How many times have you experienced digitally recording a source that sounds great in headphones before hitting the record button, but sounds quite different on playback and not in a good way?

Lots of mic signals get weird when going through a/d conversion and then d/a conversion on playback. Ribbon mics sound WAY more natural when undergoing digital conversions than do condensers and dynamics. Many of the reviewers have noted their recordings sound like standing in front of the source. Ribbons have the conversion edge.

Now how to deal with figure 8? If you have a great sounding room it's not such a big deal. But if your recording space is your spare bedroom or basement then you will need to deal with it. Get a Se shield for the mic and use wool blankets for behind the singer or source. Much improved results. I use the mic 8" from the source and use hp filter @ 85hz if proximity is an issue. Point the nulls at sides towards windows or doors to reduce neighbors sounds. Use them to your advantage!

One last thing - we have been trying to record a powerful female jazz vocalist for years and have never gotten the sound right until using the R84 on her. Lots of studio condensers. Way too harsh with high end spikes and sibilance. The R84 makes her sound smooth as silk and handles dynamics from whispers to belting out with grace and ease. Use a little compression (-3 to -6 dB range is best) before hitting the digital converter will help smooth your tracks.

The R84 is a great mic! Try the tips I have learned from experience with this mic and your recordings will go to the next level. Sprinkle a little high frequency air on the final mix and it's amazing.

I wish someone had told me how useful a mic like this can be when I started recording 20+ years ago. I've used it on vocals, guitar cabs, saxophone, and drum overhead/front of kit so far. And it's great on all of them. Loved it for sax - not an instrument I've recorded often - but certainly recorded poorly in the past. Not the case with the AEA R84 - the tenor sax just sounded great and natural! I would recommend this mic for anyone dipping their toes into the higher end of mics. Plus I love the customer service and the info they give you in the included documentation.

Love this Microphone. Smooths out my own vocals which tend towards the strident and really the first time my old Martin D28 sounds like the guitar I know and love. So far everything I have tried it on I have been pleased and Iis likely to be the mic set up and ready to go for demos. It is not as dark as some ribbons but I have found that to be a plus.

Amazing mic and one to keep for a lifetime. This mic lives up to all the hype, don't hesitate and buy one today.

Perfect compliment to our other ribbons, full and warm. Just in time for a few days of brass at the studio!

I have found this to have a very nice sound for recording vocals and brass, and equally at home on mandolin, violin, ukelele, and guitar.

What I love is how natural the midrange is, while having the slightest top end roll off. A lot of cheaper ribbons really embellish the top roll off so things sound muffled, but this is very clear in a pleasing way. It has a lot of bottom end so be prepared to either embrace it (trombone was in a league of its own with this mic) or mitigate it. I've used for percussion and drum room as well, though for my tastes I'd rather use other mics. If this was ones only mic, you could get away with doing a lot with it and an EQ.

For vocals it's a real treat. That sweet spot for tenor and alto can't be beat by any other mic I have available.

Overall I find this mic can work well for most sources and can be absolutely stunning for mid or high mid instruments and voices.

I have been curious about the R84 for a while. My main vocal mics are a Neumann U87Ai, Mohave MA-200, and MA-201. I have a couple of other ribbons, a pair of Royer R-10 and an MXL, but these are very different than the R84.

First off, the quality is second to none. As soon as I opened the package, I could tell a lot of care went into making this mic. The cable is attached, which is a pain. I imagine there's a reason for this, but I don't like it. There's no case, which was a little bit of a disappointment, but there is a heavy canvas cover with padding, which is better.

For vocals and acoustic guitar, this mic is beautiful. It softens things up and gives the source a warm and vibey character. You'll love this mic if you're doing Americana, folk, or jazz.

I keep a mic on a stand to get ideas down when writing. Usually, this is my U87. I've been using the AEA quite a bit now for this purpose. However, it does have a "sound" which can be excellent or not so great depending on the material. Also, it excels as either a mono drum mic or out in the concrete space that adjoins my live room.

Lastly, I was a little worried my preamps wouldn't have the gain needed for the AEA. I'm using The Box, which has API 312 pres. These have been perfect. I do have some inline boosters, but haven't used them. I have an Avid Carbon and it works fine with that as well.

