Cutting percussion for the above Stevi Z song, "Best Friends Don't Drink Alone," I set up both mics in omni in the live room. Making adjustments by ear, I found myself using more gain on the CM251 to match the presence of the CM67. I had singer/songwriter Sara Quah come to the studio to do some acoustic guitar and vocal experiments. Upon sending him the mix he asked to hear the other mic on the lead. I've developed a preference for not very sensitive, super or hypercardioid dynamics, because they seem to... A little over a year ago I was finishing up a session when a producer I was working with handed me a mic and said, "Hey man, have you heard of this? He put a JZ Microphones... Audio-Technica has just released a microphone that I've been waiting on for years. The transformer will deliver +14dBu with less than .5% distortion and with a flat response down to 20Hz. His student, 15-year old Adrian Mendez, was singing the part. At the same time its robust and sturdy, taking everything, I throw at it. Next up were some client sessions where I tried to utilize both mics whenever possible. He needed the lead character's songs done before he went to Chicago to record the rest of the cast. I do feel like I should point out a couple of minor negatives. Their mic preamps, summing amps, and control room... Jim Williams: Behind the Gear with Audio Upgrades, Restoring the "Holy Grail of Compressors": Behind the Scenes at the Vintage King Tech Shop, From WWII Planes to Stax Consoles: Behind the Gear with Bill Cheney & the History of Spectra Sonics, Rich Williams: Behind the Gear with Burl Audio. I set both mics in figure-8 and placed them where the guitar null was toward the vocal and vice versa. Build your 100k Analog Studio with Advanced Audio CM251 and CM67se from Mix Magazine Wes Maebe designed a $100,000 analog studio this past month for Mix Magazine, and low and behold, he has gone with some of AA's finest for his condenser mic choices. I immediately thought this was a very nice touch and showed forethought. The Advanced Audio CM251 and CM67se are both large diaphragm tube condenser mics. I thought I'd have some fun and set the mics up as a mid/side pair on the Leslie speaker. When I switched the mics and recorded the same song a second time, I was again impressed on how each sounded. The sheer meatiness of the CM67se alone would be perfect in many situations recording the Hammond and Leslie combination. I used both mics, panned hard and effected for the chorus vocal. "$100,000 Ante in the Analog Game" The snare spoke nicely, and the attack of the toms was great. I had an interesting session for a local composer, Chad Tallon, who'd done a modern version of The Jungle Book for an amusement park in Thailand. I had added a sampled Mellotron and moved on to electric guitar. The Advanced Audio CM251 and CM67se are both large diaphragm tube condenser mics. Pheonix Drive performing vocals with the CM67se in omni position. I don't think that is an issue if you were using tom mics in a rock, pop, soul, or R&B project. It was pretty clear that the CM67se was not the mic for her voice, but the CM251 was perfect. All Right Reserved. I had the Advanced Audio mics' polar pattern set to what I'd call wide cardioid – one click past the standard cardioid marking on the PSU. The differences in midrange color and presence give the illusion of the CM251 sounding softer when the meters match. Mic'ing a snare drum is always a challenge, because it's hard to avoid bleed from the hi-hat. You may notice a few others too. The high-end rise of the CM251 did lovely things to cymbal articulation.