I can't believe there's not more buzz about this mic... as soon as I saw it released I had a strong gut feeling this would take over on snare duties from the Sennheiser 431 (it has.... and that's a fantastic snare mic)... but it's really unbelievable on so many other things. I cut vocals for an entire record here with it, and we have Flea 48, RCA 44, Neumann m149 among many other great vocal mic options....

The thing that's really got me about this mic is doing the mono OH Beatles thing with it... it has such a clear and satisfying attack, it really reminds me so much of the RCA 44 in it's response but also very unique in it's own way, still this is by far the most ribbon-y dynamic I've ever used. No sense of hype or grit about it, just extremely direct, clear, open, un-hyped transient response. I seriously think Shure should start paying me to promote these mics. After hearing mine the studio owner bought another, so I'll try them as stereo drum overheads sometime soon, which is something I never thought I'd consider.... I've loved the Beyer m201 as a mono overhead before, the m88 and sm7 not so much... but this KSM8 has an undeniable crack to it that with an API preamp just really does that mono OH AKG D19C thing so well!!! Hoping to check it on kick, guitar, and bass amp soon...

I've seen a few of the black ones go thru Reverb occasionally, I wonder why people are selling theirs? One thing about them is that they will certainly come off as dark to people used to other Shure or Sennheiser vocal dynamics, especially the Beta 57/58 and the 431.... to me the tone is much more in line with the ksm 137/141 and Beta 181/S, mics also considered dark by some (but in regular use around here)... anyway that's what EQ is for, right??

Who else is using this mic and getting blown away by it?

I sing into it almost every night. Last Thursday I did a solo thing at a place called "The Barn" run by a gearhead. (Vocal into 1176, etc.) (A couple of) people afterwards said it was the best sound they'd ever heard (there). I like it a lot!!!!

looks interesting, but I have never tried it

I suspect many people are put off by the form factor. The idea of spending nearly $500 on a "handheld" dynamic may be a bit shocking. It is to me. The idea of using a handheld dynamic as a drum overhead is also a bit outside my wheelhouse. If it was bulkier or boxier or longer...

I suppose I need to re-examine some of my preconceptions and give it a try.

yes totally hear you on that... I was able to get a healthy discount from the retailer I got it from (PM me... in NY state)... the positive about the 'handheld dynamic mic' form factor is that those are typically (ideally?!) made to be super rugged... this mic is so tough I feel like I could hit the snare WITH it. Which also makes me feel like it was a dependable investment.

Also, wasn't the sm57, the most ubiquitous snare mic, originally intended as a handheld vocal dynamic? As well as the Sennheiser 431, another common favorite?

Also it's been fascinating to me that the Beatles moved from using a mono Coles 4038 overhead to the AKG D19C right when they were getting into their classic (and more hifi) era... and they had access to u67, C12, RCA44, u47, m49, etc etc....

Sweet! I demoed mine while running sound for a super busy weeklong dance camp last summer, with tons of different bands, so it got a real workout, and I leaned on it heavily to really get a deep sense of it. At one point there was a group of about 12 people crowded around it singing, and I was shocked out how much gain before feedback I was able to get (group was in the middle of the floor, right in the splay of the speakers, the back of the ksm 8 was to the the mains) and the balance, clarity and smoothness of the off axis singers was jaw-dropping... It was also fantastic on the bell of a clarinet (few mics are) as well as both male and female solo singers.

The rave review in TapeOp put this mic on my radar. I do intend to add it to the locker at some point, because the reviewers description of its characteristics and what it did well aligned nicely with what I like.

Only used them live so far. But I've enjoyed the utility of well behaved low proximity effect changes, sans the need for a lot of top boost, love singing into it, sounds good on most of my band mates, I bought a second one and a '9HS.
I've tried RE-16's as well but didn't get along nearly as well with them. The Shure just seems to have struck a different balance.
It will be interesting to see how they fair to RE20's (and 16's on instruments) in the home studio.

Yeah to me it's a way different beast than the RE16, that mic sounds too effected / Charlie Brown's teacher to me on vocals, though could be cool as an effect... but it can be a wonderful guitar amp mic, especially as a different sounding option to pan out... it's aggressive midrange has been super useful there... but yes basically the KSM8 is doing for me what I was hoping to get out of the RE16.

I'm very impressed by the KSM8. If you're a singer used to singing through an SM58 there is a little bit of a learning curve.

