Neumann introducerar mikrofonförförstärkaren V 402

Steg ett när det kommer till mikrofoner är förståelsen för att mikrofonplacering många gånger är direkt avgörande för soundet och att några centimeter hit eller dit ofta kan större skillnad än priset på mikrofonen. Genom att experimentera med placeringen kan du lätt få till mer eller mindre diskant och mer eller mindre rum och så vidare. Du kan med andra ord göra en mer tilltalande inspelning med en Shure SM57 om du vet vad du håller på med, än med en gammal felplacerad Neumann U47.
Den optimala mikrofonen som sådan existerar således inte, istället ska vi fokusera på ett gäng mikrofoner som inte står i vägen för inspelningen och i bästa fall även kan lyfta den en smula. Det finns otroligt mycket att välja på och listan skulle kunna göras anmärkningsvärt lång. Jag har därför valt att begränsa mig till sju mikrofoner i prisklassen under 10 000 kr. Men märk väl, ingen av dem är bäst.
Røde NT1

Røde NT1 är, namnet till trots, uppföljaren till smått klassika NT1A. Förutom den uppenbara färgskillnaden skiljer sig de båda mikrofonerna åt i frekvensåtergivningen, där NT1 tenderar att vara mer neutral med lägre brus och mindre stickig i diskanten. En prisvärd arbetshäst med 10 års garanti som fungerar på i stort sätt alla ljudkällor.
Pris: 1 900 kr
Hemsida: http://www.rode.com/microphones/nt1
Aston Spirit

Engelska Aston Spirit är en handbyggd kvalitetsmikrofon som soundmässigt drar åt det mer moderna hållet, med en fin tydlighet som sällan blir påträngande. En utmärkt sång- och instrumentmikrofon, speciellt på stränginstrument så som akustisk gitarr, fiol och cello. Spirit har en inbyggd transformator med tydlig karaktär vilket ger mer topp, till skillnad från Aston Origin som lutar mer åt det neutrala hållet.
Pris: 3 300 kr
Hemsida: https://www.astonmics.com/EN/product/mics/spirit
Shure KSM32

Shure KSM32 är mitt förstahandsval när det kommer till att rekommendera endast en mikrofon för studiobruk. KSM32 är underbart ren och välbalanserad utan att låta steril - snarare är den varm och inbjudande. Det kanske inte är den mest spännande mikrofonen på marknaden, men absolut en av de mer karaktäristiskt neutrala. En älskvärd allt i allo-mikrofon, om det nu finns en sådan.
Pris: 5 500 kr
Hemsida: https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/microphones/ksm32
Warm Audio WA-87

Warm audio WA-87 är en prisvärd Neumann U87-klon som tenderar att vara aningen tydligare i diskanten än originalet (vilket inte är särskilt konstigt med tanke på det rör sig om nyproduktion kontra vintage). Den klassiska U87:an är känd för att fungera på allt från sång till gitarrförstärkare och trummor. WA-87 har hög byggkvalité, fina komponenter och skeppas i en trevlig trälåda med diverse attiraljer.
Pris: 6 000 kr
Hemsida: https://warmaudio.com/wa87/
AKG C414 XLS och XLII

AKG C414 är förmodligen AKGs mest kända mikrofon, vilken har genomgått diverse förändringar genom åren. AKG C414 XLS och XLII är i stort sett identiska frånsett att XLS är lite mörkare i karaktären (mer neutral om så önskas), medan XLII har ett lyft runt 3kHz vilket ger mer öppenhet. Båda mikrofonerna har sina naturliga fördelar och det spelar egentigen mindre roll vilken du väljer, viktigare är då mikrofonplaceringen, där XLII kan komma undan med att placeras lite längre ifrån och fortfarande plocka upp välbehövlig diskant.
Pris: 7 400 kr
Hemsida: https://www.akg.com/Microphones/Condenser Microphones/C414XLS.html
Miktek CV3

Miktek CV3 (eller CV4 om du lyckas få tag på en) är en stilren kondensatormikrofon med dubbel MK9 kapsel, inte helt olik den som sitter i Neumann U67. Ljudet kan beskrivas som mjukt, lent och jämt med dragning åt det neutrala hållet. Fungerar på allt mellan himmel och jord, som så många andra mikrofoner. Ett anmärkningsvärt bra puffskydd ingår i priset.
Pris: 8 600 kr
Hemsida: http://www.miktekaudio.com/cv-3/
Shure SM7B

Slutligen vill jag slå ett slag för Shure SM7B, en dynamisk mikrofon speciellt framtagen för röst som passar utmärkt när du spelar in i rum med mindre smickrande akustik. Mikrofonen fungerar även i livesammanhang och har blivit känd under det illa valda namnet ”rockmikrofonen”. Vill höra hur Shure SM7B låter på just sång kan du lyssna på mitt senaste album med Låtsaspoeten här.
Pris: 4 000 kr
Hemsida: https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/microphones/sm7b
Värda att nämna är också Sennheiser MD421 och Shure SM57. 
Ställ gärna frågor eller kommentera artikeln i kommentarsfältet nedan, så spinner vi tillsammans vidare på ämnet. Eller om du hellre föredrar att diskutera om mixning i avdelningen "Mixning och mastring" på Studios forum här!
Fredagstipset är en återkommande serie där Studios skribent Jon Rinneby varje fredag delar med sig av tips inom bland annat inspelning och mixning. Här hittar du samtliga fredagstips.

