diaphragm condenser, even though it looks kind of big and is shaped like a large-diaphragm condenser. I wouldn't really consider it ideal for live situations, but it is kind of cheap, so you could try it on certain things. I'd say for the most part, though, it's more of a home-studio mic. It uses phantom power so make sure your pre-amp supplies it, or you have a backup phantom power supply.
OVERALL OPINION
I was surprised at how good this microphone was for the price. For an entry-level engineer, it's not bad at all. As far as which instruments I'd use it on, I've experimented with it a bit, and I've found that mostly, it's got a great midrange response. It's high end leaves a little bit to be desired, which is a shame as it's a small-diaphragm, and they tend to have good high-end response. I think it's best used on warm, mid-rangey sounds. Certain acoustics and electric guitars sound great. Pianos leave a lot to be desired, unless you are going for a muffled, dull sound. I don't like using it as a drum overhead, which is kind of what I had expected to use it as (being that it's a small diaphragm condenser). It also doesn't sound too great on vocals.
It's not that noisy for a cheap mic, and it definitely has some good uses. If you wanna learn the ropes of recording, and experiment with a lot of stuff, this is a good tool to do it with. That being said, I'd never use it in a professional studio, assuming I had better options.
OVERALL OPINION
I was surprised at how good this microphone was for the price. For an entry-level engineer, it's not bad at all. As far as which instruments I'd use it on, I've experimented with it a bit, and I've found that mostly, it's got a great midrange response. It's high end leaves a little bit to be desired, which is a shame as it's a small-diaphragm, and they tend to have good high-end response. I think it's best used on warm, mid-rangey sounds. Certain acoustics and electric guitars sound great. Pianos leave a lot to be desired, unless you are going for a muffled, dull sound. I don't like using it as a drum overhead, which is kind of what I had expected to use it as (being that it's a small diaphragm condenser). It also doesn't sound too great on vocals.
It's not that noisy for a cheap mic, and it definitely has some good uses. If you wanna learn the ropes of recording, and experiment with a lot of stuff, this is a good tool to do it with. That being said, I'd never use it in a professional studio, assuming I had better options.