Microphones

Browse Mics »

If you are recording any type of audio sounds to your productions from vocals to acoustic guitars, hand percussion & more then you need a microphone & the amount of choice today is staggering...
We're going to get a bit 'history-class' on you here, but it's very interesting to see how the collapse of the Soviet Union & European Eastern block combined with China's Communist Party reforms - all of which happened at the beginning of the 1990's - started the revolution that changed the price of microphones we can all buy today... yeah I know... bare with me ok, this is some deep sh*t brah!

If you went back to Ye Olden Days of 1980-1990 and you bought a microphone it'd usually be from either of the American companies Shure or ElectroVoice, the Japanese company Audio-Technica.. or... Ze Germans, who had dominated quality microphone production since the 1940's via the companies Neumann, Telefunken, AKG, Sennheiser & Beyerdynamic.  In the 1980's up to the start of the 1990's your typical budget backstreet & home studio would be using a lot of old Shure Unidyne's, SM57's & SM58's & other dynamic mic's such as the AKG D12 (for kick drums & bass) or maybe the D202 & D190 for drums & other miking duties, along with the usual suspects like the Sennheiser MD421 etc if they had a bit more money to spend. The real issue back then for the budget studio was affording a high-quality main vocal mic & high-end pencil type condensers with the usual 'industry-standard' German models used in the pro-end bigger studios costing huge amounts of money.

But things radically changed as we entered the 1990s. One of the first encroachments into the usual German, Japanese & American marketplace dominance occurred with the fall of the The Soviet Union & the Eastern block states which collapsed over a period from 1991 to 1993. The following year in 1994 Oktava mic's started to appear on the western market... the story basically goes like this:

In the final years of the Soviet Union under the 12th & 13th State 'Plans', manufacturing continued regardless of whether products had any sales. Communist Russia was imploding but carried on as if nothing was happening because nobody knew how to end it all (this is explained in some detail in Adam Curtis's excellent film 'Bitter Lake' - available to watch free on Youtube). The upshot of this was that when the Soviet State finally collapsed there were masses of un-sold surplus products sitting in Russian warehouses, including microphones which had been continuously manufactured for State Broadcasting facilities over the final Communist Party years despite the fact they never got used.

These Oktava mic's were marketed into Europe starting in 1994 with the large diaphragm MK219 condenser mic & it immediately found favour for having a high quality sound at a measly £250 quid price point. It was rumoured that the MK219 used copies of German capsules designed by George Neumann. To understand that potential connection it is important to know that during WW2 George Neumann moved his factory to Gefell in what later became East Germany after the war. This factory/Company was called Microtech Gefell. It was therefore possible that the Communists - having control of the Gefell company after annexing East Germany - shared designs across the wider Soviet block (and with Communist China). Neumann's Microtech Gefell factory produced the M7 capsule used in the famous U47 made by Neumann & Telefunken, and with the Eastern block now collapsed Microtech Gefell also started to offer high quality condenser mic's into the western market at the same time... isn't history wonderful?

Oktava & Gefell mic's sold well, offering VERY good sound quality at a seriously competitive price, and this set the market expectations so that very soon AKG were offering their cut-price C3000 & even Neumann joined the party with lower priced (for them) offerings like the TLM193.

The next step in cheap mic's was via China. China had been going through various stages of 'reform' over the previous 25 years. Chairman Mao died in 1976 & Deng Xiaoping took over as leader, ushering in new reforms starting in 1978 which culminated in the 1991 policy of "reform and opening", that is, reform of the economic system and opening to foreign trade.

Smaller companies started appearing offering low-cost but quality microphones usually sourced in China and then imported & sometimes modified to create some serious cost competition for the old legacy companies. One of the first of these was Australian company Røde who brought their NT-2 to market around 1995 soon followed by the NT-1, both mic's soon established themselves as budget high-quality products, with Røde eventually shifting to manufacture most of the components in Australia but their mic's still used Chinese parts to some extent.

As we marched through the 1990's & into the early 2000's the Chinese revolution started to seriously take off with a wide range of Chinese-made mic's appearing all over western markets derived from companies like the 797 Microphone Company or Feilo.

It should also be noted there's a further Communist connection here, in that the 797 Microphone Company started back in 1953 as a State manufacturer used designs & technology shared with the Chinese State by the East German communists... who remember had 'acquired' certain 'German' microphone technologies after annexing East Germany.

The Chinese factories turned out visual clones of all the famous American, Japanese & German mic's, but with inferior components & electronics. Western companies however could specify different components for their OEM models or simply buy off-the-shelf with their own brand-name simply added to the product. The die was cast & soon all the lower-cost models from the big legacy companies were being manufactured in China too. The upshot of all this was that good quality microphones, particularly large diaphragm vocal condenser mic's finally became affordable for the masses in their home studio setups.

Top

Dynamic microphones

The Akai MPC series is a much misunderstood product line. From the first model released - the MPC-60 - the MPC series were designed & marketed as a hardware sequencer AND sample based drum machine, all in one, designed to be the center piece of a MIDI based studio.

