Avantone CR-14 Figure 8 Studio Ribbon Microphone

Love this mic! I use it to record acoustic and vocals. Under $300, I've tried multiple Shure's, Audio Technica's, Blue's, Sennheiser's, Rode's, and this one is definitely my favorite.

although I was able to fix it, this microphone came with a screw loose, and I had to delicately take the casing off and then put it back on with the little part that separates the upper and lower metal panels.

This is more a review on the shockmount than anything with the mic. The mic - I think is a FANTASTIC ribbon, that I have used on main vocals (in conjunction with a nice condenser) to give really rich retro bottom end and mid range that condensers don't have. Warm, wonderful mic.My main issue is the odd shape means you are limited to it's supplied mic holder and it is not tight enough to always hold the weight of the mic (it's weighty). So after a couple uses I've already found that my mic slipped through and hit the floor! Which is awful. It's a detail, but a detail that can quickly destroy a good mic.

I just love the sound of this mic.One of the best sounding mic in this or higher price range.I have two of them

Received it, pulled it out of the case it came in and when I put it right side up I heard nothing but little tiny metal sounding rattling inside the microphone didn't even try to plug it in and see if it works I know that ribbon microphones are sensitive as it is.. but there shouldn't be any dingling rattling sounds coming from the microphone when you move it. it came damaged right out of the box.. as for quality it sucks as for sound sound I'll never know

I use this mic to record acoustic violin via https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E6T56EA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1. This is by no means a professional setup but I'm guessing if you're reading this, you're not a professional either.The reason I take points away is because how difficult it is to get proper positioning of my instrument for the sound to come out clean and full-bodied. My Scarlett 2i2 doesn't quite power it enough to pick up the nuances of the instrument and in most cases, I can barely get any clean signal into my DAW. I don't really blame Avantone for this, it's a ribbon mic after all and so I need to power it better. But as mentioned above, I don't like that this mic requires so much specific angling to get a true sound out of it. When I'm performing a piece to record, the last thing I want to think about is how my instrument is facing the microphone.It's a lukewarm to no recommendation from me.UPDATE: I added a star to this review because I felt it was unfair to blame Avantone for having to position the mic correctly. It's really not that big a deal in hindsight and when the instrument faces the mic or its back, the sound is pretty consistent and quite natural for the setup I have. After a few months of use, I realized that I actually like the sound it produces and so I believe this is, at minimum, a 4-star product.

Crystal clear vocal recordings with reduced work on the mixing end. Highly recommended to anyone who doesn't have more than $300.00 to spend on a mic!

The mic came in DOA, thought they checked them out when they arrived in the US...guess this slipped though the cracks. May order another one, gonna mull it over first. Not an Amazon issue, they’re first class.