Recording - October 2016 - 51

the original, capsule and component
wear and tear... meaning there are often
differences between the vintage mic and
the new one, from subtle to vast.
With this in mind, I was quite pleased
to discover that overall the P-84 is all but
indistinguishable from my older KM 84s,
especially in a mix. In raw side-by-side
comparisons, the extra percentage of
upper-mid presence and top end is subtly
noticeable, but in the end, that just
makes the P-84 sound like a newer,
cleaner KM 84. The P-84 was also a few
dB hotter and had less self noise than my
vintage mics. All in all I could happily
use either, I even tried mixing and matching one of each in a stereo pair and the
sonic differences were negligible.
Impressive!
In use
Moving past the comparison stage, this
mic is the very definition of a studio staple. One of its specialties is acoustic guitar, where it works great as a mono mic,
or in tandem with a large-diaphragm condenser in a blending situation.
I love using both spaced pair and XY
miking positions for capturing acoustic
guitars in wide stereo, especially for solo
acoustic classical and folk recordings.
This is an area where I wish I had the
hypercardioid capsules, as I'll bet that

they'd really highlight the left to right
movement of the sound, the fingers on
the fretboard and string strums, in a very
3D way. The cardioid capsules are no
slouch in this position, though; the P-84
cardioid has a very tight and clean offaxis rejection.

My second favorite use of these mics is
on drum overheads. They yield a much
more aimable and focused sound than
many LDCs. If you want to go old school
and use a single P-84 as a mono overhead or as spot mic on ride or hi-hat, the
included omni capsules open the sound
up a touch, lessen proximity effect, and
obscure the directionality nicely. The
omni capsules are also great for capturing large groups of singers and musicians, from choirs to string sections, full

orchestras and even for use as widely
spaced stereo room mics.
While we do not typically think of
SDCs for vocal applications, I enjoyed
the P-84 for building backing vocal layers and for panel-style spoken-word sessions. However, you will need a good
windscreen; the P-84 is very susceptible
to breath noise and plosives. I was surprised that Peluso doesn't include foam
windscreens in the package.
Conclusion
These little mics are hard to argue
with. Peluso has created a mic that is
scarily close to the sound of the soughtafter original, placing it in a fantastic
package with everything you'll need for
stereo recording situations and beyond...
well, aside from windscreens.
This is not an inexpensive mic, but the
stereo set with two capsules is still cheaper than seeking out a vintage pair of KM
84s, especially a set with extra capsules... and you know you'll be getting
the KM 84 sound with brand-new quality. Another winner for Peluso!
Price: $1166; stereo kit $1817
More from: Peluso Microphone Lab,
www.pelusomicrophonelab.com
http://www.pelusomicrophonelab.com http://cras.edu/gainful-employment
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