At the same time as Akai updated & released subsequent MPC models they also released their fully-featured rack & keyboard 'S' series samplers, with the MPC's always having the primary role of being a sample drum & loop player with combined hardware sequencer all they way through until the early 2000's at which point finally Akai started to bring what you'd call full sampler features to the MPC series and from that point forwards Akai samplers & their MPC series started to become interchangable as full fledged samplers allowing mapped sample sets with velocity layering and all the things you'd expact from a fully fledged sampler.

Donec laoreet et leo at iaculis. Nunc et sem id eros gravida ornare. Vestibulum quis ex nec lacus tincidunt lobortis. Vivamus nec suscipit sem, nec sagittis urna. Etiam feugiat lacus ut dui convallis fringilla. Integer tincidunt purus vel dapibus venenatis. Vivamus blandit mauris at massa aliquet, nec pretium ipsum iaculis. Donec scelerisque, magna sit amet pulvinar tincidunt, nunc massa dapibus eros, fermentum elementum metus massa quis eros. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

Aliquam vestibulum tempor dolor, at consectetur eros accumsan at. Mauris nec diam in libero sollicitudin elementum. Nam egestas, metus sit amet interdum aliquet, lorem quam maximus odio, vel imperdiet nulla enim quis tellus. Nam ullamcorper dignissim scelerisque. Mauris sit amet auctor augue. Aliquam auctor mi ut tincidunt bibendum. Suspendisse tincidunt, libero quis dignissim pellentesque, odio tortor scelerisque nisl, eu iaculis eros lorem nec lectus.

Classic dynamic microphones

Shure 55

The Shure Model 55 Unidyne® Microphone released in 1939 was the world’s first single-element unidirectional dynamic microphone. Its performance qualities and distinctive styling ultimately make it the most recognised microphone in the world. Notably, the single-element design makes microphones smaller, less expensive, and, therefore, more accessible to all.

Shure SM57

Released in 1965 & considered the 'Swiss Army Knife' of microphones, the SM57 was (like it's equally famous sister the SM58) part of the Shure Unidyne evolution which started with the Shure Model 55. In the image above (Left) is the Unidyne III Model 545 released in 1959 which was the fore-runner of the SM57. They say probably 75% of all records in the modern era used an SM57 on some part of the recording. The SM57 is also rather good for vocals (depending on the voice) although few tend to think of it for that role. For use on drums some people remove the transformer which is quite easily done.This reduces the output by about 10dB while adding extra bass end and reducing it's classic mid presence.

Shure SM58

Released in 1966, the SM58 evolved from the Model 565 (image left) & has the exact same Unidyne III internal bits as the SM57. The SM58 was the first microphone to feature the Unisphere ball grille that has since become the standard grille shape for live vocal mic's. The 'SM' designation given to the next generation of the SM57 & SM58 stands for 'Studio Microphone'. Shure's Unidyne 565 mic was hugely popular for live performance work, but not in the studio/tv/radio scene. They consulted with the studio industry to find out why they weren't using the Unidyne's & thus the shiny chrome was ditched in favour of the less reflective grey colour (no shiny reflections for the camera) and the on/off switch was removed (which might accidentally be switched OFF during a show) & that was the birth of the 'SM' series.

SHURE SM7B

The SM7B arrived in 1976 & it evolved out of the original 1966 SM5 which itself was based on the Unidyne III SM57 but delivered in a large sized unidirectional boom-mic format for the film & broadcast industry. While the SM7B was based on the same Unidyne III internals as the SM57, the diaphragm & larger body size was designed to give a more extended low-end & a generally flatter & wider response than the handheld SM57 & SM58. Despite being a dynamic mic the SM7B is famous for it's use on all Micheal Jackson's vocals for the Thriller album despite the fact Bruce Swedien could have used any ultra high-end vocal condenser mic he wanted. Still sold today the SM7B costs around £350 GBP from most retailers.

AKG D12

Released way back in 1953 the AKG D12 was the worlds first dynamic cardioid microphone & is the daddy of all kick drum mic's. The D12 was actually released as a vocal mic & it soon found favour with the broadcast & studio industry in that role, but as studio multi-tracking took off in the 1960's engineers soon started using the D12 for kick drum & bass guitar. It's larger diaphragm combined with built-in effective pop-shield, spring mounted transducer (originally to reduce handling noise) & it's larger sized bass resonator chamber allowed it to handle bass & high SPL's (Sound Pressure Levels) really well to deliver a bass-end which was deep, clean and well defined & it's response extended down to 30Hz. The mic went through various revisions & variations were also released including the D20, D25 & D30. The original D12 production run ceased in 1976, but it was soon re-issued in 1978 as the D12E with an XLR connector rather than the attached cable of the previous first version.

Sennheiser MD421

Introduced in 1960, the MD421 is an industry standard Dynamic mic & was so widely adopted across the broadcast industry it could be considered as the product that made Sennheiser as a company (along with their famous first open-back headphones, still the biggest selling headphones in history). The original is the cream coloured one, with the later & still in production black model II.

