I'm not 100% yet, but damn I am enjoying this little microphone I just picked up. It's a Shure SM63.
It was designed for 'news gathering' and live stage use (although I will debunk that aspect of it shortly). All reviews are similar to that of the pencil mics I have been trying out. They state, in no uncertain terms that one should NOT use this mic for singing. On that, I disagree!
I just picked one up and it is actually quite good for recording a vocal. I am in love with Omnidirectional mics, and this tiny thing was always on my radar, but most people make it sound terrible, almost on purpose. It's not terrible. In fact, it has a very pleasant tone and is getting me excited about remote recording.
Here are the specs...
TypeDynamic (moving coil)
Frequency Response: 80 to 20,000 Hz
Polar Pattern: Omnidirectional
Output Impedance: EIA rated at 150 Ω 298 Ω actual
Sensitivity(@ 1 kHz, open circuit voltage)-56.5 dBV/Pa [1] (1.5 mV)Hum
Pickuptypical, at 60 Hz21 dB equivalent SPL in a 1millioersted field
Polarity: Positive pressure on diaphragm produces positive voltage on pin 2 with respect to pin 3
Net Weight SM6399 3.5 Ounces (VERY LIGHT)
As you can see, the roll-off begins at low mids 400hz (!), so while there is no need to engage a filter on the board, I used my EQ1 (my tube preamp) to gently roll off at around 60hz, and to my surprise, adding more 12k at the top worked well without any harsh artifacts. This is great news for me since on the road, all I take with me is a Steinberg SC with some compression and EQ built in. I can literally leave it flat and apply my processing via VSTs later to 'correct' the tone. And sure, I will talk tone. This mic really does not mind being overly processed, distorted, abused, and whatnot, and still maintains intelligent speech. This is why this one is definitely a keeper.
The Fethead I use before the preamp really gets this mic excited. I'm quite digging it. I used my own aquarium foam for plosives and such and the combination made me think of a highly processed U47 type of mic set to an omni pattern, but with a ribbon-like character. Rolling off the highs actually makes it sound like a clean ribbon mic, but a little dirt went a long way. So it processes well.
I had the chance to test the other Omni Shure makes (VP64) earlier on in my experiments and felt I might have given up too early on that one. But the SM63 was always intriguing. While Shure states the VP64 is for news gathering, it says the SM63 is for stage use on vocals. Here, I would say not quite. It's too sensitive as an omni to work on stage with noisy electronics and the bass I generate, and I am almost certain it would feedback. However, it could be useful on stage at low sensitivity to feed an effects unit. That might be a worthwhile experiment.
As for recording? I love it. I can barely pick up the room, but get all the benefits of an omni. But... It does come with work. I have paired it up with settings in my software to bring out the best of it. On its own, it may seem a little dull to some folks. It's not a mic to make fancy vocal videos. The mic looks more like an adult toy than a microphone. I mean, look at it. This picture is almost at full size on my 12" laptop screen. It weighs little to nothing.
That color though.