KVR Audio

fatprice · Post by **fatprice** » Tue Oct 14, 2025 10:13 pm

Hello curious as it what everyone’s goto mics are in 2025? I find myself spending a lot of time with the MD441. Curious on people’s favorite or most used mic.

stoopicus · Post by **stoopicus** » Tue Oct 14, 2025 10:25 pm

SM58. Can’t beat it for price/performance/versatility. Not perfect for most things but great at most things.

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Tue Oct 14, 2025 10:35 pm

Mojave MA-200, hands down, for me.

I mostly record female vocals and my MA-200 is still my #1 go-to mic after nearly two decades of use. I've owned numerous other mics during that same period, but they always end up collecting dust and getting sold. The only other mics I currently own are my AKG C414 XLS and Shure SM7B. I use the AKG on occasion for vocals and other instruments but I mostly just keep it as a backup and/or when I'm recording remotely because it doesn't require an external power supply. I also like its versatility with the different polar patterns. I keep the SM7B around for the rare times I want it for voiceovers/video narration or harder rock styles (male). But, honestly, I record live vocals so seldomly these days that I could easily get by with just the Mojave.

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Thu Oct 16, 2025 1:56 pm

Anybody here using a UAD/Townsend Labs Sphere? That mic has intrigued me for years and I’ve nearly pulled the trigger a few times. That seems like a desert island one-mic-to-rule-them-all. The biggest drawback to me is the fact that it requires two XLR inputs and I’m already someone who is chronically one input short of what I need.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Thu Oct 16, 2025 6:32 pm

Shocker, I use my own mics, the NOS12 C12 clone and the Panther R122 clone, but I also use an AKG C451, an Audio Technica shotgun, and a generic bluetooth lav for making videos. My favorite dynamic these days is the Shure 545SD, which is a little smoother than the SM57.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Thu Oct 16, 2025 6:38 pm

cryophonik wrote: Thu Oct 16, 2025 1:56 pm Anybody here using a UAD/Townsend Labs Sphere? That mic has intrigued me for years and I’ve nearly pulled the trigger a few times. That seems like a desert island one-mic-to-rule-them-all. The biggest drawback to me is the fact that it requires two XLR inputs and I’m already someone who is chronically one input short of what I need.

There's no way around the two inputs, unfortunately. The plugin won't work without both being plugged in. It's the best one if you need one-mic-to-rule-them-all but it's not as good as the real mics, IMO.

bmanic · Post by **bmanic** » Sat Oct 18, 2025 11:33 pm

Oktava MK012 full capsule set (all polar patterns + large diaphragm cardioid). Used these almost 2 decades now. It's an amazingly flexible set. Only negative is of course that it's a condencer mic system so it'll need phantom power, thus not suitable for all portable setups.

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Sat Oct 18, 2025 11:44 pm

Uncle E wrote: Thu Oct 16, 2025 6:38 pm It's the best one if you need one-mic-to-rule-them-all but it's not as good as the real mics, IMO.

Yeah, I’m sure it’s not a 1:1 emulation of all those real mic models, but I’ve heard many A/B demos and it’s close enough in almost all cases. More importantly, it’s just a very diverse system that seems like it can tackle virtually any mic’ing situation. Great, now I got my GAS going again…

Desert Island Mics