Sennheiser MD409

The MD409 has a super-cardioid response and handles very high SPL levels even for a dynamic mic, so good for things like drums (used for toms on Metallica's Black album for example), loud brass etc, but famously was used as a live vocal mic by Pink Floyd. It is also considered by many to be one of the finest mic's ever made for guitar cabs. The mic started life in the 60's as the MD409-N but was also badged & sold as the Echolette ES14 (cheaper on eBay IF you can find them). Then came the MD409-U3 and as last the BF509. Those are the only models which have the similar MD409 capsule. Sennheiser stopped making the mic sometime in the late 80's or early 90's claiming it wasn't selling enough to justify production. The cheaper replacement is the E609 which is about £99 quid.

Electrovoice RE20

Released in 1968, the RE20 is the most famous mic in broadcasting, seen in thousands of radio station setups. The RE20 is a cardioid mic designed around a large 'Acoustalloy' (EV developed plastic material) diaphragm combined with a very low mass aluminium voice coil. When released the RE20 offered a wide & flat frequency response (with switchable hi-pass 'tilt-down switch' filter if bass reduction is required) with excellent transient response while being able to handle very high SPL's without distortion, and thus it was initially marketed as a 'Condenser killer' alternative for the industry. Heavy internal pop damping material in the openings (which also shock-mounted the internals) combined with EV's 'Variable-D' technology (ports down the side of the mic), meant the user could speak or sing right up to the mic without the usual dynamic mic proximity effect (bass increase). The RE20 also has very high 180 degree rear noise rejection while at the same time sounding identical at any angle around the front & sides - hence it got so big with radio stations. Can also be used for instruments & kick drums etc. As used on vocals by Stevie Wonder, McCartney, Dylan, Radiohead etc while an early user for drums was John Bonham. Basically it's one of the most iconic mic's ever made. Still sold today for just under £500 quid.

Audix D6

Cliff Castle's Audix company only started up in 1984, initially manufacturing their first OM1 vocal mic in Japan, they now build their mic's in Oregon and have established a serious reputation. All their mic's are good but particularly they are known for the D6 kick drum mic featuring their VLM (very low mass) diaphragm which is something of an industry standard now.

Red5Audio RVD1

The RVD1 is a branded OEM Chinese mic which the Scottish distributor Red5Audio started to import as part of a drum mic' set in the early 2000's, eventually supplying it stand-alone in it's own plastic carry-case with tripod stand. Sadly Red5Audio no longer import & sell it on their website so whether it's possible to get it direct from China still is an unknown, but you can find them s/h now and again in the eBay ad's. This mic will take the 'Pepsi challenge' against any of the usual kick mic' suspects. I've used this at all sorts of venues & theatres (usually replacing the in-house AKG or Shure kick mic) and I don't know if the weight of the body contributes to the tightness of the sound (it's heavy like an old D12) but it delivers an amazingly tight & deep kick drum. It's a hyper-cardioid as far as I can tell & the best way to use it is OUTSIDE the kick pointing at the beater head (so you need the correct mini boom-stand to avoid the drummers legs). A hidden gem which costs about £30-35 quid s/h if you can find one.

Red5Audio RVD30

It's not just about the old esoteric & expensive gear. This is another branded OEM Chinese mic, again from the Scottish distributor Red5Audio & it's an absolute gem! I much prefer this to an SM58 (in any guise) as it offers a crisper more 'condenser' sound with much less bass-end proximity effect, looks better onstage, has great feedback rejection (hyper-cardioid) & sports an on/off switch which is VERY useful for gigs. These great mic's are £36 each, £52 for a pair, or you can get four in a bundle for £130 quid, which is a bargain if you're looking to grab some  vocal mic's for a PA rig, rehearsal studio or House of Worship. (and no i don't work for them or get paid to recommend).

AKG D202 / D222

The very unusual D202 & D222 from the 1970's. Unusual because they use two transducers mounted in the body with a crossover: one transducer for the treble-end, and the second for the bass with the crossover frequency set at 800Hz. This 2-transducer system means the D202/D222 doesn't suffer from the usual dynamic-mic "proximity effect" (bass increases as you get the mic nearer the source) & they offer excellent off-axis response. Excellent mic for things like snare where you can bring it as close as you like and the sound remains flat & it can handle high SPL's to boot. There was also the D224E which used the same AKG 2-way transducer system. As used to this day by the British Houses of Parliament.