Couldn't believe the sound the R84 produces for Alto/Tenor saxes. Great isolation, recorded next to drums with barely any bleed. For jazz, darker & forgiving tones, there's no mic I'd rather use in any price range.

primarily just using this on drums but its been amazing! from outside kick, to room, as auxiliary mic for heavy processing/ Also amazingly smooth on vocals. Cant beat this mic and at for a reasonable price considering that its such a high end piece of gear!

Found another spot where this mic really does well. Sounds like you're sitting in front of the amp!

At first listen, I am stunned by how realistic everthing sounds. Difficult to describe, but the impression is that your ears are placed with the microphone position. Figure eight pattern provides very natural room sound and is quite effective for isolation due to extreme null at the sides of the microphone. So far, I've used the R84 on acoustic guitar, vocal, and various percussion. Looking forward to upcoming sessions where I'll give it a go on trumpet and saxophone. Now, I fear I may need to aquire another for stereo recording!

My first pro ribbon mic. Fantastic pro results. Sometimes needs a tiny upper shelf so be aware!

We have a collection of ribbons, r121s, 4038s etc. this is my first time with this mic. I've just done a quick 45 minute test recording acoustic and voice and I can't believe how good it sounds. So excited to try it on horns and other sources.

Love this mic! My first ribbon and I couldn't be happier.

This AEA r84 Ribbon Mic definitely gets the most complements from vocalists that record at my studio in Wyoming, Three Hearted Recording. It's also versatile as a room mic for vibe, a drum overhead, on guitar amps, violin, horns, and even banjo. It has a remarkable way of smoothing the top end, and experimenting with the large-and-in-charge proximity effect can bring intimacy and girth to a range of sources.

On the dark side, but perfect for lots of sources.

The specs and frequency response don't tell the story with this mic -- not at all. Seems like with condenser mics a lot of time when boosting with it is just more yuck. What I feel like this mic does is get rid of unwanted fizz in the high and croak/poof in the low end. The end result is something that sounds really pleasant and musical -- you can eq any frequency to taste with this mic and it will sound good. For vocals I like it at about 4" and I roll off at 80 and shelf a little more around 200 on the way in. The result is smooth, smooth, smooth. Bringing it closer and not being afraid to roll off the unnecessary low end also means less gain at the preamp.... helps keep the noise down. I've also used this on acoustic guitar with good results. Because of it's reach, actually it's very versatile (close to medium) especially if you are willing to handle the lows with eq to deal with the proximity effect. Condensers gonna condenser -- this ribbon has a more natural sound to my ears without the hyped transients.

This mic's warmth, depth and clarity is phenomenal. One could spend thousands on processing to try to get other mics to sound as deep and clear as this mic and still fall short. AEA just makes the best gear.

I use this in tandem with the AEA RPQ500, and the two work together beautifully. The curveshaper EQ brings out the best in this mic, which is capable of delivering warm, buttery ribbon goodness, but with a pristine and open top end.

It"s great as a second mic to blend on guitar cabs, but I love this thing on female vocals to give them a hint of that classy 40s vibe. This mic is a must-have for any locker.

This mic performs as advertised. I've used it on vocals. Ran it through a Great River MP2NV, 50db gain, impedance switch in, into a Pendulum OC2, into Cranesong Trakker into Pro Tools HDX interface. It was boomy in close and worked best on this singer at about a foot from the mic. Used a pop screen. This thinner voice was rounded out by rich low mids and s smooth top end. I loved the result. Then used it on a Gibson Hummingbird pointing between sound hole and 12th fret about 10 inches away into Great River pre, into ADL 1000 compressor. Loved the rich tone, full low end. This was an open sparse arrangement, would likely default to another mic for a denser more rocking' track. Looking forward to sussing it out for a variety of situations as time goes on. Very happy with it.

This is a true workhorse. It sounds beautiful on everything. It makes everything sound palatable (as long as the sound is beautiful to begin with;). This is like the workhorse of ribbons. If AEA had been around in the 50s, maybe this would be as common as other common mics like the SM57, U87, and C414. This does not attain to the R44, U47 etc, but it holds its own. If you had a studio full of only R84s, you would never be upset that you couldn"t find the sound you were looking for. These have nice bass response better than most condensers, and they take EQ very well if you don"t want the bass. They have a much smoother and more natural, pleasant top end than condensers too.

And don"t be afraid of figure-8. It takes a little imagination sometimes, but it is better than you might think in many ways (like the really good noise rejection at the nulls, or adding some room sound if that"s your thing).

