The bounty would be groovy enough if it hit the deck at $100 per mic, but there’s even more to this fab deal. Included in the pack is a shockmount for the GXL3000, and a mammoth pop-filter that looks as if it could protect the mic capsule from demon spew. Savvy home recordists will grok that the Stereo Studio Pack provides almost all you need to record vocals, acoustic guitars, guitar amps, percussion, wind instruments, kick drums, cymbals, and old-school, cram-everyone-in-one-room jams. Add a Shure SM57 or other dynamic mic, and you’ve got a minimalist mic cabinet that can handle just about every audio signal you could ever unleash in a small personal-studio space for an outlay of way less than $450.

These aren’t “cheap” mics, either. I’ve used various CAD models throughout my, ahem, #*%-year recording career, and each has delivered solid sound reproduction and survived rude treatment (including having a shaken Pepsi can explode all over the mesh screen and being slimed by the curious mouth of a bored Doberman). The solid metal casings of the GXL3000 and GXL1200s seem up to the task of enduring similar abuse. Both models require 48-volt phantom power.

GXL3000

The GXL3000 is an excellent vocal microphone with a presence peak that rises gently from approximately 2kHz to 5kHz. This ensures that articulation is precise without being overly sibilant—as long as you don’t go nutso on the outboard EQ. The 3000 isn’t the most transparent microphone, but I kind of hate transparent mics. I much prefer models that impose some personality on the source sound, and the 3000 has a slight “X” factor that adds a subtle, yet sensual shimmer to both male and female vocals. I also used the 3000 to track a kick drum (nice thud and snap), a Marshall head and 4x12 cabinet (a tad brittle when used as a close mic; very clear and expansive when positioned as an ambient mic), and a mono room mic for a rock rehearsal session (excellent separation, fat bottom, dimensional highs). My only complaint wasn’t with the mic—I didn’t dig the metallic clacking of the shockmount’s locking pins whenever loud drums or boisterous vocalists rock and rolled the mic stand.

GXL1200

Having a pair of small, matched condensers lets you experiment with stereo perspectives. I placed the mics in several positions around an acoustic guitarist and was always treated to a sexy, dimensional jangle. They also worked brilliantly as drum overheads, capturing cymbal crashes without overloading, and “hearing” enough toms, kick, and snare to deliver a punchy aural picture of the kit. Used as live-stereo mics, the performance of the 1200s was content dependent. A classical guitarist and a cello/violin duo sounded full bodied and evocative; a loud rock band appeared a little splatty. Overall, the 1200s are excellent companions to the GXL3000, and the three mics can cover a wide and diverse sonic spectrum.