Condenser microphones

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris interdum non lorem vel pulvinar. Aenean volutpat libero vitae accumsan posuere. Etiam vel lorem eu lacus molestie ultrices. Nulla suscipit, velit id tempus lobortis, nunc diam suscipit urna, vitae sollicitudin orci mi sit amet metus. Donec molestie lectus eu elit pharetra sollicitudin. Donec laoreet et leo at iaculis. Nunc et sem id eros gravida ornare. Vestibulum quis ex nec lacus tincidunt lobortis. Vivamus nec suscipit sem, nec sagittis urna. Etiam feugiat lacus ut dui convallis fringilla. Integer tincidunt purus vel dapibus venenatis. Vivamus blandit mauris at massa aliquet, nec pretium ipsum iaculis. Donec scelerisque, magna sit amet pulvinar tincidunt, nunc massa dapibus eros, fermentum elementum metus massa quis eros. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

Aliquam vestibulum tempor dolor, at consectetur eros accumsan at. Mauris nec diam in libero sollicitudin elementum. Nam egestas, metus sit amet interdum aliquet, lorem quam maximus odio, vel imperdiet nulla enim quis tellus. Nam ullamcorper dignissim scelerisque. Mauris sit amet auctor augue. Aliquam auctor mi ut tincidunt bibendum. Suspendisse tincidunt, libero quis dignissim pellentesque, odio tortor scelerisque nisl, eu iaculis eros lorem nec lectus.

U 47, U 67, and M 49, AKG C 12, and Telefunken ELA M 251 - the big five

Classic Condenser mics

Telefunken/Neumann U47

Ok this is the daddy of modern hi-end vocal mic's. The George Neumann designed U47 first debuted at the Berlin Radio Show in 1947, ergo: the U '47' title (the 'U' signified it used a plugin amp tube). Neumann allowed Telefunken to distribute & badge the U47 as a deal to use their VF14 tubes. The Telefunken U47 was made between 1949 & 1965, finally being discontinued after supplies of reliable VF14 tubes ran out in 1963. Considered by many to be the best vocal microphone ever made, with it's characteristic midrange presence ushering in a new era of sonic fidelity for vocalists compared to the ribbon mic's used at the time, the U47 was used by everyone from Sinatra to The Beatles and beyond. The U47 was the first mic to offer switchable cardioid or omni pattern. The mic is now in reissue production again from Telefunken.

Telefunken ELA M 251

1959 - 1962. The Telefunken ELA M 251 came about after George Neumann stopped his distribution contract with Telefunken in 1959. Telefunken wanted a new mic to fill the gap & contracted AKG to supply their C12 capsule. The ELA M 251 amplifier circuit was originally built to satisfy the standardised requirements of the German and Austrian national broadcast systems after World War II. Utilising a Telefunken AC701 vacuum tube, the AKG CK12 capsule and a Haufe T14:1 ratio output transformer, the ELA M 251 has achieved legendary stature in the modern recording industry.

Neumann U67

Released in 1960 the U67 is part of whole the U47 / ELA M 251 story & one of the "Big Five" best ever vocal mic's. As noted with the two previous mic's (the U47 & ELA M 251), Telefunken made the VF14 tubes, but around 1958 Neumann was informed these would soon cease production & from Neumann's final order batch the last U47's were made up until 1965. However, Neumann needed to create a replacement microphone while the final U47's were being built, so they created the U67 around the 1953 designed British Mullard EF86 Pentode tube (made by various companies including Telefunken), combined with a new K67 capsule using a Mylar plastic diaphragm. The rest as they say is history. The U67 (& U87) - both using the K67 capsule - became THE industry standard mic's for the highest possible quality, particularly with vocals. Inducted into the TEC Hall Of Fame in 2017. Neumann re-released a "historically accurate" U67 around 2018 which sells for just shy of £5 grand.

Neumann M49

The M 49 was the first studio microphone with a continuously variable directional pattern. It used the same large diaphragm capsule as the U47 and ranks among the most sought-after tube microphones of all time. One the the "Big Five" vocal mics.

AKG C12

Another vintage legendary mic. The C12 uses the same capsule as the Telefunken Elam 251. AKG supplied the C12 capsule to Telefunken after George Neumann stopped Telefunken distribution of his U47 design in 1959 & Telefunken used that as the basis for the ELA M 251. One of the "Big Five" vocal mic's used by artists such as Usher and many more.

Neumann u87

Created in the 1960's the U87 is considered the standard industry mic particularly for vocals against which all others are measured. An industry standard originally released using the same K67 capsule as the legendary U67.

Neumann TLM103

With a capsule design based on the industry standard u87, the TLM103 is Neumann's best selling mic. A large diaphragm condenser mic suitable for vocals and more.

Oktava MK012

Landing in Europe in 1994 from the newly liberated ex Soviet Russia, at just £350 quid the MK012 offered astonishing value for a high quality small diaphragm condenser mic which came with 3 interchangeable screw-in capsules offering Cardioid, Hyper-Cardioid & Omni patterns & a small screw-in -10dB pad barrel which you could optionally attach to the main barrel of the mic and then screw the required capsule into the Pad barrel section. It had a quoted frequency response of 20Hz - 20kHz. If you are wondering why the barrel legend clearly reads "MC012" & not "MK012", it's because "MK" is an abbreviation of the Russian   Микрофон Конденсаторный (Condenser microphone), but the initial UK importers A & F McKay requested for some reason that it be changed to “MC”. Once McKay's 20 year distribution deal expired in 2004 Oktava reverted to the original "MK" prefix on the barrel. The Oktava MK012 is still sold today with a slightly more refined looking appearance (silver or black) either singly or as a matched pair, and optionally with just the cardioid capsule or with all 3 capsules. You can also get modification kits quite cheaply that turn the MK012 from great to 'phenomenal' (so they say)

AKG C414

The AKG C414 is one of the most recognisable mic's in the studio scene. Evolving over several decades from the original C12 and eventually going transformer-less, these are the current models in the image above. The C414 is a 1" large diaphragm condenser renowned for it's clean and accurate sound.

