The microphone has the ability to handle very high SPL while it operates at close range. The rugged construction with multi-level grille makes it ideal for both indoor and outdoor use.

It is not suited for live performance if there is no sound amplification.  You may also experience some pickguard problems.

Audio Technica ATM25 Review

Perfect recording with the right adjustments

The microphone has a superb double-bass capability, which is especially suited for live performances.  It provides a significant amount of gain before suffering from any feedback problems. Whether you are using kick drum, trombone, or any other loud and low bass instrument, the bass cabs are fantastic. It also sounds great on a snare drum and electric guitar. Audio Technica ATM25 is basically a bass microphone since it operates in the low frequency range, from 30 Hz to 15 KHz.

If a band is being recorded in the same room, the hypercardoid quality of Audio Technica ATM25 will prove very useful. Although it is good to have bleed, there are situations when you may wish to control it.

You may also use the Audio Technica ATM25 microphone for voice-over applications.  This should not be much of a problem in spite of the absence of a roll-over switch.

This dynamic microphone works well both in the recording studio and on stage, although you may need significant amplification.

Its rugged construction and lightness makes it ideal for carrying.

Where to Purchase:
Check Out Amazon Here

Since you get 3 microphones, you can record multiple instruments at the same time. Price is very low when compared to contemporary models. The microphones provide good sound capture.

The mics are a bit too sensitive and will pick up too much noise.

Samson R21 Microphone Review

Great to use on all your instruments during gigs

As described in the manufacturer’s Samson R21 Microphone review, the device is a set of 3 microphones that will be provided when you purchase it. These are cardioid-pattern microphones which give the maximum amount of gain before giving feedback.

The Samson R21 microphone comes with a hardened case for easy carrying, which means that your mics will suffer minimum damage when being carried around. This implies that you can use the Samson R21 microphone for gigs on the road. The cardioid pattern of the microphone is uni-directional, and this enables you to use it to capture the sound of a single instrument or voice. Since you are equipped with 3 Samson R21 microphones in one go, you can also make use of the set to record audio for video shoots, placing the mics in different positions on the set.

The Samson R21 microphone comes with a gold-plated XLR connector which can be used to connect it to an amplifier or mixer based on your current needs. The microphones also contain a dual stage windscreen to cut out excess noise.
Some users have complained that the Samson R21 microphone is simply too sensitive for their own good and that they pick up even the tiniest sound from the source. This can be annoying for some recording sessions.

All in all, as you can see after reading this Samson R21 Microphone review, the product is a bargain because you gain the power of 3 microphones for the price of one.

Where to Purchase:
Check Out the InstrumentPro Here and Amazon Here

Since you get 3 microphones, you can record multiple instruments at the same time. Price is very low when compared to contemporary models. The microphones provide good sound capture.

The mics are a bit too sensitive and will pick up too much noise.

Approximating the quality of its pricier counterparts, AKG’s C 1000 S can withstand very high sound pressure levels, which makes them great for live sound and project studios.

The AKG  C 1000 S might be a little pricey for a novice and a pro might benefit from investing in a slightly better model.  It's a great middle ground and for the price you get a good quality Mic

AKG  C 1000 S: Ann Affordable Alternative to Top-Class Models

The versatility of the C 1000 S makes this an extremely popular model, and one ideally suited for all kinds of recording and live sound applications.

If no phantom power is available, the mic can be powered by a standard 9 V battery, making it perfect for mobile use.

With its new battery monitoring electronics, the C 1000 S now features a reliable LED warning light. The red LED above the the microphone switch lights up when the remaining battery life falls below 45 minutes.

The polar pattern can quickly be switched from cardioid to hypercardioid simply by attaching the PPC 1000 Polar Pattern Converter provided to the microphone capsule.

The PB 1000 Presence Boost Adapter also supplied with the C 1000 S adds 3 to 5 dB of high-end enhancement between 5 and 9 kHz, improving clarity of speech and adding definition to instrument sounds.