For a singing guitar player the KSM8 is a dream come true. You can look over at your fingers and you're still in the microphone's huge sweet spot. You're not glued to the mic.

The warmth, detail, and lack of off axis distortion are exceptional!

Does anyone have any insight into how this mic compares to the SM7B, MD441 or RE20 for studio work? In terms of both sound and room rejection...

Great review here. It seems to offer a more natural sound compared to many hyped microphones.

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews...-ksm8-dualdyne

I'd be all over this mic if I could find one for the right price, at the right time...

I have heard 'tis good on snare, too.

I've been using it all over in the studio... so far as a main vocal mic (handheld), on snare, as a backup vocal mic on a stand, as a mono drum overhead, on a kaval (folky flute from the Balkans).

On lead vocal it was really nice, like an sm7 without as much comparative air...it felt slightly mid forward and there was a little proximity that needed to get dealt with though not an impossible amount, plus the singer was a shill screamer and the slight low boost really helped him, it wasn't as extreme as many other mics would be. In the mix it ended up feeling a little dark, so I brightened the top with a Pultec style hardware EQ (JLM PEQ500) and it took the eq really well... it has a ribbon-y sound to it that I've never heard in a dynamic mic.

On snare, it's unbelievable... the woof that's always there in almost every mic I use is completely absent, and the HH bleed is muted and workable... I barely have to use any EQ, if any, especially if the drum is tuned and treated well. I got this thinking it would be a home-run snare mic and it has delivered even better than expected, I really honestly can't imagine a better snare mic, and I suspect it would shine on toms as well.

On backups it's worked wonderfully... I used it on a session where the whole band tracked live including vocals, we had just gotten our second KSM8 and were using it with the mandolin player and banjo player, who were both playing and singing live. The off axis response was extremely good sounding, to the point that it had barely a discernible impact on the close mic'd sound of the mando and banjo. On another session that had 3 singers in a room doing vocal harmony overdubs at the same time, I put one singer at the end of the line (the others were using Samar AL39 figure 8 ribbons) and had her facing the other two, so they were in the null of the mic. The vocal track with the KMS8 was so isolated that I'm going to have no problem tuning or editing the track. And the KSM8 blended effortlessly with the two Samar ribbons, which are really fantastic, smooth ribbon mics, kind of somewhere between a Coles and a Royer in tone but really with a sound of it's own that I love.

On the kaval session the musicians were all in the same room, drummer included (gobo-ed) , and there was a fair amount of drum bleed as the kaval player kept drifting from the mic... but the bleed was nothing like what I'm used to hearing from something like a 421, which to me gives a really fizzy and difficult off axis sound to cymbals in a mix where I'm really wanting to show off the close tom sound... it was very round, even, and clear, and blended very well to the track... adding reverb to the kaval also brought some to the drum, but in a nice, un-hyped way that worked well at least on the rough mixes I did after that session. Also her sound / tone stayed very consistent despite her changing proximity to the mic.

Compared to the 3 mics you mentioned I'd put it closest to the 441, but with a more clear transient response, it feels a little faster and more immediate in it's response to percussion than the 441, which I never loved on the snare, as cool and useful as that mic is... it's my favorite HH mic, and also great as an undermic on the snare in combo with the KSM8 on top. The KSM8 has some things in common with the sm7b, including the benefits of being able to get super close to the mic and have it sound good, which puts other nearby bleeding sources further away... to me the sm7 has something in the air that's a little stronger, but once again is a little slower and slightly less responsive to quick transients than the KSM8. The RE20 is a mic that I've never been in love with, and I've tried it on many things though I've never owned one.. it has a color to it that is very specific to my ear, and the KSM8 gets out of the way and lets the source shine... I've never A/B' the mic with any of the above 3 examples, though I have with a Flea 48, RCA 44, Shure Beta 181/S, and Samar AL39, against all of which it has definitely held its own.

Hope this helps...

very late response just to say thanks for the detailed reply to my question, phantomcenter - sounds like the KSM8 is definitely one to try out...

I must say, it is possibly the best dynamic mic I've tried...

...below 12 kHz! It just dies down straight above that and it's pretty much impossible to bring it back up.

For anything where frequencies above that are not critical, this should be near the top of your list for dynamic mics.
It excels for toms and other percussion, spoken word for audiobooks and radio broadcast, guitar amps, etc.

For stuff that does need the extra air, I would still get out my M201s, or of course a condenser model.
My current "ideal jack of all trades" mic is the DPA Linear.

