CAD M179

How long have you been making music?
Thirty year.

What kind of recording experience do you have?
Thirty year worth.

What are you recording to now?
Logic Pro DAW.

What is your primary listening equipment?
Sennheiser HD 650 reference headphones and Carver Amazing Loudspeakers.

What kind of mic is it?
Dual element condenser with infinitely adjustable polar patterns.

What are you using the mic on? What kind of placement?
Everything. Everywhere. Mostly vocals. It is a fantastic vocals mic. Acoustic instruments also. Extremely clean and sensitive.

Were you considering any other mics instead of this one?
Naturally. One can waste-I mean spend a serious amount of time doing just that.

Why did you choose this one?
Incredibly positive reviews. Had an opportunity to demo one. The mics response is fairly flat/even and colorless, though some think otherwise. It is faithful to most frequency input, and can be used for a wide array of applications. It is one of the FEW that can capture frequencies BELOW 20 cycles and it does it well. I compared this to the famous AKG C3000 and found it better balanced and more impressive in most areas. Made in USA.

What are your favorite aspects of the mic?
Sound. Polar pattern selection. Roll-off. Looks. Pad switch. Price. Shock-mount.

Any areas where it falls short?
Oh yes. This mic really falls flat on its face in the overprice department. One can't brag about spending five, six, or twelve thousand dollars on it. What a bummer! It also does not have any LEDs to let you know it's on, or what polar pattern you're using. It's also not a huge fifteen pound monstrosity that requires a crane to hold it up. It's just not as much fun as it otherwise might be if it were more like some of the above.

Would you recommend this to others?
Yes. But only to those who appreciate a thing for its actual value.

I've owned a recording studio since 1972 and record lots of different projects including rock and roll bands, bluegrass bands, acoustic groups, vocal groups, etc.

I have a 24 track direct to disk system, plus two ADAT machines, multiple monitors and over twenty micorphones including RE 20, CAD GXL LD mics, Shure SM81, MXL 990, Audix, Shure 57's, 58's and Beta 58A, and use AT 4047, 4050 and AKG C3000 LD mics.

The M179 is a large diaphragm condenser with multiple pattern selection, pad and low frequency roll off.

I have been considering getting another AT 4047, but started reading about the M179 and thought it would be worth a try at the price.

I have used it on acoustic guitars, male and female vocals and sax so far.

What you put into this mic is exactly what you get out of it. Very clean, unhyped, smooth response.

I would highly recommend this mic to anyone looking in the sub $1,000 mic category. Other mics certainly have their place and color the sound, but if you want pure accurate reproduction of your source, this mic is hard to beat. I have decided to get another and use them for drum overheads.

The only problem encountered with the mic is that most of my mic cables didn't fit. Only cables with Switchcraft XLR ends would connect to the mic. Neutriks, the cheapo's from Musicians Friend, etc. were too fat and would not work.. very strange. I don't know if it's poor quality control or I just got a fluke mic..

That is a minor inconvenience compared to the quality of the mic itself.

How long have you been making music? 14 years
What kind of recording experience do you have? 10 years
What are you recording to? (DAW, analog tape, cassette, ADAT, digital multitrack, etc.) DAW
What is your primary listening equipment? Event SP-8's

CAD M179
I'm using this mic on toms and guitar cabinets.
I was using sennheiser MD421's but this sounds way better on toms... Bigger warmer and just the right attack! They sound like real toms! The 421 sounds like Roto toms compared.
The mic is small I put it in hyper cardiod mode and the 20 db pad engaged! It's an amazing mic! I recommend this to others! If you are sick of the boxy dynamic sound on toms then get this mic! I got it with the shockmount!

I have been making music for over 15 years and have been recording for about 10 (mostly personal projects with a few radio ads and small music projects). I have a music degree with an emphasis in sound recording. I have a very small project studio. I'm recording to computer using a Firepod interface and Samplitude and Mackie Tracktion. I monitor through the Firepod on Event TNR-8s.

This microphone is an extremely good value. In fact, I don't know if I have ever been more pleased with the price to performance ratio of any of my equipment.

The CAD m179 is a variable pattern condenser microphone. Variable pattern means the microphone has a rotating dial that allows you to select any variation of pickup patterns from omni to figure 8. Cardioid patterns sit in between these two extremes. There is a center detent for a standard cardioid pattern. I usually end up using a slightly wider cardioid pattern for a less confined sound. This feature alone would be a great reason to own this microphone, especially considering the price (most multi-pattern microphones start at several hundred dollars).

I really like the sound of this microphone. It is definitely colored. I originally purchased it because it sounded better on my voice than any other microphone I have tried. I did direct comparisons with a Studio Projects C1, Rode NT1A, KSM44 and KSM32, and MXL 2003. In the past, I have used an AKG 414, Neumann TLM 103, and Audio Technica 4050 to record my vocals. The fact that this microphone sounds better on my voice does not discredit the value of those other microphones; it's just that the coloration of the microphone lines up with what my voice needs.

To describe the color of the microphone, it has something of an emphasis in the low midrange area. This can make different sources either sound thicker and warmer or more muddy, depending on what you're recording. It also has a little bit of high-end boost, as most condenser microphones do. It is a pretty smooth boost, with much less of an emphasis than most cheap condenser microphones, and no harshness to my ears. It is highly sensitive to pops, so a pop filter is a must on vocals.

I use it primarily for my vocals (it adds depth, while not losing clarity). I also use it regularly on snare. I know that the SM57 is the standard, but I have found this microphone to give the snare more snap and body (the low mid emphasis is in just the right place). The ability to tighten or widen the pattern on the microphone is also great for snare.

I have also used the microphone on acoustic guitar with some success. It sounds pretty decent at the point where the neck meets the body. It may require reducing the low mids a bit. I have been somewhat disappointed with the electric guitar amps I have used the microphone on. Maybe I need to continue experimenting with placement, but the thickness the microphone adds seems to be in the wrong place for guitar amps, and the high end emphasis seems to be a bit too high to give the electric guitar presence (most guitar amps don't go much above 5kHz). The microphone was also not great on an alto female vocal (not terrible, just not a great choice).

Overall, I'm very pleased with this microphone. It is moderately versatile, feature-rich, excellent on specific sources, and easily the best microphone I have used in the sub-$300 category. I don't know how good CAD's quality control is in the manufacturing process, but all m179s sound essentially the same, I would highly recommend the microphone.