Cascade M39 Review

Cascade is a fairly new microphone company that is making some buzz around the recording industry.  With their high fashion designs, their microphones are definitely an eye catcher, leaving an impression of elegance. Having such classy looking microphones, at such a low costs, leaves one to wonder if they have sacrificed sound for show. I got my hands on a pair of M39s and was excited to try them out. 

Knowing that it is a shotgun style, large diameter, condenser microphone, it was meant to capture more in the high frequency range. The M39 comes with a 10db switchable pad and a -10 db attenuating low pass filter. It has standard unidirectional cardioid pickup pattern and requires 48v phantom power. Out of the box the M39s where ready for some symbol and overhead recordings. 

Our first pass we used a stereo set of M39s in a spaced pair capture technique, putting the microphone the same distance apart from the center of the snare. We recorded a full set of SabianAAX symbols and high hat to see how the M39s sound. Surprisingly for a set of fairly low priced microphone, cascade has preserved the classic large diaphragm sound with great clarity. The symbols sounded large and open, and the highs were crisp with minimal distortion. The high hat sounded a little too pingy and missed the 10k response that high hats need. Overall it sounded great and defiantly had me impressed. 

After recording several runs, the Cascade M39s performed amazing with great natural sound. Cascade has created a great product that can compare to the Shure SM81 and the AKG C430 with half the cost. A stereo set of the M39s cost $159.00 and can be purchased directly from cascades website. This is a great microphone and I would recommend it to anyone on a budget looking to capture some great overhead sound. I can't wait to test some more of the cascade lineup!