Across town at David Gamson’s studio (David, in a past life, was half of the pop duo Scritti Politti), the P12 sounded great on an acoustic guitar.
David reports: “It had a nice glassy top end without sounding brittle and, because of the slight mid-range scoop in the frequency response of the microphone, very little carving out of the midrange was necessary to get the acoustic guitar to sit nicely in the mix.”
He continues with: “we tried the P12 on a male voice-over session and found that it has a fantastic presence without sounding thin or harsh-very little post processing was necessary.”
David’s assessment lines up with what I’ve found that, just like the C12, the P12 tends toward a hyped top end but retains warmth.
He goes on with: “the vocal had an ‘in your face’ quality coming straight off the mic making it a good call for recording a female pop singer. “
I used the P12 in the same ways I would use a good sounding AKG C12, and found it more reliable and consistent than most vintage mics.
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The P12 excels in vocal recording due to it’s open and smooth sound. It will not flatten out (compress) under loud moments.
In a mix with heavily processed guitars, synths, and drum machines, vocals recorded with the P12 sound present and natural without having to resort to generous, additional equalization-usually the case with recordings made with some other tube microphones.
The P12 performs brilliantly through a wide dynamic range making it the first choice especially for singers looking for bright sound without harshness.
It sells for $1,499.99 MSRP directly from www.pelusomicrophonelab.com
Peluso P12 Vacuum Tube Microphone Specs
Type: Condenser Pressure Gradient w/ 34mm edge-terminated capsule
Frequency Range: 20 Hz/24 kHz
Polar Pattern: 9 – Switchable from omni- to bi-directional
Sensitivity: 11mv/pa
Impedance: 200 ohms
SPL: 136 dB
Equivalent Noise: 15 dB (A-weighted)
Tube Type: 6072A-M
Power Requirements: Dedicated power supply
Size: 45mm x 240 mm
Weight: 750 g
Price: $1499.75
Barry Rudolph is a veteran L.A.-based recording engineer as well as a noted writer on recording topics. Visit his website at www.barryrudolph.com
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