AKG C451

Released in 1969 this was AKG's first FET condenser, the solid state successor to the tube C28 & C60 using the same capsule thread.

The C451 was part of the overall C450 microphone component system. The C451 is the actual barrel/body of the mic containing the amplifier & the user can then choose from a range of screw in capsules for different recording tasks.

The range of capsules included the CK1 (cardioid), the CK1S (cardioid CK1 but with treble boost) CK2 and CK22 (omni), CK4 (figure of 8) CK5 (a CK1 housed in a vocal pop filter) and CK7 and 8 (short and long shotguns). The idea was that a single or pair of the C415 bodies (the "Colette") with a range of capsules & accessories could cover all miking tasks in one easy to transport microphone kit.

Two step down screw in barrels were also part of the system (exactly as copied by Oktava for the MK012), reducing output by either -10dB (A50/10) or -20dB (A50/20), but this system was superseded by the C451EB which sported switches for the pad & hi-pass filter.

The C451 was widely used across the TV & studio industry & is considered a very high quality small diaphragm condenser mic, suitable for recording things like acoustic guitars, pianos & vocals. The C451 is often seen on old TV music shows from the 1970's like TOTP in the UK.  Barry White used one for vocals apparently.

The C451 was discontinued in 1994 & replaced by two new modular systems: The cheaper C300 'Blue Line' system & the more costly C460 system which used a new Mylar plastic diaphragm & had a less crispy high end, and therefore was supposedly better for the newly arrived digital recording format. The current equivalent modular system is the C480B which takes the CK 61-ULS, CK 62-ULS, CK 63-ULS, CK 69-ULS capsules, while the re-released C451B is the non-modular equivalent.

Neumann KM 184

Industry standard small diaphragm condenser 'pencil' style mic' released as the replacement for the 1992 discontinued KM 84 (the world's first Phantom Powered mic). The original KM 84 model name ‘KM’ stands for 'Kleine Mikrofon' (small microphone) which is the basic format of the KM series. The KM 184 is often used (and therefore sold) as a stereo pair & with it's very low noise & flat frequency response across the cardioid pattern it's the mic of choice for high quality stereo (or mono) recordings. Cheaper alternatives for a small diaphragm 'pencil' style condenser mic are the Beyerdynamic MC-930, the Oktava MK012 or the RØDE NT5 or for something a bit rarer try the Calrec CM1051c.

AKG C1000 / C1000s

Released in the mid 1980's the AKG C1000 / C1000s is a back-electret condenser mic which can run off battery or Phantom power & it went on to become one of the top selling mic's, found in bedroom to pro studios alike. Initially powered by a PP3 9V battery the newer model uses two AA batteries for up to 120 hours of use where no Phantom power source is available. A very versatile mic with a wide & pretty flat frequency response of 50Hz to 20kHz. The 'S' model arrived a bit later adding a little plastic cap device called the 'PPC 1000 Polar Pattern Converter', which can be attached to the capsule to change the polar response from cardioid to super-cardioid. Also available was the  'PB1000 Presence Boost Adapter', which adjusts the mic’s native frequency-response curve adding 3-5dB of high-end boost between 5kHz & 9kHz, improving clarity & definition of instrument sounds & speech or vocals. Later models added an internal -10dB pad & 80Hz bass cut switch which could be accessed next to the internal battery compartment. Useful for everything from drum overheads to vocals to acoustic instruments and of course outside field recording.

RØDE NT1-A

The NT1-A is the cheaper version of the NT2-A, both of which go back to RØDE's original mostly Chinese made mid 1990's NT-2 (The "Rødent"). The NT1-A is a 1" gold sputtered large diaphragm condenser mic but without the switchable pad, polar position & bass roll-off  features found on it's more expensive sibling NT2-A. A huge seller & an easy choice for quality vocals and more with the cost conscious studio owner in mind.

Tandy PZM

Released sometime in the 1980's the Tandy (Radio Shack) PZM has to be added to the list for it's legendary status. Basically it's a super-cheap copy of the original Crown PZM mic & it was sold across the Tandy (Radio Shack) chain.

