heads on fire « Decent budget mic. »
Published on 11/07/11 at 11:06Specifications
Black housing
Included shockmount
Pickup Patterns Pads & Filters
Cardioid (14 mV/Pa; 20 - 20,000 Hz)
Filter: HPF: -6dB@100hz (Via Switch)
Capsule Dimensions Impedance SPL/Noise
Diaphragm diameter: 25mm
200 Ohms (Low) Max SPL: 140 dB
Weight Length Max Diameter Interface(s)
362g (12.77oz) 152mm (5.98'') 45mm (1.77'')
3-pin XLR male (1)
Power Specifications
Requires phantom power
Phantom voltage: 48v
OVERALL OPINION
This is a great budget studio mic. It's main plus is that it can handle extremely high SPLs, so putting this in front of even a shotgun in a studio setting would work well with no capsule distortion. It's great for a secondary kick mic, to add definition. It's good in front of a raging amplifier or a very loud snare drum. In a budget setting, this will do anything pretty well for the money - acoustic guitars, vocals, percussion, brass and winds... It captures the highs better than something like an SM-57, so if high frequency definition is a must, this is a better choice than a 57.
It feels cheap, however. I mean, it is inexpensive, but the shockmount that comes with it feels shoddy, and the casing doesn't look like it could handle a drop onto a studio floor. Mics should never be dropped, ever, but this seems like it would perish for sure with a tumble. For the price, one cannot expect durability miracles or top quality construction, but it is a point I need to mention.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to someone that was just starting to learn recording, or had very little money to spend on a condenser microphone. It does a pretty decent job on most anything. I could pick out a better microphone than this for any application, but for a budget mic, this is hard to top. Even for someone that has a well-stocked mic locker, this makes a great high-SPL go-to microphone as well.
Black housing
Included shockmount
Pickup Patterns Pads & Filters
Cardioid (14 mV/Pa; 20 - 20,000 Hz)
Filter: HPF: -6dB@100hz (Via Switch)
Capsule Dimensions Impedance SPL/Noise
Diaphragm diameter: 25mm
200 Ohms (Low) Max SPL: 140 dB
Weight Length Max Diameter Interface(s)
362g (12.77oz) 152mm (5.98'') 45mm (1.77'')
3-pin XLR male (1)
Power Specifications
Requires phantom power
Phantom voltage: 48v
OVERALL OPINION
This is a great budget studio mic. It's main plus is that it can handle extremely high SPLs, so putting this in front of even a shotgun in a studio setting would work well with no capsule distortion. It's great for a secondary kick mic, to add definition. It's good in front of a raging amplifier or a very loud snare drum. In a budget setting, this will do anything pretty well for the money - acoustic guitars, vocals, percussion, brass and winds... It captures the highs better than something like an SM-57, so if high frequency definition is a must, this is a better choice than a 57.
It feels cheap, however. I mean, it is inexpensive, but the shockmount that comes with it feels shoddy, and the casing doesn't look like it could handle a drop onto a studio floor. Mics should never be dropped, ever, but this seems like it would perish for sure with a tumble. For the price, one cannot expect durability miracles or top quality construction, but it is a point I need to mention.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to someone that was just starting to learn recording, or had very little money to spend on a condenser microphone. It does a pretty decent job on most anything. I could pick out a better microphone than this for any application, but for a budget mic, this is hard to top. Even for someone that has a well-stocked mic locker, this makes a great high-SPL go-to microphone as well.