The need for flexibility is paramount in many recording situations, and affordably meeting that need is a challenge. Fortunately, Roswell Audio’s Mini K67x cardioid large diaphragm condenser mic nicely balances colorful harmonic saturation (from a transformer-coupled circuit) and sparkling clarity, achieving this while remaining very affordable. I’m suspicious of tools that promise too many uses. Past trauma has taught me that effective musical multi-tools are typically too good to be true. The Mini K67x is a notable exception. One of the first things I noticed was how it added beautiful harmonic saturation to a source's top end without adding any unpleasant harshness.
Furthermore, this vintage vibe isn’t noisy or ham-fisted, nor does this microphone’s character sound antiquated. Capturing an array of sources resulted in recordings with smooth, saturated, shimmering highs, and well-contained mids and lows. The Mini K67x has become my go-to for tracking guitar and vocals, especially for R&B, country, folk, etc. Its added harmonics handsomely flatter lower-register voices, allowing them to sit inside dense mixes without heavy-handed EQ or other harmonic treatments. Voices in higher registers are similarly enhanced by those saturated highs without ever sounding brittle or harsh. This microphone’s complementary balance between harmonic saturation and clarity is super helpful for many different vocal types. Using the Mini K67x for some ADR work resulted in a surprisingly radiant-yet-contained spoken word recording. This microphone’s well-balanced nature helps acoustic guitar, banjo, and other acoustic stringed instruments shine by keeping unruly highs and boomy lows in check while delivering impressive harmonics in a natural musical way. Additionally, the Mini K67x provides a subtle excitement and glimmer to soft, low-volume sources. In other words, it makes small things sound huge and illustrious while keeping quarrelsome frequencies focused and composed. Electric guitars and amplified synths are also well-served by this microphone, giving them a larger-than-life quality. These elements, which initially impressed me, were brought to bear when I began using a matched pair of Mini K67xs as drum overheads (matched pairs include an internal -10 dB switch specifically for this) and they sounded excellent for this purpose. The attack from drum and cymbal hits was immediate and smooth, and the tails were wonderfully saturated, delivering a sound akin to vintage mics. Using this microphone to capture natural percussion, like shaker and tambourine, yielded similarly impressive results. These mics are unapologetically flattering and colorful, which makes them useful for many diverse applications. In dense mixes, they respond to subtractive EQ beautifully, and can support a fair bit of additive EQ too. Classic vintage microphones have a well-earned reputation for capturing a source’s colorful detail while delivering subtle harmonic saturation and warmth. However, this reputation comes with the additional costs of added fragility, inconvenience, and expense. For me, the Mini K67x has filled a unique niche by producing a modern, balanced, vintage microphone sound at a fraction of the cost. The Mini K67x is a remarkable offering to anyone looking for that distinctive, classic sound. Available in Roswell’s standard metallic gray finish, with multiple custom color choices available. Includes a Roswell Cutaway shock mount and aluminum flight case.
_disp_horizontal_bw.jpg)