People try the mic and say it's not very good but that's because they use the wrong battery. The PZM's in-cable battery box takes a usual AA 1.5v battery. People put a single AA in and then say the mic isn't that good. But Tandy recommended using two special 23-469 batteries (1/2 the length of an AA) inserted into the AA battery box in series, giving 6 volts each which gives the mic more voltage & thus better dynamic range & SPL (Sound Pressure Level) handling. The special 23-469 batteries are hard to get so what you do is solder a PP3 battery connector to the battery terminals inside the battery box, make a little cut in the edge of the battery box cover with a hobby knife to bring the PP3 connector wires outside the box, then connect a regular cheap & easy to get PP3 9V battery to the PP3 connector, close the batter box cover and then attach the PP3 9v battery to the outside of the battery box with a rubber band. The PZM is then running on a higher 9V and performs much better.

The PZM has a wide flat & clear frequency response & picks up well at different distances while having no real directional characteristic. This is because the sound bounces off the large 5.5" x 4.75" metal 'boundary plate' into the small electret microphone pickup which faces down at the plate.  So to get the best sound the plate needs to be fixed firmly to a solid surface... Fix one (or a pair) with Gaffa tape to walls & floors for room mic recordings, or to equally capture a small group of BV singers or vocal ensemble. Another trick is to Gaffa tape the PZM to a heavy butchers weight or large steel gym weight and put it in a kick-drum. You can even unscrew the tiny mic capsule from the plate and use Blu-Tac to fix it in the opening of Saxophones or whatever or use as a small lapel mic. Very versatile mic.

Thomann SCT-800

Made by one of the big Chinese factories for the German retailer Thomann, this blue AKG C12 visual clone at just £159 GBP or €179 Euros is a great low-cost tube condenser mic using a K-67 capsule with a cheap 12AX7 tube. The mic has a quoted frequency range of 20Hz to 15kHz, so not a sizzling high top-end but that's fine for vocals & acoustic instruments where it delivers a full, clear & warm sound. A great sounding & cheap vocal mic which can be fairly easily modded for even better performance. Plenty of information on the www about modifying this mic, even simply changing the tube can yield improvements.

Blue Baby Bottle SL

BLUE (Baltic Latvian Universal Electronics) have built a well deserved reputation over recent years not just for their flag ship £4000 pound top of the range valve Bottle mic, but also for their cheaper Essential series mic's all of which are built in Latvia and the USA using their own capsule and amp designs rather then being rebadged Chinese fare. The Baby Bottle SL is the next-gen version of the best selling original Baby Bottle (now discontinued). They also do several other cheap mic's including the well respected Hummingbird pencil condenser & the cheap side-address Ember mic.

Thomann SC-450

German retailer Thomann have a wide range of Chinese made OEM mic's which are sold under the 'T.Bone' name, but this is their consistent best selling mic year in year out & it offers superb value at just £68 GBP or €77 Euros. The SC-450 is a compact 1" gold plated large diaphragm condenser with bass roll off & pad switching, which comes complete with shock cradle & a nice aluminium carry & storage case. They also sell the mic in various super-value bundles with stand, lead & pop-shield & also with the ART Tube MP pre-amp. This is an example of the typical high value you get today with Chinese mic's. All Thomann 'T.Bone' products come with a full 3 year warranty. For even greater value check their ridiculously cheap SC-400 which is around £44 GBP yet delivers a surprisingly good vocal performance.

Audio-Technica AT2020

This is Audio-Technica's cheapest value large diaphragm condenser mic. Being a "no-frills" mic, the AT2020 has no extras such as pad or roll off switch & simply delivers a back electret 16mm capsule (slightly smaller than 1") in a typical side-address form giving a wide frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz with a decent SPL handling level & a slight presence boost from around 5kHz to 15kHz. It's a solid decent quality microphone suitable for recording anything from vocals to acoustic guitar & all the usual home-studio instruments. At around £80 GBP or €87 Euros it's a super-value mic.

AKG C3000 & 3000B

The AKG C3000 has been around for 27 years. Released in 1993 for around £500 GBP, the first C3000 unusually sported 2 separate traditional condenser/capacitor capsules which allowed the mic to be switched between Cardioid & HyperCardioid configurations. The C3000B (picture right) then came along in 1999, costing around £299 GBP, which on it's release was actually more expensive than the older C3000 which had dropped in price since it's 1993 debut. The C3000B used a different back electret design with a fixed Cardioid response. The current C3000 is basically the C3000B using the 1" diaphragm electret capsule with pad & bass roll off switches. A well respected lower priced large diaphragm mic, found in home & budget studios all over the world for several decades.

Studio Projects B1

American company Studio Projects was one of the first companies to establish a respected brand name selling their own designed mic's manufactured using high quality components made by the 797 Microphone Company in China. In fact the first generation B1 had the 797 company logo on the body. Designed by Brent Casey in the USA, the original B1 was sold between 2002 & 2006 & had no switches for bass roll-off or pad and was a simple bare-bones but high quality transformer-less FET design featuring a 1" Dupont Teijin Films three-micron, gold-evaporated Mylar diaphragm with a cardioid response. The B1 cost a staggeringly low sub 80 GBP/Euro/USD price. The current production model sells for around €116 Euros & now features both a 2 position Pad switch & 75Hz & 150Hz hi-pass roll-off switch.

