The Experts team wondered what we thought people would want to find behind the windows of a dream studio advent calendar. Some of the things we own, some we wish we did. Owned or not, we think any of the things we name in the next 15 days would be a gift to a professional studio owner
Day 10 - M201
Considering I don’t run a tracking studio I’m lucky enough to own a reasonable number of quality dynamic mics, however one gets used so much more than the others that I have to include it in our dream studio advent calendar. It’s the Beyerdynamic m201 TG.
I’ve been known to occasionally be a bit unkind about the SM57 on the blog. I’d like to clarify my position on the 57, it’s not that I particularly dislike the microphone, I get frustrated by the lazy thinking around it and how its perceived. It’s one of many mics and a great choice if you want upper midrange focus, but other mics with other voicings are available. When recording instruments I tend to use an m201 where many would use an sm57.
My m201 is principally used for recording my voiceovers for videos and podcasts. I use it in combination with my BAE 1073mpf which has already featured in this series. The combination is great and the BAE is a really nice front end and is a significant part of this chain. However I’ve used the BAE with other mics and I’ve used the m201 with other preamps and while the combination of the two is my favoured combination, the m201 is making the largest contribution.
Why Do Flat Sounding Dynamics Cost More?
The m201 is a dynamic mic and has a significantly flatter response than many dynamics. By their nature dynamic mics have a tendency to be midrange-heavy, this is carefully tuned out by manufacturers through the addition of external damping to reduce midrange sensitivity. Low frequency roll off can be compensated for through the creation of a Helmholz resonator behind the diaphragm tuned to the appropriate low frequency and high frequency rolloff can be compensated for by creating a small resonant chamber just inside the diaphragm. So by reducing midrange over-sensitivity and taking steps to boost the high and low frequencies, dynamic mics can achieve a surprisingly flat frequency response. However this is difficult to achieve and the very best performing dynamics are expensive. I own a Sennheiser MD441, extremely respected and not a cheap mic and while it sounds great, for my voice I’ve always favoured the m201 over it.
The m201 is compact, a plain black tube which could easily be mistaken for a pencil condenser. The hypercardioid polar pattern is ideal for podcasting in a relatively live environment and the flat frequency response, and mercifully un-hyped upper midrange means that my voice is well represented when using it. On a practical point, it is small. I use it with the included foam pop shield, which doesn’t protect it from aggressive plosives but I know how to work the mic properly. The biggest practical benefit over other mics I’ve tried, for example my Neumann TLM103, is that because it is an end address mic and relatively compact it doesn’t block my line of sight, meaning that I can see my monitor or notes unobstructed.
It has a humbucking coil which rejects AC interference in the same way as balanced cables do. This would have been useful in the days of CRT monitors. Probably less of an issue today. However this low noise performance does illustrate why these mics have been popular ‘desk mics’ in BBC radio for decades.
More Than A VO Mic
While principally a VO mic, I use it on every tracking session I do. It’s a great choice for vocals if a condenser isn’t working. I use it on electric guitar, often with a Coles 4038, though I’ll often try the 441 or a 421 in this position too. I frequently use it on snare too. I’ve had discussions with people who feel they are too dark in this application. These people are invariably people who favour an sm57 on snare. I’m not going to say they are wrong and if I were still tracking bands regularly I’d probably own a 57, I don’t have one in my personal collection (Gasps…) but tracking my own band I find the 201 provides the ‘bang’ I’m looking for from a top snare mic.
All Beyerdynamic mics are more expensive than the more popular alternatives, an m201 TG is currently around $270. But I’d rather have one mic I’ll use every day than three I leave in the cupboard.