Last
year we were sent a selection of new ADK microphones to try out
in the studio and I was really keen to try them out as I’ve
been a long time fan of their mics. We have two of their original
A51 condensers that have just been fantastic work horses over
the past 10 years and still get used regularly on all kinds of
sessions particularly with the mobile.
ADK were the first of the new breed of manufacturers to realise
the potential of marrying western knowhow and design with Chinese
manufacturing and there was a huge buzz around the A51 when it
came out as people couldn’t believe how good the mic sounded
for the price. In the intervening years ADK have quietly gone
about making great sounding mics and while their traditional designs
might seem a bit staid in today’s multi coloured, funky
retro, market place their focus has always been on producing great
sounding microphones rather than the new “look at me”
mics that are this years model.
The ADK Area 51 TT mic is their flagship multi
pattern valve condenser mic at around £850 and they use
it as a basis for a number of much more expensive custom shop
versions which can cost well over a grand
In the 4 years we have been running the website
the range and choice of mics has reached a point where we sometimes
dread having a new mic to review, simply because manufacture
and design is so good across the board now that you really would
be very unlucky to buy a bad microphone. Where we are now at
the beginning of 2011 is that you can get such a great mic for
£600 that incrementally you need to spend a lot of money
to get a small improvement in quality and so on and so on until
you are in Brauner territory and you're spending £1500
Recording
We’ve been using Advanced Audios
CM47 in the studio for about a year and if that represents the
best value for money mic in the £550 to £600 price
band then ADKs TT is the what you get when you spend another
£300
There are a number of small subtle differences
between the two mics but I guess the real proof of how good
a mic really is, is how often an engineer reaches for it before
anything else and it’s true to say that over the last
few months the ADK Area 51TT has been the first choice for guitars
and singers and is one of the mics permanently left set up on
a stand in the studio.
The CM47 is softer in the mid range, slightly sweeter at the
top and slightly fuller in the low end which is great at "flattering"
the sound you're recording and it’s certainly helped a
lot of singers I've worked with recently who , shall we say..need
a bit of help!
However For me the ADK is generally a more accurate reproduction
and sometimes this is better simply because it gives me more
ammunition at the mix. I’ve talked about this a lot in
the past because for me, it’s the acid test of a great
mic as to how much of the sound remains as the mix is put together
and all the other things are competing for the same space in
the frequency range. The TT has a real authority in the mid
range and this is an all-important area often overlooked particularly
in the vocal register. It also responds really well to EQ when
required and has enough gain for almost any application when
used with a good pre-amp. I read the article from ADK about
it being the favourite studio mic of the late great Ray Charles
who loved the mic on his vocals and piano and you can hear why
as soon as you push up the fader.
Noise
had never been a problem until recently when we lent it to a
friend for a voice-over and he reported that it was giving out
a constant low-mid hum. It turned out to be the valve on its
way out and while initially we were a bit disappointed it turned
out to be the best thing that could happen. When I emailed ADK
to ask their advice about replacement valves I actually got
an email back Larry Villela the head of ADK. (How great is it
when you actually get the MD of a company taking enough time
to talk to you about their product). Larry told us that if we
could find one, the real magic mojo for the ADK Area 51TT is
an original British Mullard N/O Stock 12AT7 (After nearly 50
years as a mic end-user, he knows a couple of things . . . )
There is a ton of stuff on the net about NOS valves but a quick
search found a number of suppliers in the UK where I bought
2 so I had a choice. On testing both valves were fine and after
fitting one I swear the mic was not only quieter than before
but it just sounds lovely.
Unlike a lot of condenser mics the TT is great on distorted
or overdriven guitar sounds and when placed close to a loud
cabinet smooths out any peakiness beautifully. Likewise on bass
cabs it’s tight and round although it’s still a
toss up against our old Neuman u47 fet! I've used it on flute,
violin and brass and it handled all of these well and finally
its worth mentioning that, as with all valve mics, it's a different
beast when it's been switched on for a few hours. Its always
down to what suites on the day and as a busy studio we are lucky
to have such a big range of mics so while it's more expensive
than the AA CM47 I reckon I get more use out of the TT and it's
capable of recording a wider range of material. If I said it
lacks character that's not a criticism, sometimes you just want
accuracy and that’s what you get with the TT.
It’s got 9 switchable polar patterns switchable from the
PSU and while I use it mainly in cardioid I have opened it up
on a couple of occasions to record a group of people singing
or hand-clapping and it performed perfectly. We’ve got
2 now in the studio and I know JR is itching to try them out
as a mid side pair in Feb when he’s got a clarinet concerto
to record but for me valve mics can become a bit vague and unfocussed
when you get too far away from the source and they're best when
used close up. Similarly I've never had much success using them
on drums and percussion and it may be down to the live room
here at Fairview but I always prefer our Neumann KM84s or the
Hebdens as O/Hs. But if you want a great all rounder, the TT
is a well built, good looking microphone presented in a particularly
nice flight case housing everything you need: the power supply
and two different mounts (important when you want to get it
right up against the speaker cloth), an excellent steel pop
shield and all the leads. So. Would I buy one?
Well, happily I don’t have to as we know have 2 in the
studio but I was in the market for a large diaphragm tube condenser
mic and had around £850 to spend then I don't personally
know of a mic better than the TT . As studio engineers we know
that there is never going to be one mic for everything and everybody
so we've set up a Try Before You Buy system
whereby you can try the mic out yourself for a few days.
JS
