CAD M179

This mic has a great quick response for singers that have a thick low voice. It provides a great top end boost at the high mid frequencies. If you have a real treble sounding (3.5 to 6K) voice I would go with another microphone. I always say that you should choose a mic per vocalist if you have the money. Now a days you can buy so many great mics for under $200. I would use CAD mics for clean singers. It does have a lower distortion rate or speed I noticed when placing on a guitar amp especially. We set up a mic for guitars the other day and it was laying out so we put it to use. After the guitar player turned up his amp to the levels that he plays we noticed it was rather clean sounding and a bit mid rangy. I think it may have been his cabinet but my ears were telling me it was the mic. We did not compare it to another we just went ahead and recorded the mic the way he wanted. We also moved the patters and it worked better when we asked the guitarist to turn down a bit. Remember that these mics are not made of real high quality components in that they are cheap by nature. Most younger producers like CAD. I am not a huge fan but for the money I do think this mic is a pretty good buy. I would not consider it as a record or hit record vocal mic. There are many differences in the sound of lets say an expensive AKG like a 414 and this mic. Most of these cheaper mics have a real buzz that happens at about 5k to 7k sometimes even I can hear it with some vocalist at about 4k and that is annoying if you have a female singer that uses her nose. It is a cleaner mic so I like that. I compare it to the LUNA by M Audio and I think they both have the same sound in some ways. They are both around the same price and they both have that high mid tone. I will say that a few of my students like CAD and have used them for years and it is a good company. If I were choosing between this mic and SPARK by Blue I would go with the Spark as it can take a better front end hit and has a similar boost but is not as noticeably mid rangy. I do like the CAD line and I have had some success with them. At the price point this is a good by.

OVERALL OPINION

For very clean singers it is a great buy but for loud singers I like other microphones. I like the crisp cleanliness of the CAD mics in general but it really depends on the singer so pay attention to the sound of the singer. Get right up to their voice and study their vocal sound. If you hear a great deal of nasal cavity you may not like this mic, if not you will. www.chrislieck.com www.comia.us (recording school). It is clean and is most of the CAD line. They are really nice mics for the money and like I said they are good buys but if you are looking for a great vocal mic spend the money and get a really pro mic like an AKG 414.