sE Electronics SE2200a

I sing in a band who've had a few records released. I now do all my recording at home after recording drums in a studio...

I use this mic for my vocals. At first I got a Studio Projects C1, but it made my voice sound terrible. I was going to get one of these SE Electronics mics but instead opted for a 70s AKG silver 414 (six times more expensive). I ended up getting an SE Electronics anyway (having used them before) because I was a bit disappointed with the AKG ('though it looks amazing).

This SE Electronics 2200a just works really well for my voice. The C1 added some frequency in the mid ranges of my voice so that it actually sounded very different to how I sound, if you see what I mean, the AKG was a big improvement but sounded a bit 'reedy'. The 2200a is perfect for me - quite a bassy male voice - quite rich and colourless. I'm really pleased with it.

These are the only microphones that I have used and can name (in the past I'd just go to a studio and sing and not care at all) and the SE2200a is the best! I wish it was smaller though. The AKG looks much better....

I'm a musician. Have been producing for 7yrs+.

Gear:Logic Pro 7 on a Mac Pro 3ghz, 8gb ram. MOTU 828mk11 interface, lexicon MPX1, Focusrite trakmaster, Fostex PM 0.5 and Sub. Mackie 1642 Vlz Pro mixer, Roland line mixer, Akai MPC 2500xl and S3000, Akai midi patch bay. SE S2200A x3, Audio-Technica ATM33a, Shure SM57 Microphones. Various other bits...

GREAT mic for nearly all applications. i'd say one of the best mics under ??500, i have three of them! I use as my main vocal mic, and two as stereo mics for acoustic guitar. Only change as i'm just getting a Nuemann

Background: Musician for 29 years, recording since the late '80s.
Equipment: Presonus TubePre into Presonus Firebox interface, Sonar 6 studio running on an IBM T43 laptop.

Crisp, clear large-diaphragm cardioid condenser mic. In comparison with other mics in its price class, the 2200a was clearly better and after using it for over a year on acoustic guitar and vocals, it's demonstrated its flexibility and value. It has a very nice high-end sparkle that makes it a good mic for anything vocal this side of a coloratura soprano. It's really good for smallbody acoustic guitars as well, needing only the 80hz rolloff a ~1.5db cut at 180hz to get the mud out. This is a great mic to get if you need a Swiss army knife for home recording.

I make music for about 18 years now. Started as a guitar player in a Grunge Band and slowly got more and more involved in producing and recording. I?m into DAW Recording since 2003.


Equipment:
Workstation:
PC P4 3,0 GHz 1GB Ram
PC AMD Athlon XP 2,8 GHz 768 MB Ram


Software:
Magix Samplitude LE
Magix Samplitude Classic V8
Cakewalk Sonar LE
Cubase LE
Ableton Live 4 Lite
Wavelabs Lite
SIR
Digitalfishphones
EMU Proteus X LE
IK Multimedia AmpliTube LE
IK Multimedia T-RackS EQ
SFX Machine LT
M-Audio Drum + Bass Rig
Native Instruments XPress
Interfaces+DSPs:
E-MU 1820M
Behringer ADA 8000
Tascam US-122


Monitoring:
Samson Resolv 80a


Outboard:
1x Behringer Ultragain MIC2000
1x Behringer Ultragain T 1953
1x Behringer Multicom 4400
1x Behringer Multigate 1400
1x SM Pro Audio TB 202 Preamp


Mikrofone:
1x Audio Technica Pro 25
2x Behringer ECM 8000
1x Beyerdynamic Opus 67
1x Electro Voice Co4
2x MXL 603S
1x SE electronics 2200A
1x Sennheiser E606
1x Shure SM 7 B
2x Sure SM 57
1x T.Bone SC 450
2x T.Bone EM 900
1x T.Bone CD 55


Trigger:
2 Yamaha DT-22 Trigger
4 Yamaha DT-10 Trigger


Input Devices:
1x Miditech Midistart 2

The SE Electronics SE2200A cardioid large diaphragm condenser Microphone with 10dB Pad and bass roll off. It was compared with a Oktava 316, a T.Bone 450 and a Neumann TLM 103.
The sound is very close to the TLM 103.There's just a bit more of a twinkle at the highs and a bit more definition at the bass department of the TLM 103. The sound you get out of for the money is very impressive. The 2200A easily outclasses the T.Bone and the Oktava, especially when it comes to the mixdown. The 2200 really cuts through the mix and is very responsive to the way the singer acts in front of it in a positive way. I recorded male and female voices and an acoustic guitar for the shootout.

Making Music: I have been playing trombone since 1963 and guitar and bass since 1968 with a B.A. Degree in Music with technical hours in Radio and TV. I played with a Metropolitan Status Symphony Orchestra for 10 years as well as playing for Ice Shows, Circuses, Al Martino, Jerry Vale, Carol Lawrence, Gunther Schuler, George Shearing, Jazz Festivals and so on as an AF of M member.
Recording Experience: Performance wise, I have done NY scale recording to 2 inch tape, Digital Recording as early as the 1980's's, and Orchestral Recording that was played on Public Radio.
I currently have a slowly growing home studio currently based around a Yamaha AW16G 16 track hard-drive Work Station listening through Alesis Monitors. Other equipment includes Focusrite, Lexicon, ART, CAD, sE Electronics, Carvin, Fender, Crate/JBL, Yamaha, Line 6, Ensoniq, Bach Stradivarius and so on.

This review is for the sE Electronics SE2200A cardioid only large diaphragm condensor microphone. I was lucky to get this for only $118 on eBay as it is an outstanding microphone. To be honest this microphone is an outstanding buy, new, at $299! It is a very smooth sounding microphone with a relatively flat frequency response that has a gentle uphill slope into the higher frequencies. I A/B'd this with a 1970's Neumann U87 that also has a relatively flat frequency response but with a very definitive bump in the higher frequencies. Nonetheless, we were quite surprised to hear that the SE2200A had very similar sonic characteristics to the U87 except for the added high end "air". In fact a comment was made as to the $299 vs $2895 difference, especially for someone on a limited budget. I have used this with great results on acoustic guitar and vocals and can see why this mic has won so many awards.

I've been playing and occasionally recording music nearly forever. I got this mic for a computer-based portable recording rig using SONAR 4, M-Audio 1814, and a Behringer ADA8000 (i.e. 16 channels). I'm using this mic for vocals and acoustic guitar.

This is a large-diaphram condenser mic with a cardiod pattern. It is very sensitive to nuances of voice or guitar. Beautifully sensitive. I've fallen in love with the realism of vocal recording with this mic. The singer's character seems to flow right onto the track. The mic is only usable in a studio or extremely quiet room. We're using it to re-do live vocals of everything from girl-and-guitar to punk bands. All condenser mics are hyper-sensitive to moisture, so you should almways use it with a pop screen (which will help keep your screamers from spitting all over it). For pretty voices we're using it close - about 6 inches. About 18 inches for guitar, in front of the sound hole with a second mic over the neck. Back the rockers up 18 to 24 inches - it is just too much (they might be happier swallowing a 58).