Radial Engineering has introduced the Gold Digger, a unique device that enables the studio engineer to quickly compare and select the best-sounding microphone to suit the character of a particular voice.
Radial president Peter Janis explains: “Capturing the essence of a voice is critical during the recording process. This is best accomplished by selecting the most appropriate microphone and suitable mic preamp. But setting up an ‘honest’ comparison between microphones can be difficult due to the time lapse involved when routing signals and discrepancies between mixer channels.
“The Gold Digger solves the problem by routing four microphones to a single output via a ‘straight wire’ signal path,” he continues. “In other words, there are no buffers or any form of gain stage in between the microphone and the output, thus assuring a color-free signal transfer without distortion or artifact.”
The Gold Digger includes four “radio-style” switches to ensure only one microphone will be activated at any one time. Phantom power (48-volt) is generated and managed inside the unit to ensure switching between mics will be quiet and pop free.
One simply plugs in the microphones, activates phantom power for condensers and then sets the trim control so that all mics produce the same output level. The “live” mic is activated by selecting the desired channel.
The Gold Digger will start shipping in November 2012. Estimated retail price: $400 (USD).
The Gold Digger recently debuted at the 133 AES convention in San Francisco and picked up a “Best of Show” award along with Radial’s new Cherry Picker preamp selector.