The SoS review in 2005 noted: "One very pleasant surprise was the way this mic interpreted acoustic guitar. Most capacitor mic's will render a fairly clean and natural-sounding recording of an acoustic guitar if correctly positioned, but this model added some flattering weight to the sound and seemed less critical of positioning. It also seemed to smooth out the rough edges without losing any detail — the top end comes over as open and detailed, but without being harsh or scratchy. Although the overall effect may not be quite so refined as that of a £1000 mic, it's really not as far behind as you might imagine."

Studio Projects LSM

USB condenser microphones are now very much a thing & here's but one example. The LSM from Studio Projects is another Brent Casey design which earned a top-two place in RecordingHacks Best Sub $200 Condenser mic shootout. Released in 2010, the LSM offers both USB output and also traditional Phantom Powered XLR connection. The LSM features the usual K67 Neumann original designed backplate with a 27mm gold-sputtered 6-micron Mylar diaphragm & in seeking to provide a simple "plug & play" format for home Podcasters and the like it maintains a simple design with no switches for pad or roll off features. The LSM was originally designed for USB output only, but on initial trial some retailers suggested adding traditional XLR connection and so Casey went back to the drawing board to redesign it with that feature added. The LSM's USB ADC outputs a 16-bit 48k signal. A surprisingly great sounding budget mic equally at home on a desktop for casual computer & internet use or in a studio.

Line Audio CM4

Made in Sweden by Line Audio Design, these tiny CM4's are rated very highly as a super budget alternative to the usual Neumann etc offerings, for a staggering low price of around £159 GBP each. The CM4 is the new model which took over from the previous CM3's which sold over 20,000 units world wide.

This little microphone has a natural, detailed and balanced response. Perfect for natural reproduction of acoustical instruments such as members of the bowed and plucked string-families, grand piano, brass, percussion, overhead choir and voice, with a minimum of colouration. The linear off-axis performance is beneficial with large sound sources and for stereo recording, preserving sound character at an angle
The CM4 is tough enough to handle drums with full depth and punch, capturing drum overheads clearly and crisp without strain. It also handles amplified instruments well.

It's very small size (about the same as a normal XLR plug) makes it easy to place, without being in the way. Its size and black colour makes it less visible on stage. During manufacturing each capsule is measured, selected, and modified by us to close tolerances. Out of range capsules are rejected. This in combination with the internal circuitry, results in a response with a unique flatness. These are quality microphones made for demanding situations.

Each CM4 is supplied with a small impact resistant plastic carry & storage case, complete with foam Pop shield and microphone clip.

Ribbon microphones

'British' speakers was a term coined back in the old days which not only meant the speakers were British made, but more importantly it refered to a pair of monitor speakers which delivered a 'flat' output, meaning they didn't hype the sound at all like typical hi-fi speakers from Japanese companies. If you go back only 20 years ago. Donec laoreet et leo at iaculis. Nunc et sem id eros gravida ornare. Vestibulum quis ex nec lacus tincidunt lobortis. Vivamus nec suscipit sem, nec sagittis urna. Etiam feugiat lacus ut dui convallis fringilla. Integer tincidunt purus vel dapibus venenatis. Vivamus blandit mauris at massa aliquet, nec pretium ipsum iaculis. Donec scelerisque, magna sit amet pulvinar tincidunt, nunc massa dapibus eros, fermentum elementum metus massa quis eros. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

Aliquam vestibulum tempor dolor, at consectetur eros accumsan at. Mauris nec diam in libero sollicitudin elementum. Nam egestas, metus sit amet interdum aliquet, lorem quam maximus odio, vel imperdiet nulla enim quis tellus. Nam ullamcorper dignissim scelerisque. Mauris sit amet auctor augue. Aliquam auctor mi ut tincidunt bibendum. Suspendisse tincidunt, libero quis dignissim pellentesque, odio tortor scelerisque nisl, eu iaculis eros lorem nec lectus.

Classic ribbon microphones

RCA 44B

Designed by Harry Olson, the RCA 44 came out of the previous RCA 77 mic & was introduced in 1932. When the 44A and later 44B & BX hit, they became THE standard vocal mic's with a reputation for being the best sounding microphones ever made & were used by everyone from Sinatra to Elvis to Nat King Cole etc. Still used & treasured today the RCA 44 is available in a completely accurate reissue form from AEA (Audio Engineering Associates).

Thomann RB 500

The RB500 is made in China for the Thomann store and has found favour in recent years as a super bargain quality ribbon mic. Also available in a bundle with the Thomann FET Amp in-line microphone preamplifier barrel, this allows use of the RB 500 with any typical mic pre-amp without the massive gain usually required for a ribbon, while also protecting the mic from phantom power. A fantastic cheap mic which has gained a quality reputation over the last decade, and at just £89 GBP or €97 Euros makes it the perfect first Ribbon mic for anyone wanting to try one. Great for guitar cabs, overheads, drums, brass vocals & more. Bare in mind it's a passive ribbon and requires a high gain & high impedance pre-amp to get the best from it (or get the FET Amp with it).

