EV PL37 - an alternative live mandolin mic to consider

[almeriastrings]

I don't think I've seen these mentioned on here... lots of discussions and recommendations for various others, AT PRO37, AE5100's, Shure SM81, SM94, KSM137's etc, but for some reason these seem to not get a mention...so, here we go.

I grabbed a pair of these that had been in light studio use as drum overheads. First impressions were "wow, what a solid mic!". Very high build quality. Feel like you could hammer nails with them. Nice, tough non-reflective finish. Grille seems very strong. Nothing flimsy here. The main thing, of course is "how do they sound", well, I tried them on mandolin, acoustic flat-pick guitar and banjo. I have to say they sounded great. Really good. Very responsive, natural, no excessive proximity effect, and the off-axis rejection is outstandingly good. This makes it easy to position them to minimise risk of feedback. They respond more like a supercardiod than a regular cardiod. A tight pattern. You do not have to work ultra-close with these, you can back off a bit. Output (sensitivity) is moderately high (@ 6mV/Pa). It operates on 11-48V phantom power. Internally it features a 10mm capsule - possibly one reason why it is so 'quick' and dynamic sounding. Excellent on mandolin and banjo especially. The frequency response is not totally flat, but has a gentle rise on the HF end - nothing 'peaky' or unpleasant, however, unlike many lower cost condensers. This sound quite smooth and clean. Never harsh.

It comes complete with a really superb rubber shock mount. Again, beautifully made with a metal, not plastic, adjustment knob.

The one downside is that for recording quiet sources, the self-noise is on the high side (25dBa). A typical by product of a small, self-biased capsule. That said, it would be fine on louder sources (banjo, drums) and is not a problem at all live on mandolin or guitar.

Overall, very impressed with these. They seem to be available at around $70 US or €66 which is amazing value for what you get. Probably the nicest 'cheaper' live mic for acoustic instruments I've yet encountered. To put that in context, I tried them against other mics including an AKG C535 ($300) and a Shure SM137 ($180) and preferred the PL37. Less feedback susceptibility and just sounded 'smoother'....

[Beanzy]

I've seen them used before suspended above a theatre stage in a row of six to make the front of stage live.
Seemed to be very realistic sound & coped with stage action well too.

[almeriastrings]

Yeah... the tight pattern would work in that context. Oddly enough, I know these have been out there for a while (believe they were introduced in 2008!) but I had never actually encountered them before 'in the flesh'. I was intending to pass them on, but having tried them, I think I'll hang onto them and move something else out.... I would not hesitate to use these myself as a live instrument condenser. They do a really good job.

[Spruce]

....always loved EV stuff...
...and they used to fix them for free...

[jaymichael]

I've been using a Beta 57 for my fiddle, how would you compare the two?

[almeriastrings]

Totally different. Dynamic (Beta 57) vs. Condenser, for one thing. Output is 2X greater than the Beta 57 for the same input (2.8mV/Pa vs. 6mV/Pa). Overall frequency response (50Hz-16kHz) is similar, but response at the higher end is more even and linear on the PL37.

As with all microphones, the only way to know for sure is to try them....It would certainly do a good job, but only you could determine which you prefer working with.

[Charlieshafer]

Thanks for that. This is the sort of go-to instrument mic I like. Plus, the price makes them very drop-worthy, as in "oops, oh well..." I'll give a couple a try.

[almeriastrings]

I reckon you could probably drop these from the Empire State Building and your main concern would be damage to the pavement, Charlie!