Nashville, TN, June 2020 – Austrian Audio’s versatile OC818 microphone has been certified by the Music Engineering and Technology Alliance (METAlliance). Austrian Audio, a METAlliance ProPartner, is respected as one of the new progressive manufacturers of high quality studio microphones.

Handcrafted in Vienna, the Austrian Audio OC818 is a revolutionary multi-pattern dual-output large-diaphragm condenser microphone with optional wireless control. Onboard, the OC818 offers a choice of four selectable polar patterns, 10dB and 20dB pads, and three switchable high-pass filter options.
METAlliance co-found Elliot Scheiner commented, “I would consider this new microphone to be fashioned after a mic that we might have encountered years ago. It's a mic that you put up on either an instrument or voice, and you find out that what you're listening to requires nothing in the line. No equalization and probably no compression or limiting. I was totally blown away how the mic sounds. This has to be one of the more beautiful sounding microphones to be created.”
With Austrian Audio's open-source PolarDesigner plug-in (Mac and Windows), the engineer can craft custom polar patterns for up to five different frequency bands. In addition, the PolarPilot mobile app (iOS, Android) gives users real-time wireless remote control over polar patterns, high-pass filter options, and pad settings via the optional OCR8 Bluetooth dongle.
METAlliance co-founder Chuck Ainlay remarked, “Considering the lineage of Austrian Audio, expectations were very high when auditioning the OC818 and I wasn’t let down. It’s quality of build and sonics should make it an instant classic, while innovations such as the Bluetooth dongle to control the polar pattern remotely and the polar designer plug-in set this microphone in a class of it’s own..”
George Massenburg added, “I’ve been using the OC818, and as usual, I’m using it on almost everything, and at every opportunity in every possible configuration. It’s terrific on lead vocals, strings & woodwinds, jazz drum overheads. It’s also very helpful to have a remotely controllable pattern adjustment. I’ve come to realize that I don’t always need to automatically set up for cardioid, because often I don’t need the rejection, and straight-ahead omni sounds a lot better.”
Austrian Audio CEO Martin Seidl said, “We are honored to have our OC818 recognized and certified by this prestigious alliance. It is our company’s aim to manufacture products that offer the highest levels of quality in the recording chain, which is very much in line with the METAlliance’s ethos. It’s very encouraging to have this recognition from such respected recording engineers.”
The METAlliance Pro Partnership is a group of companies that share the founders' belief that a call for quality is important. It is limited, by invitation, to those companies that provide products and services deemed worthy of consideration by professionals.
Read more here

Vienna, Austria - June 25, 2020 - Called ‘We Are,’ the song’s lyrics speak of unity, peace, love and togetherness – a message Austrian Audio is keen to get behind at a time when all live music events have come to a halt, and while front line workers work tirelessly to battle the pandemic.

Looking ahead to a brighter future, the lyrics speak for themselves: “The future’s in my hands, if I poured it into love / What if you were that one, the one that could change the course? / One beat one heart, one life, one love.”
“The lock-down hit all of us in the music industry,” said Austrian Audio CEO, Martin Seidl. “After the initial shock, we sat down with the Austrian Audio family, our friends and great brand ambassadors. The idea was born to not only do what we are best at: be creative, but to also let good vibes outshine the daily bad news. We want to encourage positivity and hope at this distressing time and look forward to the day that the music scene is back on its feet.
“Divinity Roxx immediately supported the idea and contributed her song, ‘We Are’ to kickstart this important project. The lyrics perfectly paint a picture of better days and the idea of coming together: ‘We are what we’ve been waiting for / Put your hands in the sky and reach out for the stars’. And so we did, all together, with a group of world class musicians and with help from the Austrian Audio team.
“We – all being part of this great music industry – do have the most powerful tools on hand regarding triggering emotions. That is our passion, our instruments and our music. So here we are: separated by distances and restrictions, we are still playing together, for the music to come.”
Taking the vocal lead on the uplifting track is singer and bassist, Divinity Roxx, inspiring listeners to focus on their inner strength to overcome adversity. 'We Are’ also features the talents of a number of members of the Austrian Audio family:
Divinity Roxx: author, bassist, singer (musical director for The Beyoncè Experience). Kat Dyson: guitar, vocals (Sheila E, Zucchero, Prince, Cindy Lauper, Natalie Cole, Ziggy Marley and many others). Mike Scott: guitar (Prince, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, Rihanna and many others). Adam Gontier: vocals (Three Days Grace, Saint Asonia, Thousand Foot Krutch, Big Dirty Band, Apocalyptica). Polo Jones: bass (Zucchero, Sting, Pavarotti, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen and many others). Thomas Lang: drums (Falco, Peter Gabriel, Sugababes, Robbie Williams, Nik Kershaw and many others). Yakob Rabitsch: electronic drums (Grammy-nominated producer, writer and instrumentalist for 6lack and many others). Derek Brown: saxophone (saxophone innovator known for BEATBoX SAX). Ulrich Drechsler: saxophone (Cafè Drechsler, Liminal Zone and many others). Jimmy Green: guitar (Mike Rutherford, Nick Davis, Paul Reeve and many others). Hectic Da BackPacka: emcee, HipHoppa. Andy Baum: vocals (Hallucination Company, Andy Baum & The Trix, composer for TV and movie productions). Eric Papilaya: vocals, emcee (new album, 'Giganten'). Wenzel Beck: vocals, guitars (up and coming songwriter). Austrian Audio Choir Adrian Hall: small percussion, mixing/mastering (Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys, Depeche Mode, Linkin Park, Robbie Williams and many others). Barbara Seidl: video editor, promo & trailer production Walter Rührig: Austrian Audio AR, Producer Following an idea of Martin Seidl: CEO Austrian Audio Austrian Audio Homepage

