After trying a Warm WA-47 and being very impressed with how well it performed and how it held it's own with lots of our more high end mics - Neumanns, Manley, Telefunken, Wunder Audio, etc., we decided to give the CX12 a try. We've had it now for about 8 months and tried it on all the usual suspects. And while it doesn't sound exactly like an original AKG C-12 and you can't expect it to, it performs very well on all sources and we like it a lot !
We enjoyed it as a momo overhead on drums and a pair would probably sound mighty sweet. Still looking forward to hearing it on a strong female vocal, where I feel it will really shine. Liking these Warm Mics and now interested in their new CX24 stereo version. It seems that for the price their mics are hard to beat.

I have used this mic recording acoustic and electric guitars. I love it for instrument recording. I have used it for vocals as well. It's not my favorite for my voice. It takes quite a bit of eq after recording to get a good sound. That said, each voice is different. I know that Steven Tyler has used SM57's on some songs. Thus one mic may not be suitable for a particular voice. For my voice, I am using a warm audio preamp and going through a warm audio opto compressor. I am just not getting the presence that I do with other mics. I can see though that for some this would be a great vocal mic.

In summary, I can recommend it for guitar recording absolutely.

When I first felt the weight of this mic, I thought wow, there must be a lot of quality parts inside. NOPE! I took off the shell and the shell is about 80% of the entire mic's weight. (WHY?) Inside, it looks about like any other tube mic's components. Sonically, it is very similar to my Mojave tube mic: some minor sonic differences but nothing to write home about.

I bought a pair of these when they were on sale and they don't disappoint in any way. The carrying case for each mic helps keep all the parts together. These feel very high in quality and solid in your hand, not at all similar to any Apex model. This microphone sounds great, very balanced and smooth tone overall. I wish I had one of these back in the 1970's, it blows away typical home studio microphones from that era.

I have a couple of very pricey boutique tube microphones and honestly, you could not pick out one of them from these CX12 from Warm Audio on recorded vocal tracks. These Warm Audio mic's have a very neutral color so the EQ in your DAW is more useful than ever; the microphones sound great on everything and you can color it to be whatever you want, very versatile. I wish the FET models sounded this good because it would be nice to ditch the outboard power supply.

I wish Warm Audio would make a WA-49, until them I'll be loving the CX-12's

Good Music To You

I felt like I was taking a chance with Warm Audio, and this WA-CX12, and its seemingly high "self noise" rating, but the price was attractive. So, I figured, 'let's give it a shot'. I ordered one; after setting it up and running it through my setup I thought "Man, this is the noisiest mic I have". So, I contacted Warm Audio technical support, sent some .wav clips of what I was hearing.

We thought that it must be picking up electromagnetic interference.... After some troubleshooting steps (over email with Warm Audio (couple of days), turns out that just unplugging and reseating the tube (12AY7) was all it took.

It is now "Clear as a bell", and I absolutely love it. I think Warm Audio "nailed it" with this one.

This is a great sounding tube mic! The tube gives you a very thick and rich sound. Great for thickening up a thinner female vocal. Build quality is great, and the components all feel nice and heavy. Comes with an awesome case, external power supply, and multi pin cable for the mic. If you want to hear how it sounds before you buy, check out my demo video!

I have had this Mic for several months and just started tracking vocals on a 20 song project. Depending on proximity I can get this mic to produce smooth low end, pleasing midrange and un-comparable top end to any sub $2000 microphone I've ever used in the studio.

Because the tracks differ (rock, pop country, ballad ) and I was so pleased with the WA CX12 I recently purchased the WA U47 at a Warm Audio studio open house a few weeks back. After demoing the 47 it gave me an entirely different smoothness and warmth in the low end than the CX12 without having to "work the mic". In fact with the 47 I need to back off a bit and it gives me the warm butter sound Im looking for on some of the ballad tracks.

Splitting the middle I am actually tracking vocals with BOTH Mics simultaneously zip tied together with the diaphragms at equal height, slightly off plane and I am getting two lead vocals with very different character for the price of ONE performance. Have done 5 tracks so far VERY pleased and NO phase issues !

Vocals all routed thru Pro MPA II, NO compression and NO EQ. Ill add comp, eq and other in post as needed but what I have on tape right now far surpasses ANYTHING Ive ever tracked dating back 30 years. If I had to advise buy BOTH if you can. If you cant, get the CX12 for Pop/Rock and WA47 if your working on ballads, R&B/Hip hop

Glen Davis Georgetown, TX

I got this mic a few weeks ago, and have been blown away. I used it in 5 sessions back to back and I can honestly say, the more you use it the better it sounds. It's my go to for any type of vocals!

Though this mic may work a little better for female vocalists, I've found it to produce top-notch quality vocal records of both female and male vocalists. It punches well above its weight!

First and foremost, this mic is great! The mic is heavy and feels very high quality. I put this toe to toe with the AKG C-12 and they sounded very similar. There was only the slightest difference in the top end. One of the things that I like a lot is the case. It's built very well and makes moving everything very easy.

Best C12 recreation ever! I'm an acoustic musician and tone matters a lot to me. This mic has nice warm but not hyped lows, smooth mids, and silky highs. Crazy close to the real thing. Great on vocals! It can hang with the top mics out there. Everyone should have this mic in your locker. You probably won't use anything else!

I could go on and on about this mic! It blows my mind! I've used many C12 copies and a few original C-12s. I've owned the VR for many years and used it a lot! After giving this mic a good try it blows away the competition and holds its own with a lot of the original versions. It's amazing!!! I don't see how anybody can not have one of these mics! I have a few great vintage mics and As of now the CX12
Is living on my main boom stand. I'm using a Neve pre with the Mic with no EQ. Smooth mids, airy top end, and nice warm but not muddy lows. Warm nailed it!

I just received my WA-CX12 today and am absolutely thrilled with it. It might just be my bright tenor voice, but it is the best mic I've ever owned and used for recording vocals. Given the sonic character, I wouldn't doubt it being great for acoustic instruments as well. Now, I have never tried nor owned an AKG C12, so I cannot compare it to the original, but if you want a fantastic sounding microphone, you cannot beat it for this price point. I mean that sincerely as a producer for more than 7 years. Do not underestimate the quality of this thing! Furthermore, the carrying case and all accessories are beautiful, well crafted and of excellent quality.

I got to demo the CX12 before it was released and couldn't believe how great it sounded. It has all the depth, detail and warmth that you want from a vintage microphone without any of the headache of owning a vintage mic. They really knocked it out of the park with this one!