AKG makes a lot of great products and the C 1000 S is no exception. If the price tag on the 414 is a bit daunting. With a proper frequency range from 50Hz-20kHz, the C 1000 S has bright highs and warm lows. The switchable pre-attenuation allows it to handle very loud sounds without distortion or feedback. Since it is able to handle high sound pressure levels, the C 1000 S is perfectly suited for live sound and touring. Integrated windscreen, shockmount and hard case are all included.  This microphone a great buy!

This is a great price for a great microphone. It is being compared to Shure’s SM57 as a great microphone for snare drums and guitar cabinets.

The I-5 has a very pronounced proximity effect meaning that there is a notable bass boost when the sound source is close to the microphone.

Audix I-5 Instrument Mic: The New SM57?

Tried and true as Shure’s SM57 and visibly sturdier. It feels psychically substantial and has less noise due to handling than the 57. It’s a reasonable price for a great microphone.

The Audix I-5 Instrument Microphone has often been compared to Shure’s SM57 because of its sleek design and excellent handling of high SPL levels.  For live sound, it can’t be beat.  Exceptionally rugged, you can probably drop it off a building and it would be fine.  The body of the microphone is a precision cast zinc-alloy case that will protects it from the crushing blow of a drummer’s stick.  On a snare drum, it is comparable to the legendary 57 and the I-5 has considerably less self-noise because of its fixed grate.  Having a couple of these mics around the studio is a great idea.  Throw them on drums and guitar cabs as an alternative to the 57.

The e815S is inexpensive considering its sound quality, durability and reliability. They are sold alone or in a three pack. Perhaps their most remarkable quality is their instrument miking diversity. Vocals, horns, woodwinds, percussion and more all have safe passage through the e815S.

They don’t have great off-axis response, nor do they have a spectacular pickup pattern. The mic tends to be temperamental with proximity.

Inexpensive Microphone Solution

Perfect solution for the gigging musician. Not only are they inexpensive, but they can do just about anything. The e815S is also great for rehearsal space and as a backup emergency microphone.

Gigging musicians are a great breed of people.  They truly understand and appreciate the value of equipment.  Any gigging musician would be hard-pressed to find a better value than the Sennheiser e815S.  For its price and quality, the e815S outweighs its nearest competition by far.

What initially attracted me to the Sennheiser e815S was its price and packaging.  A three pack of these mics currently sells for under $110.  That expands your mic arsenal by three for the price of one.

Bar bands are savvy to buy this package for their vocals.  Even if you only have one or two singers, keep the extra mic as a backup or drop it in front of the guitar cabinet or other instruments.  It works fine in front of horns, woodwinds and percussion.

Who needs backup mics?  Every gigging musician in the world.  Why?  Because on a long enough timeline, your microphone will fail.  Ideally, the venue is across the street from Guitar Center, but realistically these things only happen in East Bumble****.

Another great reason to keep an extra mic around is for guest singers, invited or otherwise.  Sometimes the drunk girl comes up and reaches for my Sennheiser e835.  Before I slap her pudgy little paw, I gently suggest she takes my “special” e815S mic laying next to me.  It’s not plugged in, but who cares.

I own four e815S microphones.  I keep two in my rehearsal space, use one on stage for bongos and congas and keep one in my SKB gig rig for emergencies or for announcers and special guest singers.  When I work with three or more horn players, I’ll bust out the extra e815S and drop it right into the bell of the horn.

How does it sound?  Incredible.  Actually, for its price, it’s unbeatable.  I’ve used them on bari, tenor and alto sax, trumpet (at a safe distance), clarinet, trombone, bongos, congas, and even guitar cabinets.  It takes me a few moments to properly set the gain and EQ, but once it’s set it acts just as well as some of its bigger Sennheiser brothers.

The only problem I’ve ever had while working with the e815S is off-axis miking.  To grab guitar cabinets, I drop my mics in front and secure them by the cord to the cabinet handle.  Pretty standard.  I faithfully use an e835 for this application.  The e815S didn’t quite measure up to the e835’s pickup pattern.  Actually, I scrambled on stage thinking the mic was switched off.  It wasn’t. It just turned out that off-axis miking is not the e815S’s thing.

The “S” in the e815S means it has a switch.  This is perfect for certain applications, like when you need to address your band on stage and don’t need the whole audience to hear you scream, “Dear lord, look at the heifer in white!”  Just be careful when mounting the mic in its clip because you could unintentionally turn the mic off.

