AKG SolidTube

Am a singer for about 6 years now and still loving all aspects of it.
I have my own DAW using Cubase SX3 to mix master and recorded 3 CDs (the latest with my band in a studio in Holland).

Am connecting the solidtube to a TC_Helicon Voiceworks as everyone said this rack has a really good preamp (price/quality). Am very please with my gear as the Helicon (SPDIF) is so much better then when just plugging it in my EDIROL 19' rack soundcard. However comparing this to the studio pre amps..... this is a whole different story, if only I had 10000$ or more to spent on this (the helicon was arround 500$ used)!

All in all people are saying that I have a good unique nice to hear voice, have had 100dreds of complements over the years. Using this AKG Solidtube this only gets better. Have a kind of sex relationship with this mic as it enables me to feel my emotions as I sing and hear the results (direct monitoring). This way I can push my emotions to the limit and for me that is what singing/ making music is all about.

As a musician I am always looking for the best cost/performance for anything I buy, usually sticking to the main manufacturers has been best for me. I use digital in the studio, apple logic 7 and motu digital converters. I have been digital since 1990 when it really was lacking.

I always record to 24bit mastering down to 16


You can here the results of this mic on www.markbuck.co.uk on my "song top of the world".

AKG solidtube Valve condenser microphone

I use my solid tube primarily on vocals.

My ideal mic would be a neumann U87 but chose a solid tube as it is somewhat cheaper.
This mic is fantastic for my voice, its warm and intimate and needs no eq. I sometimes just plug it straight into my motu 896. Its ok for other things butI have other favourites for these tasks. I highly recomend it ....BUT and this is serious, the power supply to these mics is prone to failure it has an ongoing fault that many many users have experienced. The fuse will blow repeatedly which heralds the failure of a couple of resistors. I used to leave mine on for long periods (so valve was nice and warm) and it is this you must take care with.
AKG will fix it for you free if its under warranty, but what a pain with all that shipping. I bought a third party power supply for mine from Ashley stokes and it cost ??180.
So, brilliant mike, crappy AKG power supply.

Been in the music industry for about 12 years and currently recording my first album. Been recording with a few otehr mics like the rodes NTIIa and the rodes classic. I haev 2 young childern and wasspending too much time away form them and in the studio so i decided t get my vocal recording done at home. Coincidently I was approached by a friend was welling his mic and offered that i gave it a try. To my surprise the AKG solidtube really gave it teh warmness i needed even in a home studio.

AKG Solidtube Condenser
Mainly vocal recording, small recording booth I set up at home.
I was considering a rode classic but this came up and it suited my requirement. My afvorite aspects of this MIC is the warmness it goevs to voacls. Certainly reccomend it for vocal applications, I have not tried recording instruments through it.

I've been playing music in various bands and projects since I was about 12 years old (13 years ago). I play guitar, bass, keyboards, piano, synths, drums, and I sing occasionally. I began recording with my first 4-track when I was about 14 years old, and have began a career as a professional sound engineer about a year ago (after I graduated from a sound engineering school). I use a Digi002 rack (pro tools) at my studio and I use a Lexicon Omega interface at my apartment (for mastering and home demo recording of song ideas). I use a TC Gold Channel for my mic pres and A/D conversion (when I'm not recording more than 2 chs at once, of course). I monitor mostly through a pair of highest quality Altec Lansing speakers with sub(when I'm at home). I do this because I find that it allows me to monitor music as the common listener would; sort of the idea behind monitoring through Yamaha NS10s. If I need to, I can also monitor through high quality, powered JBLs at my studio.

I didn't plan on buying this mic, as I knew little about it. I was browsing through eBay listings one day, and I saw the SolidTube with a current auction price of $200, and there was only a day left on the auction. I knew the retail price of this mic, and figured that if I can get it for this cheap, I should probably go for it. If I didn't like it, I thought, I could always sell it for much more than I got it for. Well, it seems that other people had the same idea, which is why I ended up paying $390 for it. But, that's still a STEAL as this retails for around $1000. Plus, I didn't have a tube mic in my collection yet, so I bought it without ever hearing it. To my surprise, I actually REALLY like the sound of it. I didn't expect to like it as much or better than my Neumann TLM103, but when I tried recording vocals with it, it completely schooled my 103. I still like the 103 better for acoustic guitar, but my particular voice sounded so much better through the SolidTube. The tube warmth really gives my voice the extra something that I was looking for. The 103 accentuated some high frequency areas in my voice that made it sound a little nasal and annoying. The SolidTube really smoothed out my voice and made me sound like I am better singer than I really am (!)

The SolidTube is a cardiod condenser tube mic with an external power supply. It has an hpf on the power supply and also has a ground lift switch for eliminating ground loop hum and a 20db pad switch on the mic itself. I've only really tried it on vocals, but for my voice (a deep to mid rangey voice), it sounds absolutely fantastic. My only problem with it (which doesn't matter at all, really) is that it is kind of ugly. It has a little window into the mic where you can see the tube glowing, which is cool, but the rest of the mic is very bulky and kind of "cheap" looking. The worst part is probably the huge YELLOW foam windscreen that comes with it. Although I'll probably never use it, they could have at least made it black. The mic looks REALLY cheesy with that ugly thing on it. Other than that it's a great mic for my voice and I recommend it to anybody that is wants some great tube warmth for their DAW but on a limited budget. These regularly go for about 400-800 bucks on ebay. If you can find a good deal on it, I say go for it.