Aston Microphones are used the world over by countless artists, engineers and producers who rely on their incredible sound quality and near indestructible build for their work.
Every Aston mic to date has been developed in conjunction with the Aston 33 panel, a 600 strong group of many of the top industry professionals in the business who, through a series of blind listening tests, have ensured that each mic produced has outperformed all the competition, including big brand mics costing 10 times as much.

Now it’s YOUR turn!
Aston Element will be the first microphone in the world to have a sound crafted by the public, the musicians, engineers and producers who will eventually be using it to create their own musical magic. Aston have taken the mic to prototype stage – now here’s the chance to have your say on how the final version will sound. By registering to take part you can become a member of a voting panel who take part in a series of blind-listening tests.
There will be several stages of public voting between late April and July 2020. At each stage you will be able to listen to 5 takes for each of 3 audio sources (male vocal, female vocal and acoustic guitar) recorded on prototypes of the new Aston, alongside a number of competitors’ mics. Then you’ll rate them, from best to worst. But here’s the thing – you won’t know which sound files are which, or even which mics are being used in the test!
After each voting stage Aston’s design team will modify the prototypes in line with the voting results and the blind-listening test process will be repeated. Only when the new Aston mic is consistently voted the best sounding microphone will the Element be signed off for production. This whole process is being peer reviewed by participating magazines and a team of independent professional engineers and producers.
This is a unique chance for you to contribute to the sound design of a professional studio microphone.
Link to Aston Voting Site
Sign up to be part of the Aston Family Developer team

Vienna, Austria (April 9, 2020) - Musician Derek Brown recently tested out an Austrian Audio OC818 microphone, using it to capture his unique style of saxophone playing – dubbed ‘BEATBoX SAX’.
Part beatbox, part instrument-slap technique, and part saxophone playing, Brown has turned BEATBoX SAX into a phenomenon – his YouTube music videos and tutorials are enormously popular among saxophonists and music lovers alike, racking up over 150,000 Youtube subscriptions.
Previously the director of jazz studies at Abilene Christian University for six years, Brown received his BM in Music Performance (Classical and Jazz) from Hope College in 2006, and his MM in Jazz Studies at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music in 2008.
Crossing genres from jazz, to classical, to funk (and without using any looping or electronic effects), Brown’s unique playing style was born out of a love of blending musical genres.
“I grew up with a very normal way of playing the saxophone,” he said. “I studied classical music and I started liking jazz. I went to university and I studied all the techniques and different ways of improvising. I was always feeling a bit lost, thinking ‘what’s my new thing to say on this?’ Am I a jazz musician? Am I a classical musician? Am I a pop musician?”
Brown decided that he didn’t need to choose - the result being a unique blend of jazz and pop-style saxophone playing, combined with instrument-slapping techniques.
Requiring a microphone that was up to the challenge, Brown tested an Austrian Audio OC818:
“It was great; it is everything I look for in a mic,” he said. “I had a very quiet signal and it seemed to pick up all the different things I'm doing on the saxophone, which is very important because everything I do – even though it sounds like it’s being looped or has an electronic effect – it’s not, it’s all acoustic. So I need a microphone that is going to pick up every little detail, from the ring scratching that I’m doing, to all the intricate sounds coming out of the belt, and my voice. This was a perfect mic; it had a great sound to it. It seemed to produce a very natural-sounding saxophone.”
Brown also likes that the OC818 microphones are handmade in Vienna:
“I love the idea that these are being created in Austria,” he enthused. “I know it’s very easy to have things outsourced to other countries, so I love that this tradition is being continued. I can't wait to see what Austrian Audio comes up with next.”
Handmade in Vienna, the OC818 is a multi-pattern dual-output condenser microphone equipped with a world-first: optional wireless control. At the heart of the range is the patent-pending, handmade CKR12 ceramic capsule, made to the same critical dimensions as the legendary CK12 capsules. However, the CKR12 goes further still, utilising a revolutionary new material offering far more stability, meaning every OC818 is inherently paired with any other OC818, or even Austrian Audio’s OC18 mic.