So the verdict is in: the Sennheiser e815S is the best bang for the buck if you need quantity.  It may not perform as well as the big boys, but it’s perfect for system redundancy, emergency scenarios or rehearsal space.

E835 has clean sound, great construction, is reliable, discreet and affordable.

After about four years of being yelled into, the grills on both my e835s are beginning to show rust.

Rock Solid Stage Mic for Vocals

For the same price as an SM58 ($99), the e835 pulls ahead with some specs.

At the time I bought my two e835’s, they met my needs perfectly.  I needed a vocal mic for my guitarist and a mic for his guitar cabinet. I think of the e835’s in my mic case as the “guitarist’s mics.”  To this day, they still work perfectly for these two applications.  They also serve a third purpose: decoy.  When the drunk girl balancing herself on my keyboards yells at me, “Hey I looooove this song, can I sing?”  I say, “sure, right over there is a tall guy holding a guitar.  Use his mic.”  In their stumble from me to him, I hit that mute button.  It’s like watching UFC with the sound off.

So the e835 works perfectly for stage vocals.  The frequency response is slightly wider than the SM58, and the polar pickup pattern is the standard cardioid.

One thing I like a lot about the e835 is its ability to perform very well off-axis.  This is why it comes in handy for guitar cabinets.  Although I probably should, I never use a stand to mic the guitar amp.  I just hang the mic by its cord from the guitar cabinet handle.  The trick is to make sure the e835’s head is hung right in front of a speaker.  In this specific setup, the e835 outperforms the SM58 by far.

The e835’s design and construction are slightly more discreet than most stage vocal mics.  The whole body is a dark metallic color, and the grill is black.  This helps maintain a low profile on stage because chrome mics will reflect every light aimed in their direction.  So if singing into a rainbow isn’t your thing, the e835 offers a nice alternative.

One problem with the Sennheiser e835 is this mysterious rust that’s beginning to consume the grill.  If I just owned one, I might pass this as an isolated incident.  However, both my mics are getting rusty.  It’s like a VD for mics.  They’ve been subjected to the same conditions and environments as my stage-grade Shures, Audixes and other Sennheisers; however, according to the company, the e835’s are susceptible to rust by the nature of their job.  Sennheiser said that there’s still a pop filter below the metal grill and that the capsule is well protected.  Replacement grills (called baskets) are available from the Sennheiser spare parts department for $13.67, and that includes a new pop filter.

The e835’s are designed to reject feedback.  However, I’ve found them to be slightly temperamental to feedback.  Any mic feedbacks in extreme conditions, but it just seems the e835 is unpredictable and very sensitive to slight movement.  So, even when we get all our levels set during sound check, there’s always a risk in the back of my mind that the e835 may bug out during performance.  And that’s with a Behringer graphic feedback killer in the monitor line.

The Sennheiser e835 is also available with a switch (e835S), but there should really be no need to have a switch on a microphone.  That’s just extra circuitry and one more thing that could potentially break down within the components of the mic.  If you want a Sennheiser with a switch, then I suggest downgrading to an e825S.

This mic kicks and snaps! With a little EQ, it could restart a heart on the right system. Also, it’s affordable and pretty discreet.

Sometimes it picks up too much of the bottom end and requires a gate to compensate for the low frequency resonance.

Audix D4 Dynamic Microphone

Small dynamic mic for low frequency applications

It may not be a well-known fact, but people dance to the kick drum.  It’s the ultimate instigator.  If girls aren’t shaking what their mamas gave ‘em, you need to take a cold, hard look at your kick drum production.  And, assuming you have a half-decent kit, you should start with your microphone.

Luckily, Audix has made an idiot-proof line of instrument microphones for stage or studio.  The D4 is part of that line, and is not exclusive to the kick drum.  Virtually any instrument that dwells in the low-end or has lower harmonic extensions can benefit from this mic.  This includes the sax, trombones, floor toms, djembe and other deep percussion instruments.

I gave the D4 its fair beatings on stage and in the studio.  One of its shining qualities is that it performs consistently well in both environments.  I usually run it through a gate and EQ, especially in the studio.

