Groove Tubes MD1b

My band Polaris has been making music for 18 years now and we've been doing our own recording for the last 8 years. The studio facility used by the band consists of a Tascam 8 track 1/2 inch machine as well as computer based recording equipment. On the computer the software is Cool Edit Pro and the recording is done using a Layla card and two 10,000rpm SCSI drives. I do my mixing and monitoring on a set of Alesis Monitor One's powered by an Alesis amp.

So far we've done two full length original CD's using this setup. The first one Dave's Kitchen was recorded and mixed using the 8 track analog machine. The 2nd project Finest Company which was just reciently completed, was recorded using both the analog and digital technologies but mixed entirely in the digital domain.

After the completion of Finest Company I took a careful look at it's strengths and weaknesses sound wise and I decided that one of the areas needing improvment was microphone quality. This lead to the purchase of the GT MD1B.

I run the mic through an ART Pro mic pre straight into the Layla card.

The Model 1B is the most recient updated version of the original Groove Tubes large diaphram tube condenser microphone. From my understanding it's got more headroom and a smoother top end than previous versions.

This microphone is rather limited when compared to other similar mics, or mics in it's price range that are not tube powered because it's only got one cardioid pattern.

The included power supply works fine except that it's got no power switch for some crazy reason!

The included shock mount is quite effective and works good. The body of the mic is large and it's a side address design which is just fine for vocals but it might limit it's usefulness in some applications.

It's sacrifice in versatility allows it to have one great sound and that's just fine for me. This mic is EXCELLENT sounding on vocals and electric guitar and it makes a very fine general purpose microphone.

I really like it's sweet tone. Warm is not a good word, it's not fuzzy but the sound is very pleasing and it puts the source material in a very favorable light for lack of a better description. If your voice sounds good, it will sound fabulous through this mic. We were completely blown away by the sound. There is so much detail and it's an easy mic for the singer to really work while cutting a track.

I've owned the mic for about a month and I've used it extensively on vocal over dubs. Finally this evening I got to give it a real test on some electric guitar. Setting it about 18 inches away from a 2x12 cab powered by a 50 watt amp worked great. Nice detail and good sharp transients in the signal, it cuts through without being harsh, it's easy to listen to. I also tested it on an Ampeg B15-N bass amp and it works good there too, again about 12 inches off of the speaker seems to give a nice balance without too much proximity effect.

If you can only afford one mic for your project studio, give this one a try, it will not disappoint. This mic and a Shure 57 or two should be all you need for most home recording.