Recording - October 2016 - 4

PUBLISHER: Thomas Hawley
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Brent Heintz

EDITORIAL

EDITOR: Mike Metlay
SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR: Lorenz Rychner
TECHNICAL EDITOR: Paul Vnuk Jr.
EDITOR AT LARGE: Beto Hale
COPY EDITOR: Diana Smethurst
MÚSICO PRO EDITOR: Fernando Curiel

The wonders of the Mic Locker
Paul Vnuk Jr.'s having fun playing with new mics at Moss Garden Music again...

CONTRIBUTORS
Paul Vnuk Jr., George Petersen,
Alex Hawley, Bruce Kaphan, Darwin
Grosse, Paul J. Stamler, Marty Peters
SOCIAL MEDIA
Brent Heintz, Paul Vnuk Jr.
ART & PRODUCTION

ART DIRECTOR: Scott Simmonds
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Colin Courtney
WEB GOALIE: Colin Courtney

PLAYBACK PLATINUM SERIES
Lorenz Rychner

EDITOR/PRODUCER:

CIRCULATION
Tiffany Sepe

CIRCULATION MANAGER:

ADVERTISING SALES AND MARKETING
DIRECTOR: Brent Heintz
CLASSIFIEDS MANAGER: Colin Courtney

On the left: large-diaphragm condensers galore. The Brauner Phantom Classic and
AKG C414 XLS at lower and upper left; the Shure KSM44 at upper right; the Aston
Origin and Spirit at left and right... and at top and bottom, the new Soundelux U195,
with its immediate predecessor the Bock Audio 195 at lower left. You can read about
the U195 and how it fits into the Soundelux/Bock/Soundelux history on page 38.
On the right: a lovely selection of ribbons. Clockwise from lower left, some old and
new favorites: the Cascade Fat Head II Active, the Royer R-121, the Cloud 44-A, the sE
Voodoo VR1, and the AEA Nuvo N8. At the bottom (no, I won't say "down under"), the
newest ribbon to grace our pages-the RØDE NTR. Check out the review on page 46.
Those aren't the only mics reviewed in this issue. Paul also tests out the TG D71c
boundary mic from beyerdynamic, Peluso's P-84 pencil condenser, and Lauten Audio's
LA-320, and we're pleased to welcome back our friend and colleague George Petersen
to Recording with an in-depth look at the new V13 from Vanguard Audio Labs.
As George points out in his review, engineers are usually on the lookout for more mics.
Every mic has its own sound, its own preferred application, or something that makes it special... mics that are completely useless are rare. A mic locker is a treasure trove, a toolbox
for the machine that perhaps defines recording more than any other: the microphone.
In a recent studio session, Paul and I were admiring mics belonging to one another
and bemoaning the fact that they seemed to do what we needed better than the mics
we owned. One handshake later, and he's loving his new mic and so am I.
This sort of networking doesn't work for everyone. Some engineers and studios
guard their collections with great care, knowing that a studio's mic locker is one of its
great calling cards (especially if there are vintage mics on hand). Others rent out their
mics to colleagues in need, letting an engineer enjoy the sound of a great mic for one
session without a huge investment. Still other engineers use the buying, selling, trading,
borrowing, and loaning of mics as a way to network. If you own a ribbon mic that a
trusted friend is coveting for an upcoming guitar session, and he has a big condenser
that you could really use for a vocalist booked in for next week... talk it over.
Of course, if you're new to engineering, even knowing what to ask for, or which
mics are worth chasing down and why, can be daunting. To help you along, we've put
together the Rough Guide to Mics: a stroll through the world of the microphone, calling
out classics and discussing modern innovations, with excerpts from decades of reviews
that offer useful advice on over 150 mics from 50 manufacturers. It starts on page 10,
and we hope you have as much fun reading it as we had putting it together.
One final note: if you're picking up this issue at the Audio Engineering Society
Convention in Los Angeles, please stop by the Music Maker Publications booth and say
hello. We're celebrating the start of our 30th year in print at AES, and we're always
glad to visit with readers and hear about their work.
Enjoy the issue!

RECORDING OCTOBER 2016

ADMINISTRATION
Thomas Hawley

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE:

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

PRESIDENT: Thomas Hawley
VICE PRESIDENT: Brent Heintz

SUBSCRIPTIONS/ADDRESS CHANGES:
1-800-783-4903
ADVERTISING/CLASSIFIEDS/MAIN OFFICE:
(303) 516-9118
RECORDING MAGAZINE
(ISSN 1078-8352; USPS 002-298) is published
monthly, 12 times per year, by Music Maker
Publications, Inc., 5408 Idylwild Trail, Boulder,
CO 80301-3523.
Tel: (303) 516-9118 Fax: (303) 516-9119
email: info@recordingmag.com
Los Angeles Editorial Office:
beto@recordingmag.com
Periodicals Postage is paid at Boulder, CO and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
RECORDING, Subscriber Services, P.O. Box 3000, Denville, NJ
07834-3000. Tel: 1-800-783-4903, Fax: 1-973-627-5872.
Subscription rate: $23.97 per year. Distributed to the music
trade by Hal Leonard Corporation. All material is subject to
worldwide copyright protection, and reproduction or imitation
in whole or in part is expressly forbidden without written consent
from the publishers. All reasonable care is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of the magazine, but Music Maker
Publications, Inc. cannot be held legally responsible for its contents. The publishers cannot assume responsibility for the return
of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or materials. All trademarked names, whether indicated as such or not, are owned by
their respective companies.
Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #41491032.
Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box
25542, London, ON N6C 6B2

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - October 2016