It"s not aesthetically as nice as the R44, but it is far less expensive. Still looks pretty good, especially the counterpart R84A with the gold grill.

This microphone is truly amazing. I've had it for over a year now and it instantly became my go to for acoustic and electric guitars. The frequency response differences between the front and back really helps when searching for the perfect tone.

This is also the best mono drum overhead I've ever used. I will be buying another AEA mic as soon as I can!

Great Ribbon Mic. for vocals , acoustic guitars , drums , acoustic bass , I record analog only and found the R84 to really give a great warm sound and capture all the range from lows to highs on just about anything I record. I would recommend this ribbon mic. for anyone who wants serious recording. This is the mic I keep going back to in my mic. closet...I have a variety of ribbons , condensers , dynamics and the AEA R84 just is so accurate & warm ....I may get another one to run them in stereo.

This is a serious microphone, with a classic sound, it is in the quintessential family of ribbon microphones. There are other ribbons out there, often compared to condenser microphones, this is a ribbon, like it's siblings, that sounds like a ribbon, big, open and smooth.
90% of my work is live sound. The AEA R84 has excelled everywhere I've put it. Jazz Trio on the piano, artist preferred the sound of the single R84 over some very expensive German microphones. Rock and Roll Drum overheads - Live, you bet! (plus they look cool). Trumpet, saxophone, electric guitar, cello, hand percussion, brass quintet, and vocals, all have been fantastic with these mics. The cellist wanted to hear herself in the monitor which was just 3 feet away, placed in the null, we were able to get so much gain, she asked for it to be turned down.
I've also used them for pipe organ, steel drum recording, and ADR for film. We also used one for testing SPL polar patterns of gunshots as it is one of the few microphones that will handle the SPL without distortion.

My first ribbon. I bought this mic and then got scared because I read that the proximity effect could be pretty strong unless you record 3 feet from the mic. However, I just tracked a vocal and was pleasantly surprised that I could use the proximity effect as a "sound shaper." I ended up having my vocalist stand about 1 foot away and it sounded soooooo goooooood. Super happy with this mic.

This purchase is my first experience with a ribbon mic and I am flat knocked out. Blown away. So far, I've only used it on one of my guitar cabinets (Fender Deluxe Reverb) and as a room mic for drums. The drums sound freakin' hot! I'm speechless — okay, not quite. The first thing I noticed was that setting the levels was much easier than it is with condensers and dynamics. I recorded a number of different styles and beats to see how it handled the whole kit. On playback, I immediately burst into a smile. The snare pops like I've never gotten before from 57s or from using various condensers as OH and room mics, including a U87 and mics by Avantone, Rode and AKG. The whole room sounds big and alive. My guitars sound great, too. It's a completely different color from the dynamics and condensers I've used. Just sounds amazing. Couldn't be happier to add this to my mic locker.

Keith Klikas at Sweetwater is a great guy, friendly and knowledgeable. He answered all of my questions and made the entire transaction pleasant and fun. The mic arrived exactly on time, brand new and ready to roll. Again, couldn't be happier.

This is the 2nd professional ribbon in my mic locker and all I can say is that I waited too long to pull the trigger on this mic. My Royer is excellent for sure, but the AEA R84 was everything and then more of what I expected and wanted. This large ribbon mic captures the source (whatever that may be) perfectly and with that big ribbon sound you've read about but couldn't afford. I love the look. I love the versatility in my studio. I love the quality. I love the price ... but most of all, I love the sound captured by this microphone. I highly recommend the AEA R84 to anyone looking for that classic R44 sound but at a price-point even a small studio can afford.

This is a great ribbon mic. It is dark and full-bodied. It is wonderful for sources that need a warm, smooth, and thick sound. It has become my go-to mic for guitar amps and a number of acoustic instruments. It is not as murky as my Coles 4038, but it is not as clean as an LDC. My vintage LDCs, U67 and U47, sound much cleaner; however, cleaner doesn"t work on some sources. Some sources need ribbon mics. This mic is a no brainer. If you"re on the market for a ribbon, check this puppy out!

The AEA R84 is the perfect compliment to my pair of Beyerdynamic M160s. I've used it on acoustic guitar, distorted electric guitar and vocals on a soft ballad with great success. Smooth character and a big sonic footprint are great assets when working in a small, sparse mix or capturing a big and fat rock/metal guitar track. Highly recommended! And, Sweetwater's superior service and customer care is the icing on the cake every time.

