Sunday, April 15, 2012

Neumann TLM 102 - The VolksMikrofon



Neumann TLM 102

The Volkswagen is named so because it was designed to be "a car for the "volks" or people." Neumann makes world class microphones that typically cost more than most personal budgets can support; until now.

Should you wonder, after a very quick listen, the TLM 102 and TLM 103 sound very different. The TLM 102 is relatively flat with a closer focus on the midrange than the TLM 103. What does that mean? It means that the TLM 102 can be less problematic in environments that aren't designed as recording studios. 

The TLM 102 is considerably smaller than the TLM 103, but that difference in size does not mean the TLM 102 is a proportionally lesser microphone.

I really like that Neumann has taken a leadership position in swinging the pendulum back from the years long industry trend of making mics brighter and brighter. Brighter is not better, especially when you start using dynamics plugins aggressively or record in a non-optimal acoustic environment.