instrument

Electro-Voice RE320 Review – Dynamic Recording Mic

Electro-Voice RE320 Review – Dynamic Recording Mic
9/10

Electro-Voice RE320 is a large diaphragm cardiod dynamic microphone widely used for radio recording and broadcasting. This mic is fairly sensitive and requires a quieter or moderately treated room in order to be effective. It is great for spoken word and singing when you want to capture all the detail and nuances while giving it a touch of silkiness and smoothness of a dynamic. RE320 is hotter than Shure SM7B and other broadcaster mics like…

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Audix ADX51 Overhead SDC microphone review

Audix ADX51 Overhead SDC microphone review
8/10

Audix ADX51 is a very bright small cardiod condenser mainly used as overheads and not without success. The unit is known for being included in Audix drum kits; however, some drummers realized they actually like the ‘sound’ of ADX51 overheads better, and began using them outside the kits in custom setups, sometimes even grabbing them over higher-end and more expensive SDCs with technically better specs. The thing about this mic is it sounds great out…

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Audio-Technica ATM450 instrument cardioid SDC review

Audio-Technica ATM450 instrument cardioid SDC review
9/10

Audio-Technica ATM450 is a low profile side-address cardiod condenser, which can be used for miking a wide range of instruments and percussions. Though unsuitable for vocals… it offers a small footprint and has a situational placement advantage over more common front-address instrument mics without sacrificing a bit of quality. On contrary, this mid-range model sounds surprisingly smooth for a small diaphragm condenser: despite adding a noticeable amount of presence, it just cannot be described as…

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Shure SM81-LC: Cardioid Instrument Mic Review

Shure SM81-LC: Cardioid Instrument Mic Review
9.5/10

Shure SM81-LC is a very neutral and transparent instrument condenser with electret bias. It is mainly used in studios for recording of guitars, pianos and cymbals but it’s also suitable for a wide range of different instruments. It is considered industry standard and although there are plenty of different SDCs available on the market today, few of them can quite match the old Shure in terms of quality. SM81 offers excellent definition, very consistent highs, low…

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CAD e70 Review – Dual Capsule Pencil mic

CAD e70 Review – Dual Capsule Pencil mic
8/10

CAD e70 is an excellent quality pencil mic with interchangeable omni and cardioid capsules. Very natural sounding, it is crisp and has plenty of air with a nice sparkling flavor. This mic also features fine low end, which really nails the sound of an acoustic guitar. Not thin, not too deep, and just about right to handle the most instruments. There are of course exceptions: if you want to achieve warmer and richer sound, you’re…

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AKG C1000s Multipattern SDC Review

AKG C1000s Multipattern SDC Review
8/10

AKG C1000s is an inexpensive all-around mic with a switchable cardioid / hypercardioid pattern. It has a signature bright sound that creates an illusion of higher fidelity but also helps to clear up the sound in a live environment. Definitely not the highest quality mic, but if used correctly it can produce very decent results for instruments and female vocals. For videographers, of course I don’t recommend it. There are simply no viable mics at…

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Audix SCX1-HC – indoor hypercardioid review

Audix SCX1-HC – indoor hypercardioid review
7.4/10

Audix SCX1-HC is a professional hypercardioid SDC, mainly used for booming interviews and dialogues indoors. It can also be used for instruments when you want to achieve maximum isolation. Hypercardioid pattern makes it ideal for working in untreated rooms as it helps to minimize the impact of reflections. This mic has high sensitivity and requires some distance from the target. It has quite a narrow pickup, compared to other hypercardioids, and thus works best for…

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