Avantone CV-12

Avantone is a professional microphone company that has been able to stand out in the market of microphones and I had the wonderful opportunity to try out the Avantone CV-12 recently! It should be noted that the microphone is named the CV-12, this is because the microphone was constructed somewhat emulate yet modernize the acclaimed AKG C-12!
This microphone was also the one that was used on Taylor Swift’s first two studio full-length albums “Fearless” and “Speak Now”, among many others who swear by this microphones performance!

The CV-12 is a sturdy little microphone it is much shorter than the C-12 but don’t let that make you think it doesn’t pack just as much of a punch as the C-12. This microphone is packed with 9 selectable patterns, a -10 dB pad, as well as a selectable High pass filter at 80Hz. Among all these things, the microphone is a Tube Condenser microphone, so you will have that added warmth and bottom end that most tube condenser microphones add. Aside from these specifications the microphone comes with a hard case that stores the shock mount safely inside, the power supply, and the wooden case that contains the CV-12.

Now onto how this awesome little microphone sounds! I was extremely lucky enough to record a Steinway grand piano with this microphone and actually compare it next to a C-12 that was mic’ed next to the Avantone! To my surprise I found that I loved the sound of the CV-12 much more than the C-12. The Avantone CV-12 had that silky warmth that you would want out of a nice piano part, whereas the C-12 almost sounded a little thin I thought. Now I only had one CV-12 and was not able to do a stereo mic pair to record the Piano but I could only imagine the results would have been much better. Next, I recorded a mini Martin acoustic. Naturally, because of their small size the guitar would sound a little thinner than most acoustics, however, because we were recording through a microphone the 6072A Tube in the microphone boosted that low end to give the guitar some necessary warmth that made that little acoustic sound way bigger than it was. I was extremely impressed with the results we got with the Avantone CV-12!

Now you must be thinking any microphone that is used in a Taylor Swift recording or that even compares to a vintage AKG C-12 must cost fortunes and a leg to add to your personal microphone locker, but, this is where Avantone prides themselves in their no-haggle pricing. This awesome microphone for any mic locker is available for the incredibly low price of $499.99! For a fraction of the cost of most microphones it compares to you will have a microphone that I am sure you will never regret purchasing! Avantone also recently amped up their CV-12 and released their all new BV-12 which comes in a new color and has a couple added features this one however retails at $899.00!