Ear Trumpet Labs has a line of hand made condenser mics with very distinctive, sculptural designs. The "Edwina" is tuned electrically and acoustically as a live vocal mic, but the medium diaphragm condenser (26mm electret) is also finding good use in the studio on guitar cabs, as room mics and even drum overheads, as well as vocals. Hand built and wired point-to-point with individually selected highest quality components. Transformerless FET fully balanced circuit. See videos of live use at Shows.

Yes! Love my pair of Edwinas!

What's the self noise on these things look like?

Cross Spectrum Labs measured it at 22 db(A). Sensitivity 14 mv/Pa (1K, 94db). I have the full Cross Spectrum report for anyone interested.

Congrats Philip, loving our 2 ETL mics!

Not sure how fitting a descriptor it is, but the first word that popped into my head was...gorgeous. Very nice!

How's the price?

Site says $350.

Very tempting...

It's sure taken a while for the steampunk aesthetic to trickle into audio gear design... prospective buyers might want to adorn the appropriate headgear to appreciate the full potential for these mics:



But seriously, these look great, hope to try them out soon!

You know, one of my customers asked me to work on something head-mounted for his drummer... you may have found the answer. Tell me you don't want to put that on every drummer.

Hey Phillip! We still need to talk about String Summit and Pickathon. Cheers.

Hi Mark! Absolutely, I'll email you. Did you want to say something here about the mics? (Mark does great live video and recording and has worked on a number of shows using Ear Trumpet mics)

When I first saw it that, I thought you were dropping your new binaural mic!

Cool looking stuff!

Bumping this thread because I have been getting a ton of use from my Edwinas. More people need to know about these great sounding (and looking) mics!

I do a lot of bluegrass sound here in the northwest and would be interested in any mics that would work well as a single LD condenser mic in a live outdoor (or indoor) setting.

The Louise and Josephine are designed for exactly this use. They've been main mics at old time and bluegrass festivals and used by a number of string bands in the Northwest. They've got similar sound and better feedback rejection than the standard bluegrass LDCs like the 4033.

Thanks. I'll have to get in touch with you and check them out. I would hope they sound better than the AT 4033, that is my least favorite mic for single mic use.

Yeah, I hear you. 4033s are actually small diaphragm condensers with a resonator ring; Louise and Josephine use a medium-large diaphragm (26mm) capsule for a smoother LDC sound, but much more controllable in a live environment (and less proximity effect) than a 32 or 34mm LDC.

Thanks again Phillip. In reality, the 4033 has an 11.5 mm diaphragm while the true large diaphragm Audio Technica mics like the 4047 and 4050 have 21.4 mm diaphragms.

When I noticed a distinct difference in the sound of the 4033 back when it was the go to bluegrass single mic, I contacted AT to get the straight answers.

Here:

"Mark,
Here are the diaphragm sizes you requested. Hope this helps".

AT4033 - 11.5 mm
AT4040 - 20.4 mm
AT4047 - 21.4 mm
AT4050 - 21.4 mm

CHRIS NIGHMAN
Audio Solutions Specialist
P 330.686.2600 ext. 2135
F 330.686.6298
Audio-Technica U.S., Inc.
1221 Commerce Drive, Stow, Ohio 44224

Yes, that's right - I wasn't referring only to AT mics, though the ATs do get more use as live bluegrass mics than most others, for reasons that have never been very clear to me.

The diaphragm size in my capsules is similar to the larger ATs you mentioned, and by most definitions that wouldn't be considered a "large" diaphragm, though that is how AT refers to them. There aren't many other mics using that mid size, though as I said I find it very useful and great sounding. The 4033's 11mm capsule is indeed small - a KM184 has about a 16mm capsule. There's some confusion between "capsule" size and "diaphragm" size, and it's not always clear what's being referred to, but the difference is only a few mm.

So what are the mics you've liked best for live bluegrass?

Some mics I have used and like are the Shure KSM32 and 44 mics, the AT 4047 works well. In reality, my favorite mic for the last couple of years has been my trusty CAD M179. I set it on wide cardioid and it just works as good as any mic I have used or tried. Another mic that surprised me was the Rode NT4 dual capsule stereo mic. There is a local BG band that uses that mic and it sounds very nice.

I have AT 4047 and 4050 mics, AKG C414, Blue Baby Bottle and two CAD M177's and an M179. For outdoor use at bluegrass festivals in the wind and dust and sometimes rain (this IS after all the northwest) I use the CAD mics. I can throw them away and replace them without breaking the bank.

Thanks, it's always helpful to hear people's experiences. I've taken a stab at a stereo mic like the NT4 optimized for live use but don't have it worked out yet.

If you'd like to test mine out, get in touch. I'd value your opinion.

Thanks I will. I have a couple of festivals this summer that will require single mic use. One will be the first week of June and one in August.

I'll check in with you.

Thanks...

The main genre I mix is more geared toward rock, so Phillip, how do you think the Edwina would perform in such situations as overheads and guitar amps. I've read reviews on their sound, but how would they perform in a touring rock show where I need reliability as far as build goes.

Edwina has been used a lot as both OH and on cabs in live rock. They've toured with many folks; Portland bands Corin Tucker Band, Modest Mouse and Talkdemonic come to mind as rockers they've toured with in those uses.

Thanks!

Bump because I'm curious how much use this mic is getting specifically in live lead vocal situations... and also, how does it do for rejection if in a setting with a louder band?

Philip, Would your microphones allow a bluegrass band to use some of the small personal monitors that are out there ? Patrick Murphy