You might find, as I did, that the sub frequencies resonate with this mic.  I thought it was the kick drum itself, but I didn’t hear the same noise when listening to the drum.  This is good in certain regards.  If you want a full-bodied kick, use the D4 without any dynamic processing and it will heavily occupy from about 30Hz up to the 300Hz range.  If you want to get the snap and presence out of your D4, gate it and boost the 4kHz range.  Be conservative with that boost, though.  It can sound plastic, like tapping fingers on the side of a soda bottle.

Another shining quality of the Audix D4 is its ability to handle high sound pressure levels (SPLs).  This allows for different miking techniques, including the simpleton’s favorite: dropping the mic into the kick drum.  I’ve used the D4 in this situation on stage for four years in a 22” maple kick, and it works beautifully.  You can mount the D4 in the drum’s port with the included mic clip, but I suggest experimenting between the two to find the right tone for your music.

Although my first preference for reed or brass is a nice condenser mic, the Audix D4 can carry the mean low-end to which bari sax players have sweaty dreams.  If the D4 is good enough for the horn aficionados of Tower of Power, they’re good enough for me (and, realistically, you).  If I owned two, I would most definitely use the second one for my bari player.

For under $170, the only comparable mic for the buck is the Shure Beta 52A.  I’ve had a chance to work with them both, and like them both.  If nothing else, the Audix D4 is a much less conspicuous microphone.  The Shure has a lower frequency response (down to 20Hz compared to the D4’s 40Hz), but I have found the lower end to be generally cleaner and tighter with the D4 as it gently rolls off the bottom end.

The Shure SM58 is legendary for its ability to withstand both onstage and road abuse, while maintaining superb performance. It has stood up to the test of time not only onstage, but is widely used in the studio as well.

Because the Shure SM58 is primarily geared to accentuate mid to high frequencies, it is not suitable for every voice type. Voices that fall into the lower frequency range should probably use a large diaphragm mic, or another type that will bring out natural warmth.

Shure SM58

Referred to by some as the world’s most popular vocal mic, the SM58 is built for performance and durability.

The Shure SM58 is known for its distinctive upper to midrange presence, and has been heard on many popular recordings over the years.  Its design enables it to produce an intelligible, lively sound that makes the vocals clean and crisp.  Due to its relatively small size, it fits in most hands comfortably, which can be especially important when playing long gigs.

The Shure SM58 boasts a wide variety of useful features that include: a standard for stage vocals, distinctive presence for upper to midrange frequencies, balance when held in the hand, and a smooth, vocal-tailored frequency response.  The price is also affordable, so many artists and bands own several.

This outstanding mic is known to accentuate the warmth and clarity of lead and back-up vocals alike, and is consistently the first choice of many performers around the world.  The SM58 has a unidirectional cardioid pattern that is designed for vocal performance in live performance, sound reinforcement, and studio recording.

Its built-in, spherical filter minimizes wind and “pop” noise.  The cardioid pickup pattern isolates the main sound source, while minimizing background noise.  The SM58 also has a tailored vocal response (a world standard), which makes it more appealing.  It also features rugged construction, a proven shock mount system, and a steel mesh grille that ensures consistent performance even when handled without the utmost care during setup and travel.  It can be easily placed on any mic stand with or without a boom.

The SM58 is used in many different vocal situations.  Whether performing indoors or outdoors, singing or giving a speech, the Shure SM58 is the undisputed choice among professionals everywhere.  Its design ensures it satisfaction in different climates and environments, and allows it to withstand the riggers of the road.  In the studio, the SM58 extracts the natural warmth of vocals that often gets lost in today’s digital technology.  Whether you’re recording a single vocal track, or laying down 20, the SM58 is sure to satisfy you.

The AKG D112 is universally accepted as a “kick drum microphone.” It is a common favorite for this job. It also performs very well on other bass instruments including trombones and bass cabinets.

Because of the way the AKG D112 is designed, it doesn’t handle high frequencies very well. This puts it in kind of a specialized box, so to speak, concerning its usage.

AKG D112 – Dynamic Cardioid Microphone

Very good kick drum microphone, durable with great low frequency handling.