Recording - May 2015 - 35
Christian Contemporary band Citizen
Way (on tour now!) was equally
impressed when we used them as over
heads for tracking some drum parts for
demos he was sending to his label. His
impression was that they sounded so
good, he would be fine if these same
tracks made it past the demo stage into
the final upcoming album.
The MK 8 is one of those mics that is
clear and neutral enough to excel on any
source. Aside from drum overheads, it
stands out as a particularly good choice
for acoustic guitar as well as sung vocal
duties.
On vocals, the mic is flexible and quite
evenhanded when it comes to male or
female voices. It has a very close full
proximity effect that is not overdone, and
which is nicely tailorable through both
pattern and filter choice. I will note,
though, that this mic would not be my
choice for big, chesty voiceover work.
Also in the "not overdone" department,
the lowcut filter does its job well. It gets
rid of rumble and mud but leaves a fullsounding signal that does not sound thin
or bass shy even when set to 100 Hz.
This is one of the few mics at this price
point where I was comfortable leaving
the rolloff set to 60 Hz most of the time,
yet without feeling like I was losing any
oomph and weight.
The various polar patterns are also
very well done on the MK 8. Cardioid
has a nice even off-axis rejection that
tightens nicely and noticeably as you
switch to supercardioid. In figure-8 the
front and rear lobes sound identical, and
in Omni mode you can hold the mic in
your hand and spin it 360 degrees without noticing any tonal change. Finally, the
mic is very well damped against resonances, producing only the dullest of
thunks when tapped.
Conclusions
This is a cleanly-voiced modern versatile microphone that sits nicely in league
with older all-rounders such as the AudioTechnica AT4050 and Shure's KSM44a.
In other words, the Sennheiser MK 8 easily achieves workhorse status!
At a street price of $749 it fits in comfortably with the abovementioned mics as
well. Yes, there are cheaper overseas
entry-level mics on the market, but when
you consider that "overseas" for the MK 8
means Sennheiser's factory in Germany,
that might add some substantial weight to
your decision.
Interestingly, the MK 8's biggest competition may be its German sister company Neumann! While the cardioid-only
TLM 102 is a bit cheaper, to get the similarly equipped, multipattern TLM 107
(reviewed May 2014) would be significantly more.
I have zero reservations recommending
the MK 8 to anyone and everyone looking for a great multipattern do-it-all microphone for studio and live work.
Price: $749
More from: Sennheiser,
www.sennheiser.com
http://www.sennheiser.com
http://www.audiorecordingschool.com/consumer.html
http://www.audiorecordingschool.com/consumer.html
Recording - May 2015
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - May 2015
Contents
Recording - May 2015 - Cover1
Recording - May 2015 - Cover2
Recording - May 2015 - 1
Recording - May 2015 - 2
Recording - May 2015 - 3
Recording - May 2015 - 4
Recording - May 2015 - 5
Recording - May 2015 - Contents
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Recording - May 2015 - Cover3
Recording - May 2015 - Cover4
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