I purchased this for vocals. Matched with the TRP it is unmatched with for a vocal mic. Also own a R44CE. Wish I had a bigger budget!

This mic is a gem. Hang it over a drum kit all by its lonesome and listen for the magic. Killer on electric guitars and brass. Of course vocals. If you're whispering this guy will probably generate some noise as it is a bit short on output but that's just the nature of ribbons. Other than that complaint against nature (not AEA or the mic) this guy is quite the performer.

I needed a large diaphragm mic with a smooth sound and cool look for a barbershop quartet. The smooth and uncolored sound blew me away. All we could hear was: the group, and nothing else. No artifacts, no coloring; just smooth, warm sound, as if we were standing right in front of the group!

Ribbon mics are known for slightly low gain outputs, but it matched up well with the X-32 preamps, with plenty of gain.

Best mic I have!

The R84 is one of the world's finest ribbon mics. Despite my familiarity with it I was unprepared for the gorgeously silky sound it produced on tenor and alto sax in a recent session. EQ not only was unnecessary but would have detracted from the very refined contemporary, yet familiar "old school" sound. An ideal mic for brass and sax, excellent for clarinet, too, and probably other instruments on which I have not yet used it. Yes, I give it a five star rating and I'm hard to please.

We tried this 84 out & it is a great ribbon mic , warm & open. We are waiting for the AEA RPQ to come & use as the preamp. With this combination we expect great results.

I've been recorded using some great mics (U87, C12A), but none of them sounded more like me than this beauty. I'm taking it to sessions, in case the studios don't yet have one. The bag is a little weird, but since it's a ribbon and is best stored upright, it makes perfect sense. It's a pleasant reminder in the studio to see it standing there, waiting ...

Let me start off by saying I am obsessed with ribbon microphones! I purchased a Royer R 121(my first ribbon mic) about 3 years ago because of all the great things I was hearing about using them on guitar cabs. I'd say I spent two mins. tops with mic placement because I was so edger to see if it lived up too all the hype. Sure enough it did. I could not believe what was coming out of my monitors! There was no coloration to the sound it just sounded like me. It was the most incredible sensation! Same goes for the AEA R84. It sounds great on pretty much anything. Especially brass, acoustic instruments, vocals and electric and bass guitar. Just like the royer it can take EQ like a champ and has a great smooth high end. This being my fifth and also least expensive ribbon I own, by no means is that a bad thing, I had to try out the AEA RPQ with it. All I can say is you can not go wrong with that combination! You get up to 80db of clean gain and the curve shaper really lets roll off some of the low end from the proximity effect and also gives you some nice presence in high end with out sounding brittle. If you want a microphone that will give you the truth and nothing but the truth you're going to get exactly that with the R84. The sound going into this mic will be the same sound coming out of your monitors. One piece of advice. If you are planning on buying any kind of high end Ribbon Mic I suggest you get a nice pre with it that has at least 70 db of clean gain and a relatively high input impedance. One thing is for sure, you will not have buyers remorse. Wes Dooley is a genius! :) 5 stars

It's like putting your ears up next to the sound source. Absolutely love the R84. Will definitely be adding another to the mic locker.

If I had to start building my microphone collection from scratch, knowing what I do now, these would be the first microphones I'd buy, period. While they wouldn't be the only mics I'd buy, I suspect I could go a long while with a pair of R84s before feeling the need for another microphone.
They are my current go-to microphones for saxophones, trumpets, and wind and brass instruments. No one mic is suitable for everyone's voice, but when this is the one that fits, it's a revelation to the singer, truly flattering and exciting. (In those cases where it doesn't work with a singer, the right mic doesn't generate equivalent excitement—I think I have to look at LDCs with nose-bleed prices to get something that is as good a fit for those folks with "non-ribbon" voices)
Something that no one else has mentioned is how forgiving these microphone are in terms of placement. You'd think a figure-of-eight pattern would be something of a pain in rear, especially in small spaces, and yes, putting something behind this mic is the same as putting something in front of it (except w/ the polarity reversed), but putting something *to* *the* *side* of the mic is darn near putting it in an isolation chamber—the nulls are really that deep. Eliminating or reducing bleed in a small space suddenly becomes possible.
Last but not least, get a really-o, truly-o good preamp for this baby. Ribbons need lots of clean gain and are very sensitive to input impedance, and the *higher* the input impedance, the better. If you can spring for AEA's TRP or (even better) their RPQ, that's wonderful. Alternately (and for much less money) there's Cloud Microphone's Cloudlifter which goes between the ribbon mic and the preamp.
In sum, even though these aren't cheap mics, they are excellent values. Beginners will be surprised at the results they get, while more advanced users will appreciate their flexibility and unusually large range of problems they can solve.

