sE Electronics sE7 Small-diaphragm Condenser Microphone - Matched Pair Reviews

I originally purchased an sE7 pair for some XY orchestral and choir recording later this year. I have checked them out on a simulation test and they seem to work with a lot of clear definition for strings. The tonal reproduction and color from an XY configuration recording of Acoustic guitar (about 18 inches away) is very rich too. So impressed I purchased a second pair. Great value for the money.

I have logged plenty of hours working sound and playing in bands over the last 5 decades, but I never was asked to mic a choir. I became de facto sound man when my wife joined this singing group. To make a long story short, I inherited a sound system that wasn't up to the job, but included 3 pretty good Shure choral mics.

With my Sweetwater sales pro Ted Hunter's help, I beefed up the sound system, and purchased 3 more of the same mics, thinking that if suspended properly, would be perfect. Problem was, after our rec center was remodeled, nothing could be suspended from the new ceilings. Unable to work up a plan B, I took to the internet to do some research on how to mic a singing group.

I watched lots of how to videos and listened to mic shoot outs, and came away with the realization I was approaching the situation all wrong. I eventually learned that I only needed 2 mics, and set up according to the basic rules of mic'ing a 22-26 member choir. I didn't know about the sE7 matched pair mics, until my sales pro recommended them based on the other mics I was considering.

I'm glad I listened. I just ran a test of the microphones, listening thru the headphone output of the mixer. With just the pair of sE7's positioned correctly, the group sounded like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in my cans. I'm hoping that it will sound as good thru the FOH speakers at tech rehearsal!

Another satisfied Sweetwater Customer!

These mics pack a huge punch with a very small price tag. Keep them coming SE.

Another great recommendation from Chris at Sweetwater. I love these sE7's! I was looking for a pair of overheads for my drums, and another pair for my left and right hi-hats. I thought I might mix up the pairs and get 2 separate brands (to mix it up a little),... but Chris talked me out of it. He said you can't go wrong with 4 of these sE7's, and he was right. They sound great as overheads and I love them on my hi-hats. The sE7 also sounds great for micing up acoustic guitar and piano. Pure reproduction, and extremely quiet mics! Quality construction, and very sturdy. Once you open them from the package, you know you are getting a superior product.

Can't beat the price either,... and totally not worth saving a few bucks to get some of the other cheaper small diaphragm condensers.

I've owned SM81's and AT4041's before,... and these sE7's put those to shame!

I don't use small condensers very often, but I bought a matched pair of these a few years ago. I planned to use them much sooner, but stuff happens. I've been using dynamics, large condensers and ribbons, but not small condensers. Today, I needed to use them to record acoustic guitar. I set one up just on the neck side of the sound hole where it grabbed a well balanced tone without big low end woof and the other went mid way up the neck. The distance from the guitar was around 5 inches. I also ran a direct line since it's an electric acoustic, so why not.? Then I set levels and recorded. I panned the sound hole mic hard left and the neck mic hard right with the direct line center.

I decided to write a review because I was a bit stunned at how impressive the playback was before I even touched an EQ or compressor or anything else!

These are still close to the price that I paid a few years ago and they sound like I invested considerably more in them than I did. I've been in pro studios since 2 inch tape was the norm and when no one owned a personal computer or an interface. I haven't quit yet and every year still increases my passion and knowledge with guitar and recording. I only bring that up to point out that I have the background to know good and great gear when I see and hear it. These really impressed me. I will treat them as if they cost a lot more. Don't feel like your getting budget mics here. Others may cost more and be better in various circumstances, but these are actually great mics regardless of the price in my opinion and worthy of use on a pro project.

I have a project studio and I've been trying to find a budget matched pair of SDC's. From time to time I need to record very soft acoustic guitar passages in stereo and I wanted some mic's that are VERY quiet. Well this is the third pair I've tried and third time's really a charm!

These came packaged very professionally. Even the individual mic's were vacuum sealed with their own tiny desiccant packs. They are well built and solid (not like the GAP FC4's that were falling apart out of the box). First thing I did was hook them up and test them. Both of them actually worked (don't laugh...at this price point I guess that's not a given), and they truly are a matched pair with identical output level and frequency response.

