AKG SolidTube

The AKG solid tube is a condenser microphone that will provide you will top notch quality for your vocal recordings. I found that the best use of this microphone comes in a treated room and not a big open space. You can afford this mic for your home studio so just be careful about where it is being used and the space around it. It can really be a deciding factor when using it. Your space that you recording should be taking just as serious as buying a mic.


OVERALL OPINION

The AKG Solid Tube mic has a very classic and modern look to it at the same time. It has a brass look that is polished and well made. It looks like a very expensive mic but the truth of the story is that its not that expensive. So if you are pressed for a mic that looks great this could be one of the best ones. Not to mention that it will give you a warm rich sound and make your vocals sound really big. Also, if you have a good engineer behind you he can turn your recordings with this mic into excellent quality. You just need to eq a little bit especially on the low end cut some of those low frequencies out and I let the high’s go with it because they weren’t to bad the AKG solid tube.

I was actually surprised by the quality of the Solid Tube. I didn’t expect to get that sound of a mic that was this price. Plus it’s a great thing that it looks good too. This mic has shined in all aspects for me and I would purchase it again with out a questions. I recommend this mic to several people if they are on a budget. You wont be disappointed let your vocals shine.

This is a tube condenser microphone. As such, it really should only be used on professional grade recording projects in studios. Elsewhere, it'll either be too noisy, pick up too much ambient noise, or be in too loud an environment to work well. Not to mention that it actually is super fragile. It's a large diaphragm tube mic, with it's own power supply and custom shockmount.

OVERALL OPINION

I really like the sound of this mic very much. I tend to prefer tube mics on a lot of instruments, and this one is another great example of how well they work across a variety of different uses. The last engineer I worked with used this on everything, it seemed, as a mono room mic for drums (very spacious sounding, warm ambiance). I also tried it on acoustic guitars and got a crystal clear sonic picture with a nice amount of warm feeling to it. Similarly, I liked it a lot on vocals, particularly female vocals that are softer. I found that I could run it through the tube pre-amp for an especially solid sound. It still sounds great on male vocals too, though it probably wouldn't beat some of the other mics we had at the studio.
While this isn't the best tube mic I've used, it's certainly a lot cheaper than some of those ones that I would consider the best. I often wonder whether or not the price difference is worth it. I often doubt that it is, considering that after most projects are mixed down and mastered, most of the subtleties of each track are gone. Therefore, a good sound is a good sound, and doesn't necessarily need to be an amazing sound. The sounds with this mic are never anywhere less than great, and they should work fine for you too if you decide to pick one up.

The AKG Solidtube is a large diaphragm tube based condenser microphone that is designed for use in the recording studio.  As is the case with all tube condenser mics, I wouldn't recommend using this mic anywhere outside of the studio, meaning they aren't designed for live sound.  The mic comes with its own power supply and shock mount.

OVERALL OPINION

While I don't own an AKG Solidtube, I recently used it at a recording studio and have to say that I was pretty impressed.  I used it on both lead vocals and acoustic piano and found that this mic excelled well with both applications.  It is great for close micing in order to get a richer and more detailed sound.  While it isn't my favorite tube microphone, it is definitely quite respectable and does have a great tone quality.  While I haven't had the chance to use it for more applications, I'm confident that I would be able to find a number of other ones that this would work well for.  It is definitely a rich sounding microphone and is perfect for anything where you would want to capture some depth in a sound.  The price of the mic is about right for a mic of this stature and is accessible to both home and professional studio owners.  It is right in the middle of being a high quality microphone in terms of price range as it won't cost more than other tube mics out there, but it is really a give and take here.  If you are a home studio owner looking for an all in one tube mic without spending a couple of grand, this is a great choice for you.  It would also be a good choice for the professional who is looking to expand their collection without spending the money it would take to get a top tier tube mic.  All in all, AKG Solidtube is a great tube mic and is one that I would definitely recommend checking out.

The only available options are -20dB switch on the mic itself and Low filter (40Hz) on the power supply box. Comes with the robust case, good quality shock-mount absorber and usable foam as a poper stoper (yelloooow!), I don't use it, though. Use regular stand mounted net, works better. It has cardoid pattern, but I didn't need anything else so far. It has all you may need for vocal/acoustics mic.

Price paid: $500 USD used

OVERALL OPINION

Just great! It has that warmth of tube mic, yet very clear and balanced tone. If you don't want to spend hours on producing the vocals this is the right mic. With a good preamp (I use dbx 376 tube channel strip) all you need is a somenone who can sing. Yes it colours the sound significantly but in a great way. I just love the it. It's also great for the acoustic instruments and percussions. Even the crapy ones sound better recorded then live.

Due to the small number ov available options it's very easy to use. No doubts about positioning either. Stand in front of it and sing/play. That's it.

Hey it's AKG. Top quality. Tube is still being produced so no fears for spare parts. It's for the studio use only, of course.

You've got to love it! I do!

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: Unknown ( 4-, 2003)