The way this mic smooth,s out my crusty old voice really is nothing short of miraculous (If I had this mic 40yrs ago I coulda bin a contender lol ) I am looking hard a getting the RPQ500 but the sound I am getting through my ART PROII >my apollo>pultec eq is so good I am having a hard time justifying the cost .The AEA84 really is two mic,s in one as the sound through the back is very different than through the front .(my voice sounds best through the back)on acoustic guitar the trick seems to be finding a location where it doesn,t sound good. At first I thought the sock was kind of goofy but because this mic gets used so much in my little studio the sock is very handy and practical.I have a fet head dedicated to this mic so I never have to worry about inadvertently applying 48v to the aea84(even if you don,t need the extra 20db)I will admit that I do like gear that looks good(ok I.m a tad vain) and this mic sure win,t hard on the eyes or ears

I have yet to put this mic through all the proper paces, and I do feel a bit unfair reviewing it before using it in a few good rooms with a variety of instruments. By all means, it has been a perfect good mic with lots of character for my purpose so far, not to mention very well made.

Having said that, I do have a few practical points to make regarding using this mic that might be helpful to some of you gearhead shoppers.

-You will need a high quality pre capable of lots of gain. I'm sure you know this already, but it bears repeating that there will be lots of noise unless you are pretty serious about the quality of your pre.

- You will need very good quality boosting EQ to get the best out of this mic. For things like drum/room ambience mic'ing this may not be so much of an issue, but for close mic'ing instruments, absolutely. Your average sequencer freebie EQ is probably not going to do justice to this mic. Your EQing skills really matter, a lot of things will not sound good enough the way they often do even with a carelessly placed LDC.

- The room is very, very important with a mic like this. It will pick up a lot of ambient noise. If you record a single instrument at a time in your bedroom, I would recommend a good LDC or (if you are deadset on ribbons) a Beyer M160. This mic will pick up the neighborhood kids screaming at their mother two blocks away, and it will show up on your delicate acoustic guitar recording.

If you are looking for "warmth", I just want to caution you that your money would be best spent in other places. IMO "warmth" is achieved by your instrument selection and musical sensibilities. Buying a mic is not really going to help you in that regards. (Rant over, but I am particularly susceptible to the "warmth" allure myself)

Overall I see this mic as being something wonderful for recording multiple performers due to the excellent side rejection capabilities and the tonal depth. A few patient, serious musicians in a decent room, with this mic set up in the right place is an amazing thing for getting some real musical performances recorded.

I recorded my EP back in 2005 in a great studio in NYC. Of all the different fancy mics the engineer used on the record, this is the only memorable one. Tracked my baritone voice beautifully, and captured the mandola and guitars impeccably. I'll be getting one for my new songwriting studio.

This is THE MIC OF THE AGES!! Caveat - I think finallly I have ACHIEVED MY DREAMS ON VOCALS. I'M ACTUALLY GOING BONKERS OVER THESE MICS. IF YOU WANT ONE OF THE BEST MICS THIS IS IT JUST BUY THIS BABY GET TWO OF EM LIKE I DID THEY ARE UNBELIEVABLE TRULY A MAJOR TURNING POINT IN MY LIFE NOW MY VOCALS WILL NEVER EVER BE THE SAME. THANK YOU SAGE SO MUCH AND ALL YOU AT SWEETWATER DAMN I LOVE THIS MIC!!!!!!!!

In long search for that "put the mic where it sounds good in the room with your ears"-mic, the R84 does EXACTLY THAT.

I've heard much hype about this mic, and I finally gave in. I WILL NEVER LOOK BACK. Its characteristic sound is everything you want a 'real' ribbon mic to have. Smooth highs (not dark), impecable and luscious mids, earthquake lows. So far I've used it on drums, vocals, and guitars both acoustic and electric. There is no shining star application because they ALL sound INCREDIBLE.