Royer Labs R-121

A matched pair of award winning Royer Labs R-121's can be found in studios all over the world. Introduced in 1998 the R-121 was the mic that brought back the ribbon in some ways.

Beyerdynamic M160

Released way back in 1957 & inducted into the NAMM TEC Awards Technology Hall of Fame in 2019, the diminutive Beyer M160 is unusual in that it has two ribbons ('Dynamic Double') & is HyperCardioid. Often paired with the bi-directional M130 for mid/side stereo miking, the M160 is something of a legendary microphone. Just a pair of these M160's were famously used to record John Bonham's legendary drum sound on When the Levee Breaks from the album Led Zeppelin IV.

Golden Age Project R1

Available in both passive (left) & active (right) versions & looking suspiciously similar to the Thomann own brand RB 500, the Golden Age Project R1 is a well respected budget-end ribbon mic.

Coles 4038

Now manufactured by Coles, the 4038 Studio Ribbon Microphone was originally designed in the early 1950's by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and manufactured by STC (Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd). The mic was employed for high quality broadcasting and recording duties & was apparently much used on Ringo Starr's kit for many of the Beatles recordings as well as Keith Moon's drums on Who's Next and many other iconic recordings. The frequency response of the 4038 is exceptionally flat from 30Hz to 15,000Hz and throughout this range the shape of the bi-directional (figure of eight) polar response is substantially constant both in the horizontal and vertical planes, giving a naturally smooth sonic quality. Basically this is an industry standard, highly respected mic, often used as a matched pair for stereo work, capturing everything from string ensembles to brass to kit overheads.

Software samplers

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris interdum non lorem vel pulvinar. Aenean volutpat libero vitae accumsan posuere. Etiam vel lorem eu lacus molestie ultrices. Nulla suscipit, velit id tempus lobortis, nunc diam suscipit urna, vitae sollicitudin orci mi sit amet metus. Donec molestie lectus eu elit pharetra sollicitudin. Donec laoreet et leo at iaculis. Nunc et sem id eros gravida ornare. Vestibulum quis ex nec lacus tincidunt lobortis. Vivamus nec suscipit sem, nec sagittis urna. Etiam feugiat lacus ut dui convallis fringilla. Integer tincidunt purus vel dapibus venenatis. Vivamus blandit mauris at massa aliquet, nec pretium ipsum iaculis. Donec scelerisque, magna sit amet pulvinar tincidunt, nunc massa dapibus eros, fermentum elementum metus massa quis eros. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

Aliquam vestibulum tempor dolor, at consectetur eros accumsan at. Mauris nec diam in libero sollicitudin elementum. Nam egestas, metus sit amet interdum aliquet, lorem quam maximus odio, vel imperdiet nulla enim quis tellus. Nam ullamcorper dignissim scelerisque. Mauris sit amet auctor augue. Aliquam auctor mi ut tincidunt bibendum. Suspendisse tincidunt, libero quis dignissim pellentesque, odio tortor scelerisque nisl, eu iaculis eros lorem nec lectus.

Top selling microphones

Here's the top selling microphones at Thomann's store based on previous months sales figures. This will give you an idea about what products are currently popular at Europe's largest retailer.

James

23-July-2020

SDR-1000+ Reverb has to be one of the most subjective tools in audio. Undoubtedly the SDR has some interesting heritage (Sony) in additon to some useful features that make it more flexible than other comparable units from that era (true stereo, basic routing of L & R processors, midi patch selection). But compared to other verbs around the same price point ($100-200 range), Im not feeling any baseline "magic" from its sound. More like a workhorse, again within the scope of the time period these were being made, which isnt necessarily a bad thing.

Perhaps if you're hunting down a specific production chain or setup (some well known artists apparently used these), otherwise much better uses of rack space available out there for the same money imho.

Heading

an underated usb interface, Tascam has continued to update drivers and improve performance for this product. I own two of them, and like the size, sound quality and mulitude of connection and paths available.

I use the 64 bit windows 7 driver without problems. These are available used quite cheaply and are handy for vocal and guitar recording.The only drawback is the low profile knobs, which were designed not to snag when carried in a backpack or bag. it takes a while to get used to using two fingers to turn the knobs, instead of 1 finger and your thumb, but it becomes intutive like scratching a record. I colored the knobs on mine with different color sharpies to make it easier to quickly see which knob I wanted to adjust.

Heading

awesome sound. capable of mybloodyvalentine type swirling sounds, as well as verve-y sonic paradise sounds. it is a permanent addition to my setup.

Heading

i bought this delay a couple of months ago to use in my synth/drumachine setup. I was expeting kind of lofi style but was suprised with this "meaty" analog sound.. very musical and at once became a favourite.. it sounds like a instrument! love it..

Add a review or comment

701689 ➜
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.