Samson R21

Been drumming for 15years trumpet 6 years keys and guitars 5years. I started dabbling in recording in the late 90???s. Now I???ve been attending recording arts program at the local collage been going there for two years, and now I???m doing samples. Started recording with cool edit and now have adobe audition, also use Sonar, and I???m Being certified Pro Tools. Started out with a Yamaha 12 channel mixer and a Sound Blaster with a live Drive, now I have 2 computers with Emu sound cards. One 1820and laptop with1616, and send my drums and keys threw a Bhringer 2442 Urodesk.

I tested the Samson R21 between a Nady SP5 and a Shure SM57, (all dynamic mics) and recorded each one as a track on Adobe Audition. I tested these recordings on just recording audio off a TV and then with my voice. First I tried it on my mixer; the gain on the mixer is not that good especially with the Samson R21 only cane out as -40dB. The Nady had more bass and much more it came in as -20dB. The Nady was higher then the SM57, the Shure came in at -30 with every thing turned way up. Then I tested it with rolls Bellari tube preamp it raised the sound level to a good recording level. First tested it on the TV the Samson fell short it I used the same recording levels for each and it only came up to -10dB when the Nady came up to -3dB and the Shure to about -5. Then I tested it on my voice, and by clapping (transient response), and whistling (highs) the Nady and Shure seemed to have lots of bass, and well rounded sound, good highs as well as transient response (from clapping). When I tested the R21 it had thin lifeless sound. No warmth it was thin and tinny, and when I tested it on my voice I didn???t like it. The sound reminded me of the male voice on video killed the radio star, but that was an effect on a vocal track this was not. I got the same effect when I tested it on the mic preamps on the 1820 with the R21 it???s thin and lifeless. I know microphones I have done recordings on Electro Voice RE20s, AKG 4114s, Sennheiser 421, and some Neumanns km184 and 87.

I've been playing guitar since I was five. I also play piano, drums,bass. I have a broadcasting degree and do both digital and analog recording (pro tools/tascam 8 track.)

This is a samson r21. I also own a samson r11. You can read my review for it. I really liked it and I felt it was comparable and exceeded the sm58 in some ways. R11s are great mics. Well, I bought a r21 off ebay for $5 used but it's like new. So, went about testing it tonight just using an ART OPL MP (the one with the limiter built in) straight into the computer. First thing I noticed was when you set the R11 or a shure 57 next to a computer monitor there is little if any noise. Sit a r21 next to the monitor there is an annoying little hum. It's not that bad but I picked up on it. I thought the mic had been damaged in shipping but wasn't. I stepped back 6 feet from the computer and the hum was completely gone. The mic was very quiet and recorded good quality sound but where as the r11 was sort of bassy, breathy and intimate the r21 was somewhat hollow. I could tell a noticeable difference between the two and though it's an acceptable mic I prefer R11. The constuction on the mic seems much cheaper. Less metal and lighter than the r11. No on off switch which I don't care for and some kind of funky aluminim like silver paint (maybe it's bare metal?) on the end of it. The difference between these two mics is startling. I say go buy yourself a r11. They sell these r21s in a three pack for $49. Man, glad I got just one first used on ebay. I would not mic drums on these or do any professional type recording. This is your back up, backup mic. It's a good mic, sounds okay. It's very much a consumer mic. I'd use r11 in the studio. I bought a used r11 for just dollars more in like new condition in box on ebay. For what I paid for the used r21 though ($5) nothing could touch it. It's a good mic for what it is I would say the r21 is for home recording and the r11 studio/stage/hammer nails with. You could not hammer nails with this. I don't think it's in the same league but for the price, great. I am sold on Samson mics I think there wonderful and would buy before nady or behringer. $5 you can't beat this. I did buy this based on the review above and the fact I love the r11 so well. My advice is you should real test stuff out for yourself. The reviews help but one field test is worth a thousand expert opinions. I would buy this mic again for $5 and even $12 new. I would not. Would not buy the three pack for $55 with ship. I also would not buy the three pack on the behringer 1800. Get yourself r11s

I went to school for audio production and have been operating pa equipment for at least 5 yrs as a hobby and professionally. My education is in studio recording mostly 24 track analog and 8 track digital multi-track, recording through a mixer into the computer or through a mixer onto a mini-disc. Mostly I listen to stuff through altec Lansing computer speakers or sennheiser headphones or car audio system.

This is a dynamic, I believe its hypercardiod or cardiod can't remember. I originally purchased these mics for horns when I did the Preservation hall Jazz band and Cab Calloway Brooks but for these events the hall was small enough that I didn't end up turning them up. The people at the music store had suggested these mics for the horns as a budget microphone. I knew that Samson mics were good having used the r11 on a recording. They seem to cut alot of the outside noise, such as the computer fan and another fan in the room where I tested them. I had considered buying the pg 58 or 57 instead but they costed the same price for 1 mic and the sound is comparable. The microphones are extremely light which is good if your going to be singing or djing all night. A switch would have been nice but its ok that it doesnt have one. They use rubber around the mic ball and around the end of the handle part so that if the mic is set on a table it wont make a huge bang thats a good thing. I would recommend these mics to bands starting up or for sound companys, clubs, and possibly fm radio for college or small stations. They may have to be replaced more often then a shure mic but I don't use mine that often so i could tell you.

I've been using audio gear off and on for about 40 years -- almost always as a hobby. I still play guitar often, and I've just started to learn about DAW-based recording. So, naturally, I had to start acquiring gear. I have a 2GHz PC using Cakewalk Home Studio XL, a Beringer mixer, m-audio 2496 sound card, and my son recently bought me a 3-pack of these Samson R21's for about $60 total.

This is a relatively low-sensitivity, polar, cardoid, dynamic mic. It's pretty vanilla, with no built-in pad, switch, etc. Frequency response is about 70-12,000 Hz.

Other than as a "learning" sound source for working with my PC, I use the mic mostly for narration. The bottom line is that I'm actually very surprised at how good a job it does when used for this purpose. I have no idea how good it would be for vocal music, but I suspect it would do at least an adequate job for general PA applications, and it's actually good enough for most narration or DJ uses. I would not be surprised if it satisfied the needs of an FM broadcast studio DJ.

For $20 a piece I'm very satisfied. And it's solid enough so I think it would be reliable even with moderately rough handling (no, it's not a Shure 58!). My rating is based upon value for the money. My only complaint is that it's not quite as sensitive as I would like -- but I know of no mic at this price that would be.