New Music Gear Monday: Mojave Audio MA-D Cardioid Dynamic Microphone

Microphone manufacturers have been trying to come up with a replacement for the venerable SM58 for decades now and no one has succeeded. Yes, there’s been some fairly good substitutes, but it seems like most are either radically different from the original or not different enough. Mojave Audio, a well-company known for its condenser microphones, […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Acustica Acqua Lava Microphone Simulator

Modeling microphones are wonderful devices, designed to emulate a wide variety of vintage mics that are out of reach in price and availability to the average user. The problem is that you have to buy the microphone to get the simulations which can still be pricey. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could turn any […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Sony C-80 Condenser Microphone

For many music genres, Sony’s C-800G is the Holy Grail of vocal microphones, but at a retail price of more the $10k for a new one, it’s way out of reach for most home studios. The company is aware of the limitations that price can have and has responded with a much lower cost version […]

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New Music Gear Monday: DPA 4055 Kick Drum Microphone

If you know anything about audio you know how DPA has a reputation for some of the highest quality microphones available. In fact, the company is one of the few that makes mics so flat that they’re used for audio measurements. Even NASA has chosen their microphones to go to Mars thanks to their clarity […]

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New Music Gear Monday: United Studio Technologies UT Twin87 Condenser Microphone

Over the years the Neumann U87 has become on of the most revered and relied on microphone found in studios everywhere. Even though it’s been a go-to mic for ages, engineers noticed a distinct difference in sound between the two major versions. Some swear by the older version while many like the newer cleaner version. […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Mic Sentry Microphone Protection Tool

No matter how digital our audio world gets, the one piece of analog gear that’s not going away anytime soon is the microphone. We’re willing to spend great amounts of money on them, yet we also take them for granted when it comes to actually taking care of the them. I’m actually pleasantly surprised whenever […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Mojave Audio MA-37 Condenser Microphone

While clones of just about every old Neumann, Telefunken and AKG vintage microphone are now available, there is one vintage mic from that era that you rarely see – the Sony C-37a. That’s because it’s quirky design has been difficult enough that most manufacturers don’t want to attempt it (more on that in a minute). […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Earthworks ETHOS Broadcast Microphone

When it comes to radio, television talk shows, and serious podcasting, the Shure SM7B has reigned supreme for quite a long time. Its combination of fidelity and hyper-cardioid pickup has made it one of those no-brainer choices that we don’t often get in audio. Many manufacturers have tried to make a better version and none […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Warm Audio WA-8000 Condenser Microphone

Most vintage mics are from the golden era of the 50s and 60s, but one relatively new mic has become a staple of hip hop and R&B – the Sony C-800G. This unusual mic came out in 1992 and took those genres by storm, and would probably have even more traction today if it wasn’t […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Austrian Audio CC8 Small Diaphragm Condenser Microphone

Since it’s introduction in the late 60s, the AKG C-451 received a justifiably solid reputation over the years as a go-to mic whenever you needed a fast-response small diaphragm condenser (SDC), especially on cymbals and acoustic guitar. That said, the design of the mic changed quite a bit as time went on in an effort […]

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New Music Gear Monday: 512 Audio Limelight Dynamic Microphone

Warm Audio has taken the pro audio industry by storm over the last 10 years thanks to its philosophy of releasing low-cost quality versions of beloved vintage audio gear. The prices were always very affordable, almost to the point of wondering how they could make any money considering the low prices they were charging. The […]

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New Music Gear Monday: IsoVox IsoMic Voice-Over Microphone

If you’ve ever longed for an area in your home or apartment where you can sing your brains out without bothering the family or neighbors or them bothering you, then you might already be familiar with the very cool IsoVox portable Vocal Booth. Even if you’re not in the market for a vocal booth, the […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Telefunken TF11 FET Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone

There are certain microphones that stand iconic in the pantheon of great gear. Some are so good that even competitors try to emulate them. One of those is the AKG C12, which has been a favorite of engineers everywhere for decades. Telefunken makes some wonderful microphones itself, with a long history of excellent originals and […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Lauten Audio LS-308 Noise Rejection Condenser Microphone

A question that I’ve been getting over and over through the years from engineers who are just starting out is, “How can I get more isolation between my tracks?” Now that’s normally not much of a problem for older engineers who’ve learned to make leakage work for them, but today’s modern recording requires another order […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Royer Labs dBooster

Anyone who’s ever used a ribbon mic is aware of a surprising limitation – the output is low. Likewise for good sounding dynamic mics like the Shure SM7B or RE-20, and even the SM57. This isn’t a problem when the program material has a moderately high SPL level, but if that’s not the case you […]

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