Behringer ECM8000

I have been recording for over 15 years. I record onto various DAW (Logic, Nuendo and Pro TOOLS) using Apogee and Mytec converters with pre amps from Millennia, TL-A and Universal Audio.

I bought this microphone just to ck it out thinking it would be horrible. For fifty bucks I thought, what can you possibly expect?

But, as it turns out it makes a very good microphone for recording acoustic guitars. It sounds well defined, open and reasonably flat.

It doesn't take high SPL so, I can't see people using it for overheads for example, or percussion. It simply distorts, unless you place it so far away to make it worthless (except for ambient).

All in all, an amazing value for anyone needing to record acoustic guitars on a tight budget. For certain guitar tracks I preferred this to other mics I have which cost more than ten times as much.

I have been making music for 25 years.
My recording experience is all home-based. My current equipment includes a Zoom HD16-CD, Roland M16-DX, Line 6 Toneport UX2, Tracktion 2, and tons of VSTs.

I monitor the mixes using Sennheiser Cans and Studio Monitor Speakers.

The ECM-8000 is an omni-directional (all directions) condenser mic (requiring phantom power). It is a measurement style closely related to the Earthworks QTC40.

I purchased the ECM-8000 after reading its reviews and an article regarding the effectivness of the QTC40s for mic'ing acoustic guitars, etc.

I have quite a few mics, all "Chinese" (Rode M3, SP B1s, ATs, CADs, etc.) and have been pleasantly surprised by the sound quality of these mics in recent years--they have come along way.

And the ECM-8000 is no exception. It is an incredible mic, and not just for the price ($50). For acoustic guitars, it captures a crystal clear, non-colored reproduction of what is being played. It picks up every nuance. I run the mic through a DMP3 preamp or Tapco MX60 (that offers pretty amazing mic preamps) to front-end the recording equipment.

Being an omni mic, I found that mic placement is not a huge concern. I simply aim them at the soundboard, approximately 18 inches away.

If you're looking for a tube mic or mic that colors the sound, look elsewhere.

I've been recording for 15 or so years, I'm currently using sonar 4 with an RME fireface. I've used 2" 24 track, ADATs, and other daw software. Monitoring through JBL 4211s, Minimus-7s and M-audio's surround package. Mostly I record live music, country to metal. Very little sequenced stuff.

This Omni is Behringer's knock off of the Earthworks' stuff as near as I can tell. It looks a ton like the Josephson the other poster alluded to, but then again so does the Nady as well as the DBX version (with the latter two I suspect they're probably the same mic from the same chinese factory, just different paint jobs). DPA also made some instrumentation mics that looked similiar but were powered from over 100 volt supplies. I digress.
This mic sounds very good for overheads on the cheap. I like omni's for this application and these didn't disappoint. Much nicer than say an AKG c1000. They're bright but not overly so, and at 2-3 feet over the cymbals they get a good overall picture of the kit. I've also used them for acoustic guitar and percussion, and they sound good for these as well. Not stellar, just good. At under $40, they're fantastic. If they were $100, they'd be just worth it, and were they $200, they wouldn't be worth it.

Analog and Digital Audio hardware designer for 20 years. Over 20M of my designs have been sold in various products. Recording, mixing and Mastering for 25 years.

I would normally give this mic a good rating. However, it distresses me that this product is a complete and utter ripoff of the Josephson Engineering C550 model. Go check their website www.josephson.com. I have not taken it apart to check myself, but I have been told that even the PC board inside is a complete copy. It may be standard business practice in the music biz, but THIS IS NOT RIGHT, PEOPLE!

have been making music for five-seven years, record to digital multitrack or occasionally analogue four-track. no primary listening equipment, just whatever is around.

omni condenser mic, extremely flat frequency curve. i bought it to use as a measurement mic in tandem with the behringer dsp-8000 which is kind of a piece of crap. since, i have used this mic for vocal recordings, recording ambience, some oddball stringed instruments. it is a pretty awesome mic, built solidly, and clean sounding. excellent frequency response and no spikes in the curve to compensate for. good job making something that doesn't in the end suck, behringer.

14 Years recording, from analog to ADAT now to DAW
Monitors: Mackie 824's

Small diaphragm omni condenser. Designed to be a measure mic, for doing room analysis, suppose to be very accurate (no freq. bumps) I use a pair as drum overheads, and they are quite nice. The room I am using is quite nice, though, so that has a lot to do with it. But the bass response is huge in this mic. Omni is somtimes a tricky pattern to get good stereo imaging with, but with proper placement these mics shine. A little noisy on quiet sources, but most omni's are to an extent. At $40 I would certianly recommend this mic (or 2) to anyone getting in to recording, or anyone already established looking for a good mic that they don't have to worry about damaging, losing or getting stolen. You'll find more than one use for it.