Recording - December 2015 - 17

around, we bring you more of a good thing, putting the holiday
spotlight on the Cloudlifter CL-4.
If you are unfamiliar with the Cloudlifter concept, do a quick
search on any of the popular gear forums and you will see
exhortations like "if you have a passive ribbon mic you need
one of these" or "the Cloudlifter makes my SM7 way more useful!" In fact, I have claimed the latter very often....
The regular Cloudlifters are DI-sized inline boxes with XLR ins
and outs that run off of phantom power. In simple terms, they give
your low-powered ribbon and dynamic microphones a boost. This
is the same phantom-powered head amplifier circuit that Cloud
uses in its active ribbon mics like the 44-A (reviewed August 2014).
Current Cloudlifters contain a 4-FET amplifier circuit that adds up
to 25 dB of gain at a fixed 3kΩ load. Not only do they boost quiet
passive microphones to clean usable levels, they also offer the benefit of longer cable runs while keeping the signal strong and clean.
The other big claim I often see from reviewers and online pundits is, "if you have one, you will want more!" That's something
else I can vouch for, and that is exactly what the CL-4 does. You
get 4 Cloudlifters in one 19" 1U rackmountable box.
The CL-4 is perfect installed permanently in your rack, and since
its 4 pairs of XLR ins and outs are on the back, I would recommend
a good phantom-capable patchbay. I use the Audiolot Mixbay,
which allows each channel to be isolated with little fear of phantom power affecting other gear in the patchbay. Also, even
though it's a rack device, it's light and rugged enough that it could
just as easily sit in line with your cable runs on your studio floor.
$499 may sound extravagant for a box like this, but a single
Cloudlifter CL-1 costs $149 and, as I mentioned, you will want more
than one. If you are a ribbon mic fan or use dynamic mics often, this
box is not extravagant... in my opinion it's essential!-PV

As described in our October 2015 issue, Shure has recently
revamped its entire PG beginner mic lineup and renamed it the
PG ALTA series. In addition to the PGA27 and PGA181 that we
looked at in that issue, the PGA line offers quite a few choices
that are perfect for drum recording. Shure has taken 7 such mics
and bundled them together in a complete package. When I say
complete, I mean complete: you get the seven microphones as
well as a heavy duty nylon carrying case, mic clips, snare and
tom mounts, and cables.
The mics in the kit include: one PGA52 kick drum mic, three
PGA56 tom mics, two PGA81 pencil condensers, and one PGA57,
which is a little brother to the Shure SM57. In fact each mic's number lets you know which more expensive sibling it was derived from.
The whole package sells for $499, and what I like most about
it, especially for the beginner recording musician, is that it is not
just for drums! You get a pair of pencil condensers for use on
acoustic guitars, a 57-style mic that works well on guitar cabinets, tom mics that work great on percussion, and a kick mic that
is a great starter mic for bass cabinet tracking. For $200 more
you could toss in Shure's PGA27 large-diaphragm condenser
and have all your needs covered for well under $1000.
To be fair, are these mics equivalent to their upper end
brethren? Yes and no. In durability, the old standby SM models
are workhorses for a reason and are known for their hammerand-nails durability. However, the PGA mics are still very rugged,
and sonically they are not a million miles from their heritage.
I set up the whole package on our drum kit in our church sanctuary where I am the Tech Director, and I mixed and recorded
with them every Sunday for six weeks with nary a complaint
from the congregation members or the musicians-all of whom
are quick to point out when something in the sound isn't working! This makes the PGADRUMKIT7 a great all-in-one choice for
churches, schools, and even clubs who want a complete mic
package that won't break the bank.-PV

Rockn Stompn RS-4 PLUS Multi-Mode Sequential
Power Strip
$299; www.rocknstompn.com

You have to admire someone who has a vision for a product that musicians really need, even if they might not realize it,
and who delivers on that vision without compromise. That's
how I describe Kimball Magee of Rockn Stompn, who has
leveraged his electrical engineering expertise into his love of
music and created what might be the best power distribution
for musicians ever made.
I know what you're thinking. "Three bills for a power strip?
You're kidding, right? For that much, it'd better walk my dog

Shure PGADRUMKIT7 Drum Microphone Kit
$499; www.shure.com

One question I get asked often from folks wanting to get into
the recording game is, "What microphones should I get first?"
Usually I recommend a good starter large-diaphragm condenser
like the Neat Worker Bee, mentioned elsewhere in our Buyer's
Guide, or the Shure SM27, a great $299 mic that's one of my
longtime standards. Next I usually recommend a handful of
dynamic mics like the Shure SM57 or Audix i5, and a good
pencil condenser or two. Today, however, I will describe a slightly different approach to getting started with mics... especially if
you desire to track a full drum set, and come on, what engineer
truly doesn't?
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http://www.rocknstompn.com http://www.shure.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2015