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mooseherman « Tube mic on a budget! »
Published on 02/01/11 at 14:00This is a tube condenser mic made by Audio Technica. After doing some research I discovered that this was the first tube mic that this company has made, which is notable as they are becoming a more popular brand all the time for their variety of quality gear. It's definitely too fragile to be used anywhere but the studio, so no gigs with this guy! It has its own power supply as most tube-based mics will. It has only one pickup pattern, which makes it a little different from some of my go-to tube mics such as those made by AKG or Neumann, but this tends not to matter much as I usually just use it for vocals anyway. It also doesn't have a pad or cut on it which makes it a little less useful than some other mics of this nature but that can also be avoided, either by buying pads or having pads and cuts on your pre-amps or channel strips.
OVERALL OPINION
I think that this is a really good sounding tube mic. While some of them are known to be really noisy, this one doesn't have that issue. It likewise doesn't really color or distort the sound as much as other tube mics have been known to do. Don't get me wrong, it does distort/color a little bit, especially in the lower range, but I think that overall it's a lot less than most mics of this nature. I've really only used this on vocals and acoustic instruments such as guitar and violin, though I must say I got the best response from vocals.
This can be a good or bad thing depending on what you want to get out of tube mics. Some people are looking for a little support from mic coloring, otherwise don't really want that at all. I think that the best way to determine is to try it for yourself.
This is a really well-priced microphone. That's a great enough reason to buy it, though remember that it doesn't have pads, high or low pass filters, or different pickup patterns. If that's a deal-breaker for you, buy something a little better. Otherwise this is definitely useful.
OVERALL OPINION
I think that this is a really good sounding tube mic. While some of them are known to be really noisy, this one doesn't have that issue. It likewise doesn't really color or distort the sound as much as other tube mics have been known to do. Don't get me wrong, it does distort/color a little bit, especially in the lower range, but I think that overall it's a lot less than most mics of this nature. I've really only used this on vocals and acoustic instruments such as guitar and violin, though I must say I got the best response from vocals.
This can be a good or bad thing depending on what you want to get out of tube mics. Some people are looking for a little support from mic coloring, otherwise don't really want that at all. I think that the best way to determine is to try it for yourself.
This is a really well-priced microphone. That's a great enough reason to buy it, though remember that it doesn't have pads, high or low pass filters, or different pickup patterns. If that's a deal-breaker for you, buy something a little better. Otherwise this is definitely useful.