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Ten21 Studios - Mic Shootout

Award winning UK engineer and producer Niall Acott and Ten21 Recording Studios owner Sean Kenny put Advanced Audio Microphones CM48 and CM47fetCE up against an AKG 414B-ULS and a Nuemann U87ai at Ten21 Recording Studios in Maidstone, Kent, England. The resulting acoustic guitar tracks show that AA mics are holding their own AND competing with microphones 5 times their price! 

"I angled the mics as close together as possible, whilst listening on headphones. This allowed me to get the most focused signal for each mic, despite the difference of a couple inches between each capsule. I placed overall about 12 inches from the guitar body/neck join."

The preamps are those of the studio's Audient ASP8036, completely flat and unaltered signals for all 4 mics.

 "In terms of gain, the Neaumann U87ai  presented a good level to the IZ ADA convertors of -18 average, -12 peak, with the preamp set to -30dB"

" The U87ai put in the expected credible, workman like result. Good solid sound, a bit zingy perhaps, but acceptable."

 The CM48 required about 3dB more gain to reach the target level.

"The CM48 came closest to the sound of the U87ai. Solid, with an extended top. Captured the transients well. Mid range detail seems to be facet of the AA mic range."

 The AKG C414 B-ULS needed an extra 10dB of gain.

" The 414 was more scooped sounding, again a nice sound that would fit well in a mix. I did let it down slightly, by not using a suspension mount. Sean's foot tapping can be heard clearly, but is absent from the other signals. Proof that suspension mounts work!"

"The Advanced Audio CM47fetCE had the quietest output but in a similar area to the 414, I needed 13dB to match the signal level to disk."