Recording - March 2011 - 25

KSM44A
fiddle, drum overheads, male and female vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, choir, orchestra, tabla, congas, djembe, bells, gongs, toms, upright bass, bass cab, guitar cab... and the list goes on. This mic is also my go-to pair for both M/S and Blumlein recording. Now playing with the newer model on many of the above sources, I noticed a mic that sounded exactly the same... except it was simply louder and less noisy. Compared in my DAW the new model was an exact 7 dB hotter. [Shure notes that the new model has the exact same sensitivity as the original.—Ed.] I love the KSM44; I recommend it constantly as one of the best all-round choices for a first (or second, or only) solidstate multi-pattern condenser microphone. Along with the Audio-Technica AT4050 and the classic AKG C414, this is one of the modern classic microphones for which the phrase “workhorse” is well justified, and it’s my personal favorite of the three. With the new model giving you everything the old one did, just cleaner, it’s a slam dunk for just about any studio. same body as its older brother, this time in a dark champagne finish, with no switches or controls of any kind. Internally it has the same Prethos head amp, although it’s not quite as quiet as the KSM44A. It has 8.5 dB of self-noise, a 86 dB signal-to-noise ratio, and bests the 44a with 131 dB of dynamic range. Target app The KSM42’s target application is that of a premium vocal mic, and as such it contains a few very unique features. First up, its tuning—a frequency response of 60 Hz to 20 kHz. The low-cut filtering is permanent and built in, while its high-end response is similar to the KSM44A in cardioid mode. This, of course, eliminates low-end rumble and boomy room ambiences. Shure designed this mic with a wider sweet spot than most other mics, so when a singer starts bobbing and weaving to a tune, the off-axis response should be less of an issue. It contains the same exact dual-diaphragm capsule as the KSM44A, but only one of the diaphragms is electrically active. For technical reasons explained in a White Paper, this inactive second diaphragm prevents proximity effect—the KSM42 has almost no noticeable proximity effect from 6" to darn near 2'. It’s almost 7–10 dB lower in midbass response than the KSM44A in cardioid mode and/or the SM27, making it sonically similar to the KSM44A in omni mode. To summarize: Top end like the KSM44A in cardioid, bottom end and proximity like the KSM44A in omni. This adds up to a very smooth, wide-patterned mic with omni tendencies and an extremely rolled off low end. How’s it sound? In my tests the KSM42’s high end is almost indistinguishable from that of the KSM44A, but it is the smoothness of the mids and low mids that give this microphone its character. It has the KSM natural character, but its width and lack of lows really help it pop more. I am typically leery of one-trick pony mics, but I was surprised by how it really handles any voice with the utmost consistency: male, female, tenor, soprano, rock, folk, even rap vocals sounded very real and convincing with this mic. Consistency matters when you have to do overdubs, often days apart, and the KSM42 did exceptionally well with that. This mic also works great on things such as hand percussion like shakers and tambourines or anything where proximity effect needs to be minimized due to fidgety musicians. Lastly, while the 42 shares essentially the same kit as the 44A (case, bag, etc.) it has a newly designed shock mount, which has an open front allowing for a closer comfortable proximity to the mic, and a magnetic pop filter that hangs effortlessly on the mount. Essentially Shure just made their classic shock mount system even cooler! This is one of the most specialized, optimized and source-focused condenser mics Shure has ever produced—if vocals of any style or dialogue work are part of your studio’s repertoire, then this unique little guy deserves an audition in your studio. Prices: KSM44A, $999; KSM42, $799 More from: Shure, www.shure.com. Paul Vnuk Jr. (vnuk@recordingmag.com) is a recording engineer and producer working in Milwaukee. Learn more about his recent exploits at www.majale.com. Frequency and polar pattern graphs courtesy Shure.

KSM42
The KSM42 is the second microphone of the line to be derived from the flagship 44/44A. The first was the KSM27, which was essentially a single-diaphragm, cardioid-only version that retained both the pad and low-filter sections of its bigger bro, housed in a shorter body. The KSM27 was switched to the SM family, becoming its flagship and was re-dubbed the SM27— we reviewed this microphone twice, once as the KSM27 in April 2002 and revisited as the SM27 in November 2009. The KSM42 is a cardioid-only largediaphragm microphone. It has the exact

KSM42
RECORDING MARCH 2011

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Recording - March 2011

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