OK, OK, so they look good physically and on paper...but how do they sound? Honestly, much better than I expected at this price! They're slightly hyped with just a bit of a top end bump, but they don't sound harsh or nasty. In fact, to me they sound fairly open and natural. I set these up and tried them on a couple acoustics with very soft fingerpicking and I am completely happy with the realistic capture of both tone and stereo field. And yes indeed, they are SUPER quiet mic's!

So then I figured I'd give them a shot on drum overheads and they shine here as well. They handle transients MUCH better than other budget SDC's and all pieces of the kit sound natural and well focused in the stereo field. Cymbals sound balanced and not harsh or edgy. If SDC's on overheads are your thing, these produce very usable captures. In fact, at this price, I believe they'd be excellent for live overheads too!

If you're recording on a budget, I believe these mic's would work pretty well for just about anything! I've tried spoken word, singing, and various other percussion instruments...all with very good results. I'm looking forward to auditioning these on strings now as well.

Wrapping up my rant...all I wanted was a cheap pair of QUIET mics to serve a specific purpose and what I got was a very welcome addition to my mic locker. I am very satisfied with this purchase!

These mic's sound great I'm a drummer and have use them on a couple jobs now toms sound really nice I use them as over heads clean clear sound thx sweetwater for great service as always

I had never heard of sE Electronics. Spoke to one of the sales engineers at Sweetwater. I told him I was looking for some overhead condensers for my drum kit and that I was considering Sennheiser. He suggested these mics. They had gotten good reviews so I ordered them. These mics are amazing. I hang two over my kit to pick up the cymbals. These two mics pick up everything like the kit was close miced. Another drummer was playing my kit for sound check so I got to go out front and hear them and they are amazing. Want to thank the Sweetwater engineer for the recommendation. Saved some money and got some great sounding mics.

Great mic, very neutral sounding after coming from the rode m5 another popular mic at this price point, which is a very bright microphone. Compared to the rode m5 it is massive this is significantly heavier and longer than the m5. However not enough that you have to worry about microphone stand sag unless you already have a very poor mic stand. Highly recommend picking up the mic if you are recording a variety of instruments.

I love these on acoustic guitar, piano, choir room acoustics mics. I've been really pleased with all of the sE mics.

inexpensive yet really do a nice job as drum overheads

For a long time, I had been wanting to replace the Audix f9 condenser mics at my drum kit with better ones. I had replaced all my drum mics, and the cymbal mics were the last to be replaced. I had read several reviews of various small-diaphragm condenser mics, and I kept coming back to these, in part because of their affordability. So I decided to give them a try. And I'm not disappointed! These mics have a clarity that allows me to hear the subtle differences between my dozen-or-so cymbals. I can hear the nuances of each cymbal's frequency characteristics, including a brightness and shimmer that I couldn't hear before. These are fantastic mics, and for the price, I doubt that you can find anything better.

I used this new stereo pair to record congas. The high pass filter did a fine job of ignoring HVAC rumble and the cardioid characteristic of this mic did a superb job of rejecting sound waves from behind. The mics did an especially good job of capturing details and nuance. This mic would be especially good for recording acoustic guitars, string sections or any acoustic instrument.

I really love these microphones. I'm just getting started in home recording, but I love the clarity I get with recording acoustic guitar. Using them as a stereo pair with one at the neck joint and the other at the bridge gives a great width to the sound. They came packaged really well, and my sales engineer Adam Cesarz was excellent. He helped me wade through the seemingly endless options for small diaphragm condenser mics as well as provide some guidance on an excellent bundle that is working perfectly for my needs. His help guided me to this purchase that's helping me learn more about music recording and production.

I first bought another brand of matched pair small diaphragm mics (GAP FC4) and they weren't horrible, but they weren't matched (supposed to be) and they sounded a bit muffled. I then decided to get the sE7 matched pair to try. I'm glad I did! Night and Day difference! The sE7 is clear, crisp, matched, just an unbelievable improvement in my recordings, especially stereo acoustic guitar. Amazing quality.. and built solid! Highly recommend the matched sE7s. Shout out to Nick Grawcock for recommending.

