Okay, here we go with a review of another obscure microphone. For some reason my tastes urge me to explore the uncommon and not so popular pieces of equipment. I guess I like to try to do things a little different. I was in the market for a ribbon microphone. I've only ever had experience with one other ribbon but it did not turn out too well (now that I look back I think the preamp I was using at the time gave me an overall bad impression of ribbon microphones). So I started reading up on some options in my price point and heard some really great things about this Cascade Victor ribbon microphone and I bought one brand new.
I got the mic in the mail and of course it took me about two hours to get things set up before I actually plugged it in. I strictly record vocals at the moment and the Cascade Victor was an instant winner. I could not believe how well it took EQ. You can get a really nice top end with no harshness. I am very well pleased with the overall tone of this microphone. Quite surprising really. I hope to try using the Victor with a saxophone I just picked up. For anyone who is on the fence of trying to decide if this is the right ribbon microphone for them, I will grant you a royal seal of approval to pull the trigger on one condition....your preamp must be up to par. I have to run mine wide open. The cost of getting a worthy preamp to maximize the usefulness of all of your microphones is worth it. But you already knew that right?
I got the mic in the mail and of course it took me about two hours to get things set up before I actually plugged it in. I strictly record vocals at the moment and the Cascade Victor was an instant winner. I could not believe how well it took EQ. You can get a really nice top end with no harshness. I am very well pleased with the overall tone of this microphone. Quite surprising really. I hope to try using the Victor with a saxophone I just picked up. For anyone who is on the fence of trying to decide if this is the right ribbon microphone for them, I will grant you a royal seal of approval to pull the trigger on one condition....your preamp must be up to par. I have to run mine wide open. The cost of getting a worthy preamp to maximize the usefulness of all of your microphones is worth it. But you already knew that right?