Recording - October 2021 - 58

REVIEW
Teegarden Audio
PPC-125 MD
Condenser
Microphone
A big, rich, open sound in a
medium-diaphragm
pencil condenser
REVIEW BY PAUL VNUK JR.
B
ased in Nashville, Bret Teegarden and Teegarden Audio are well
known for their great-sounding, hand-built and affordable two- and
four-channel Magic Pre microphone preamps, the Magic DI, the
Fatboy tube-based direct boxes, and now the PPC-125 MD Condenser
Microphone under review.
The PPC-125 MD
The PPC-125 MD is a transformerless
mic based around a 25mm electret cardioid
condenser capsule that places it in
the medium-diaphragm camp despite its
pencil condenser size. The capsule offers
lower noise and higher sensitivity
than many small-diaphragm capsules;
according to Teegarden, it exhibits a
warm and extended low-end more similar
to a large-diaphragm mic.
The pure path
PPC stands for Pure Path Condenser, a
proprietary circuit topology designed in
collaboration with microphone designer
Stephen Eric Mills. PPC is intended to
provide " the cleanest path from the capsule
to the output without coloration. "
Shiny
The PPC-125 MD is finished in
brushed nickel and measures 5 " long
with a body diameter of .75 " and a
1 " diameter capsule housing. The head
basket features a 1 " vented air gap behind
the capsule, which gives the PPC125
MD a very even off-axis response.
The PPC-125 MD is designed, built
and tested in Nashville and comes singularly
or in a stereo kit complete with
58 RECORDING October 2021
a hard plastic clamshell case with mic
mounts and windscreens.
The mic has a standard 20 Hz to 20
kHz frequency response, and it is reasonably
quiet and clear. The stated goal of
the mic is to offer a pristine all-discrete
signal path combined with the warmth of
the chosen medium diaphragm capsule.
Sound
Despite its minimal, sonically clean
design, the PPC-125 MD is not a neutral,
clinical, flat microphone. I find the mic
exhibits a smooth yet detailed top-end
capture, a nice open midsection, and
a rich yet controlled low-end capture.
To get my bearings with the PPC-125
MD, I compared it to a classic Neumann
KM84 pencil condenser and an AKG
C414 XLS large diaphragm condenser.
Sonically, the Teegarden mic lives
nicely between the two, offering a largediaphragm
mic's fullness with the precision
of a small diaphragm condenser.
Compared to the KM84, the PPC-125
MD was less forward and congested in
the mids, offering a more diffuse open
sound that was softer and less pointed
overall. Its low end was more controlled,
and its top end was a touch more open
than the C414.
First impressions
I first became aware of the PPC-125
MD during my trip to Summer NAMM.
I attended a recording session at Nashville's
Dark
Horse
Recording,
where
David Blascoe (one of our writers) was
booked for a drum session. When we arrived,
Grammy Award-winning engineer
Dave Hagen (Keb' Mo, Audio Adrenaline,
Citizen Way) had set up a pair of
these mics as overheads on the drums,
and the sound was impressive. From
there, he used them to capture the Leslie
cabinet on a Hammond B3 Organ. Next,
Dave did a shootout with a pair on a Yamaha
C7 grand piano alongside a couple
of Gefell M71 mics to see what fit the
track best. This gave me my first comparative
taste of the mics, and I found them
to be less hard-edged and forward than
the Gefell mics (also great mics by the
way) and they highlighted the spacious
woody depth of the piano more.
Dave Hagen is a big fan of the Teegarden
mics, and when I asked why, he
had this to say: " For me, it's the openness
that I love. I hear less distortion and
less forced midrange than most SDC
mics, with bigger dynamics, depth and
clarity, and without any harsh transients.
It just feels more like there isn't a microphone
between me and the instrument. "
Lasting impressions
Back in my studio, I set up the pair
as drum overheads, on acoustic guitar
(mono and stereo), and I tried them as
Recording - October 2021

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