Rode
Royer Labs
Picking a mic out of the extensive Rode range is a real issue, especially as the company has increasingly looked to place itself as the premier supplier for streamers and podcasters — with its entry-level PodMic, moving on through the Procaster and Broadcaster. The company’s competitive pricing structure will always make it a see why its range is beloved of home studio owners, but the budget reputation belies a host of reviews and comparisons that will tell you this Australian company’s mics stand up to scrutiny and have more that monetary savings on their side. The K2 variable pattern condenser mic, and its single pattern NTK sibling, offers an entry point to the classic valve sound that is highly attractive, while the NT1 and ‘1A have become something of a staple. The company’s Procaster (Dynamic), Broadcaster (end-address condenser) and PodMic all offer interesting options for spoken word applications, and — let’s be honest here — the kind of warranty guarantees that help to allay any nervousness the lower price-points may bring about where durability and ROI is concerned.
Ribbon mics don’t immediately spring to mind when it comes to recording vocals and speech, unless you’re after a distinctly vintage look and feel. They shouldn’t be discounted, though — and Royer are likely to have something you’ll want, especially if you also want to point it at a guitar cab. The R10 is the starting point, should you want to give it a go — it has a souped-up three-layer shielding system to help deal with the pops and breaths ribbon mics don’t cope with so well, though quieter voices are going to have to lean on quality pre-amping (or Royer’s own dBooster) to get a hot enough signal and low enough noise for pleasing results. If you’re committed to the idea, the R122 MkII and 122V Tube mic offer their own active electronics for hotter, low impedance, outputs — ostensibly eliminating the noise and level issues. While the R10 represents a good brand entry point, price-wise, the latter two options are an investment that means multi-use scenarios probably need to be in play.
www.rode.com
www.royerlabs.com
Schoeps
Sennheiser
With a reputation forged by consistent creation of smalldiaphragm capacitor mics, renown for the accuracy and clarity — and popular for classical recording applications — Schoeps’ entry into the vocal mic market with the distinctively styled V4U took many by surprise, with an aesthetic that harked back to its legacy models and a eye-catching Clamshell design. Alongside this vocal-specific option, Schoeps’ classic, modular Collete are appreciated for the versatility and can be turned to a range of purposes — this includes use with a supercardioid MK 41 capsule. The company’s CMIT range of ‘Blue One’ shotguns are tailor-made for sound recording in film and TV applications; indeed, its newest addition to the range, the MiniCMIT won the Resolution Microphone Award in 2017, after receiving high praise for its “wonderfully natural sound” in our review (Resolution V15.8), while the SuperCMIT digital shotgun applies patented DSP algorithms from Illusonic to offer exceptional directivity. The processing attempts to detect sound with persistent location and characteristics as well contrasting diffuse sound that is coming for multiple directions, DSP processing then uses this analysis to suppress the diffuse elements and to focus on discrete sound, enhancing the range of the microphones. It also outputs dual — treated and untreated — signals, meaning that detailed post-processing can still be an option if required or preferred. On the looks side; if the bright blue styling doesn’t suit your look, they are also available in a more austere anthracite grey.
While it may seem shallow to start this summary with a comment about looks, Sennheiser has undoubtedly got its styling on-point right now. We’ll go on the record and say it currently makes some of the best-looking workhorse mics out there — if that sort of thing matters to you. The MD421 II remains a good dynamic all-rounder with great visual qualities for applications where it needs to be seen, while the ‘431 is a more conventionallooking but very useable supercardioid dynamic mic for speech/ broadcast. However, the chic 60s look of the MD 441-U is nothing short of, well, beautiful — if you don’t mind paying that high a price for an (admittedly highly versatile) supercardioid dynamic mic. The MD 8 remains the company’s top large-diaphragm condenser option for studio vocals, but the dynamic options is where the company really shines and puts forward a host of options for almost any application you want to throw at them.
www.schoeps.de
www.sennheiser.com
Procaster and Broadcaster
SuperCMIT and MiniCMIT
48 / March/April 2022
R10 and R122
MD 421 II and MD 441-U