If I lost it I would break the bank, go in debt, and sell organs to get another.

Look for warmth, and look no further than this mic.

This microphone is also part of of my studio. Ribbon mics, unlike condensers are ideally compatible with digital recording media. They were abandoned due to tape recorders smearing out the natural sound of the ribbon mic. Condensers were created to compensate for that by being harder and more pronounced in the high frequencies. The same principle as pre-emphasis in mastering analog tape more or less.

Therefore I would recommend that someone starting a DAW studio today , first get great ribbons and great dynamic mics before they great condensers. It takes a lot of experience to use condensers well with DAWs and also expensive mic pres. Great solid state mic pres cost even more than great tube pres. You can't really escape that reality and a U87 will not sound too good at all with a cheap mic pre. But ribbon mics work fantastically well with many pres. and are very forgiving until you know mic technique inside out.

Added to that, you will keep your ribbons even after you can buy costly condensers and mic pres worth your time and money. The R84 is in my experience the fullest , most classic sounding ribbon, besides the coles mics. It is not a hard textured mic or wooden sounding like most of the new ribbons made today.

And it is made expertly by people who love with devotion what they make. Definitely not just another cool "product". This is a work of art and love.


It is almost instant 60s big sound that never tires your ears. It is a secret weapon for retro lush orchestral sounds and thick, present vocals, drums, recording amazing violin tones...really anything as long as one pays attention to positioning, impedance, and the fact that they are figure eight polar pattern. It is true that they take eq forever. You would have to pay around 5 times more for a condenser that can take eq like the R84 an sound beautiful afterwards.

I've wanted to add a pro-quality ribbon to my mic cabinet for a while. It's pretty easy to find a ribbon for under a couple hundred these days, but most of the "inexpensive" choices seem to all sound the same and don't really have the magic that an old RCA or Coles does. Every part of a sound influences everything downstream, from my hands, pick, guitar, amp, etc. - if it's not right from the start, you can't fix it later. I was looking for something that had the qualities of the classic ribbons, but without the hassle of caring for a 50-year-old RCA 44 or 77 that had been through who knows what.

I considered a Coles 4038, they certainly sound good, but seemed (to me, at least) to have a reputation of being somewhat more fragile than most. I also considered a Blue Woodpecker. I've always had good luck with Blue mics, and the Woodpecker is no exception. However, to me, it seemed too "modern" and not the "vintage classic" I was going for. That's also my reason for not selecting a Royer. Royer mics are incredible, especially the R121 that has become a standard, but still not quite what I was looking for. I ended up with the R84 because of Wes Dooley's experience with RCA ribbons and AEA's R84 design philosophy of keeping the sonics of the RCA 44 while modernizing the construction. If I'd had an unlimited budget, I probably would have picked the AEA R44, but it seemed like their R92 was, again, "too modern" for my tastes. While I didn't have a chance to try one of the new Shure ribbons, I think I'd likely put them in that category, too.

So, when my R84 arrived and I was able to use it in my home studio, it's even better than I expected (and I had pretty high expectations). It's smooth; it's fast; it's extraordinarily detailed; it's warm; it can be as clean as I want it to be, but when it's driven hard, it's pure heaven. This is *exactly* what I wanted and so much better than I thought it was going to be.

Condenser mics are great but this ribbon mic is dead on tone, especially with vocals. Right now I am using my ART MPA Gold preamp to drive the R84 (believe it or not it does a great job) and I am astonished how sweet it is (sorry Jackie Gleason)! I love it, love it, love it!

Man, this is the best sounding mic for brass and winds, hands down. And for the money, it is a no brainer. I use it on my trumpet daily doing sessions and everyone that hears it says "what is that mic?" - I have used it on a tenor sax and french horn and both results were outstanding. I liked it so much I now own two of them - purchased through Sweetwater!

I own two of these mics because the first one I bought worked so incredibly well! It was originally purchased to record a soprano vocalist on a remote session. It ran through a Grace pre and I couldn't be happier with the result. Every neuance of her vocal was captured with great warmth to compliement her extremely bright voice at a distance of 5 feet. It's great on guitar amps, acoustic string instruments, and stereo applications. I used the pair to record a chamber orchestra and with the addition of a little piano and bass reinforcement, it sounded excellent. Great for room micing drums and alright when used as overheads as long as you desensitize the rear lobe in untreated or funky sounding rooms. LOVE the AEA R84