GERMAN ENGINEERING
Taking it from the box, my mind was taken to images of the Sennheiser e614 microphones that live in my kit. This comes as very little surprise as both companies are now owned under the one roof and shared ideas from both areas are resulting in better products across the board. But, this is not an e614, this is a whole different class of microphone, and you know this as soon as you get it in your hands. The build quality is amazing. You have to hand it to the Germans; they really understand and thrive on delivering precision. It weighs very little, which is excellent given that this is the sort of microphone that you are likely to have at an extended reach on a mic stand, so it isn’t going to weigh the boom arm down and cause it to sag in any way. Even the microphone clip supplied with the unit is of amazing quality, with metal threading and a self-clasping nut on the tightening screw. This is a microphone you know you can depend on for continued results year after year.
HITTING A HIGH NOTE
With such a solid build, it is easy to guess just how this microphone is likely to sound. With an end-fre design, like a smaller pencil condenser, this is the perfect microphone for getting into tight places round percussion and pianos. It offers a rich sound that is just how you would expect the instrument to be heard. On an acoustic guitar it captured all the brilliance of the string noise whilst still staying faithful to the tone of the instrument, and it worked a treat as a drum overhead microphone, although I thought it worked even better focussed on just the hi-hats, as it really allowed them to sizzle. And best of all, because it is a Neumann, you know you can get any two of these and they will work as a matched pair, they are that good.
