Recording - February 2017 - 61

The Resonator is not as band-limited as the Copperphone; it
has higher headroom and is less prone to clipping. According
to Mark, the Copperphone is more upper-mid focused while the
Resonators are more low-mid focused. And when I mention they
are "not as band-limited", that doesn't mean they're ruler flat from
DC to radar! These are still unique odd-toned beasts, just like one
would expect from Placid Audio.
Why two Resonator models? For typically Placid Audio reasons.
Mark Pirro told me that that he released a pair of Resonators
just because he tried two different voicings, liked them both, and
couldn't choose one over the other, so he put both out on the market
to let users choose their favorite flavor.

In use
Resonator A is the fuller of the two and a tad thicker, with a
tube-like hollowness that is almost like the reverb tail from singing
into a can. Resonator B is thinner-sounding and more like an old
time radio, with more sizzle at the top than internal echo.
We received a pair of Resonators as we were putting
together this vocal issue. They were not designed specifically
to be used on vocals; in addition, they are intended to be used
as instrument mics, especially on guitar and bass amplifiers.
(You can hear sound samples on the Placid Audio website.)
To give you all a taste for what to expect (and in keeping with
our theme), I did some quick vocal sessions to get a feel for
them. I tried both Resonators on spoken word and sung vocals,

and found that each, in its own way, yielded sounds from the
common old telephone voice to vintage radio.
The sound design and musical mayhem really began when
I started using both mics together on the same source. This
included not only a straight-on arrangement with the two mics
capsules in an over/under setup, but also what might be the
world's weirdest near-coincident array. I angled the two mics
apart at a 90º angle, sang into the center of the V, and then
panned the results hard left and hard right. That trick offered
a very wide, lo-fi 3D sound with fuller range than normal, as
each mic makes up for the tonal spaces of the other. The folks
who invented the ORTF array are probably popping antacids
after reading this!
While distant, distorted, and lo-fi vocals are quite common in
today's musical landscape, I find using physical microphones
like this both live and in the studio much more satisfying than
plug-ins alone, not only because of their unique tonality but also
because it's easy to play to the quirks of each mic in real time.
This is just a beginning taste of the Resonators. Later in
2017, we will run a full-on review and tell you how these fun
mics fare on guitar amps, acoustic guitars, and anything else
I throw at them between now and then. Until then, if they've
already caught your interest, they're available now...
Prices: $269.99 each
More from: Placid Audio, www.placidaudio.com
http://www.placidaudio.com http://hafler.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - February 2017