Any vocal clips in a mix you guys can post of this mic?

Miracle mic huh? Excuse my skepticism but, is the mic ever really the magic? Don't get me wrong here, I LOVE microphones however, IMHO it's the source where the search for magic begins. Can one credit a world class photograph to only the lens which was used?

Miracle Mic is a moniker, it is going to be hard to live up to! Just a little subjective, wouldn't you say?

Ha! I agree with you, its entirely subjective... as is every decision made in the production process. My initially extreme excitement about this mic may have settled a tiny bit… Thing is, with this particular tool the sources I’ve been recording are rendered in a way that is particularly unique and pleasing to me. When I’m trying to capture a sound and fit it into a recorded arrangement, my demands are very high, and that absolutely starts with the source. That bears noting but also is so completely fundamental to the process that it should really go without saying. Once ive done my due diligence on sussing out the habits of the player, selecting/tuning/treating the drums, positioned them and the player in a room, I choose mics to find a sound that would be the best to my ears, for that situation and arrangement purpose, not to find a sound that would poll best in some kind of objective survey.

After some time with this mic (and also taking into account some of the responses in this thread), this mic (2 of them actually) continue to be used on every single session in some capacity. The transient detail, clarity and smoothness of midrange are unparalelled in a dynamic mic... our 441 sits sadly unused in our mic locker!! The upper harmonic roll-off that this mic has, as well as the extremely smooth off-axis response has made it super useful on snare, especially when going for a fat snare sound. The 431 gets the call on snares that need to be brighter... ive also been getting really nice sounds at home in the project studio with an Audix i5 on a student Tama snare that Ive tuned and treated to attempt a dry/tight/bright Potishead/Broadcast inspired sound.

Still the ksm8 lives as a mono OH for those moments I might want a simple two mic drum sound, for an intro, bridge, breakdown, an alternate kit sound to swap out for if necessary. Its also great in conjunction with a pair of ribbons in Blumlein front of kit, to get the meat and punch of the drums in mono. Its also become regarded as a first call guitar amp mic due to its transient and high-mid clarity.

As for the high frequency rolloff thats been mentioned, this phenomenon on the ksm8 is a big reason that it reminds me of the good ribbon mics we have. Also I don't know about you but I find myself using lowpass filters a fair amount while building a track and making choices about which instruments will be more featured in the different frequency areas, so when I use this mic I know I wount have to unnecessarily lopass out unwanted upper-octave sound.

So yes, I dont really consider this a ‘capital-M’ miracle mic, or at the very top of my desert island list... BUT my amazement at the quality of sound of this tool has not dissipated one bit, it’s a totally essential and trustworthy partner in making albums that I appreciate hugely!

Compared to a vintage 70's Ronco Mr. Microphone, which can put you on the car radio immediately, and pick up chicks at the same time...

Sorry that Shure is a VERY distant second!

Chris

I am sure it worked like a charm:



Those good-looking girls probably just stood there on that corner all afternoon waiting for "later" to come. Which they definitely would not have done if the guy just yelled out the same line with his own naked voice.

Can we agree that it's a bit silly to even pretend to take a superlative like that seriously?

You're on Gearslutz – any post that equates to "it's not about the gear" is as useful to the discussion as a politician in the middle of a specific discussion about policy getting up and saying "it's not about laws, it's about the brotherhood of man and just love, dude".

I would love to hear snare samples ! sounds like a fun mic.

Just found this review, pretty comprehensive, although on vocal only:

Would this be a good vocals-in-the-control-room-without-headphones mic, or would something with a bit more built-in presence (like the MD431) give more workable results down the line?

The MD431 has more high treble but is supercardioid which means you'll get more bleed out of it for that specific application if you use it handheld, in which case it's easier to just aim the back of the mic to a single mono speaker with a cardioid – the Shure would work great there.

If you can leave it on a stand and you can carefully position the supercardioid mic so that the speakers are exactly at the null angles (not necessarily possible depending on the distance between speakers) then the MD431 will work well too.

I genuinely love this mic but I can't get over the lack of upper treble. It's so obvious when A/B'ing most condenser mics. However, on a smooth, old-fashioned song, or on a busy mix with cymbals you'll probably not need those frequencies anyway.

the problem is that it doesn't work unless you are wearing peace-sign sunglasses

A miracle mic like this, has no time for peace-meal solutions!

Chris

That was a bit of a stretch, but we'll allow it