Excellent value, excellent clarity! Just used this matched pair to track drum overheads. The sound straight from the mic is great, super clean silky top end. The roll off switch is also handy.

very cool!

These are great mics. Pick up every detail. Have been especially great for stereo micing guitar.
Easily compete with my Rodes and those are almost triple the price.

I purchased these on a recommendation from a friend. I use them primarily as overhead mics for drums and they do the job. They capture the sound quite clearly for what would seem to be cheap mics, but don't let the price fool you, these do the job. They're also wonderful for recording acoustic piano. The dB setting is a little tricky, you will need a nail or something similar to change the switch from 0dB to -20dB and vice versa as no human hand is small enough to do that.

I just got a pair of SE7 from Sweetwater. So far I only did a classical guitar recording. I'm glad I ordered these! It captured every detail, and it did not color the tone. Organic. Also I was able to get great volume without introducing noise eventhough I was only using a 1st gen Scarlett 2i2. I can't wait to try this pair with other kinds of recording.

The only thing I wish is that SE Electronics could have included a case, and shock mounts like they do with their other SDC pairs. It is okay though because I love their microphones. Keep up the great work!

On the side note, I've been exclusively buying all brand new musical gears from Sweetwater because they're very reliable.

I personally love sE microphones, so I'll admit that this review may be a tad biased. I add my name to the long list of users who find sE mics to be absolutely amazing performers relative (and even regardless) to price point. My church uses this pair to mic a small orchestra. The sE7's are inconspicuous visually on stage and wonderfully transparent in sound. We also have a pair of Rode M5s. By comparison, the sE7's are larger; both physically and "sonically". The Rodes sound just the slightest bit "brighter" to me; the sE7's just seem to be better at lower frequency reproduction to my ears. Both pairs are excellent value, good quality, and super-quiet for low-budget condensers, so buy with confidence either way.

If you are a classical musician recording instruments, I would always recommend anything from sE. It's as if their mics were made for us. All of their mics that I've heard, including this pair, are wonderfully natural-sounding, which is perfect for acoustic instruments. I doubt there is a better value in low-budget sdc mics anywhere. Highly recommend this stereo pair!

Matched pair, yeah that's predictably nice to have, but I tried using just one on a fingerpicked Sigma acoustic guitar and then a National resonator playing slide. Panned each a little to opposite sides and it's absolutely amazing with no EQ or effects. It sounds like I'm sitting between two guitarists. Balance, clarity, depth, space - my new favorite instrument microphone. Got to ding it half a star just because I know the noise floor could be a little lower if I was willing to spend twice as much :)

I use these primarily for micing acoustic guitars. They record every detail of the guitar with very little need for EQing or compressing in post. They are extremely sensitive, so be sure that you are recording in a quiet environment.

Excellent quality and a great reasonably priced additions to to your home studio!

Simple, versatile condensers. Using for recording a middle school band & choir, and have done very well. Low frequency response is average, but to be expected with a small-diaphragm mic. Love having the built in high pass filter; makes my job that much easier at the board. Will be trying for close-miking on various other instruments in the future.

I got these mics on Dante's recommendation to use for a choir concert. The choirs ranged in size from 15-50 singers. They did an excellent job of picking up all of the voices. I am already planning to get another set. The only issue I have is the amount of ambient sound captured.

Using a pair of these to pickup a bell choir in a lively worship space. Good throw for about 30 feet, even had to turn down the channel gains from the AKG pencil mics they replaced. A nice warm sound to them without changing the EQ.

It's handy to have these little pencil mics around. Good sound. Quiet, clear. But darker sounding than I expected, and not with the transparency that I probably would have gotten if I'd spent a few hundred dollars more...or a thousand! What do want for under $ per mic?

They are great for any acoustic instruments,they capture the lower spectrum very smoothly

I bought a stereo pair and recently tried them out running though my new Apollo x8p recording some percussion. I really enjoy the natural sound these get on acoustic instruments. I agree with the comment about these mics being great for classical music. They seem to work well on a lot of different sound sources (instruments). I wish these came with a case though! I went to eBay to find cheap mic bags to store them in. I would recommend getting a stereo mic clip it makes recording with a smaller footprint much easier.