Rode M2 Handheld Condenser Microphone, Black

I wasn't sure what to think before the purchase. It seemed a bit pricey. But good reviews convinced me to buy it. And am glad I did. This is a really great condenser mic made for the stage. It handles itself really well while resisting feedback. It has a warm tone to it if you like that. Would be a really good go to performance microphone or a great backup.

I have had many mics in this price range. This clearly outperforms them all. The sound on my acoustic guitar is smooth, clear and even. Does a great job with vocals as well. Very solid constriction. Excellent studio tool.

I use this mic at my desk to narrate videos. Before it, I used a Blue Yeti Pro. The Rode M2 is better than the Yeti by far, and it's almost on-par with the Shure SM7B that I use to record audio books and other audio-only recordings. It does very well with mid-range vocals. So, a man's voice will have more richness at a distance. It also did a good job rejecting ambient noise from the room and outside.There's a couple of knocks, though. I found plosives to pick up more than I thought they would. I try to speak into it at an off angle, but it picked up the Ps. The Bs were fine. I do use a windscreen, so I may switch to a pop filter. Also, the On/Off switch is really difficult to flip. That's one tight lock on it and maybe tighter than it needs to be.One last thing, you don't need a Cloudlifter. Just turn the gain to about 60%-70% on your audio interface (I use a Focusrite Scarlett) and turn on phantom power.I think it's worth the cash.

I've had a Rode Boom Arm for a couple years and have tried so many other mics for online communication, streaming, podcasting, discord, and gaming based on popular consensus. Youtube randomly had a review of this mic under suggested and even though it wasn't being sold as my use case the information provided had my spidey senses tingling. If the mic is to be used for vocals on stage around loud instruments in a loud environment then maybe it'll work in my environment which seems to be louder than most.Spoiler Alert: It did. It's better than the AT2035 and RE320 for my environment. I love how crisp my voice sounds on it and how easily it rejects background noise. I'm a low/moderate speaker so if it works for me this would be ideal for loud speakers who could leave the DB way down resulting in much less background nosie being picked up. After reviewing many podcasts and streams mics are in most of the big peoples faces... right where this mic works the best.

I replaced a small diaphragm MXL mic (everybody's first condenser mic) with the M5 and can't believe the difference in the quality of my recordings. Close micing an acoustic guitar it captures every subtle tone and accentuates the differences in the attack with a pick or fingerstyle. I usually hang a blanket over a couple chair backs, position this mic in front and play into it. It gives me results that are very warm and true to the sound of my guitar. I'm thinking about using this as an overhead drum mic for my band, too.

I have 2 of these that I use in my recording studio for a variety of things. Great for vocals, snare drum and amplifier mic'ing. Recently used them for a podcast recording. Very rich in the low to high mids. I especially like them for recording mid-side "stereo" acoustic guitar. Because this is an end address microphone, I point it right at the 12th fret, with a 2nd figure-of-eight condenser just above it to catch the left and right. Then, once in the DAW, I duplicate the condenser track, pan the condenser tracks hard R & L and flip the polarity on one of the tracks. The Rode track stays right down the middle. This mic feels like a piece of lead in your hand - very heavy duty.

While this mic sounds a tad different than the SM58, with eq it can sound the same. The lifetime warranty makes this mic the better purchase. When compared to the SM58, it is also much more sensitive, meaning you can be a foot away and it still pics up your voice quite well. I notice I have to be pretty close to a 58 for it to pickup my voice clearly. This could be bad if you are playing in a large band, as I would imagine it might pick up a drum kit behind you or monitors. For solo performers or acoustic performers this mic is the way to go. As far as durability, it feels pretty much identical to the 58, however is just a tad longer in length. You also have to crank the gain a bit more than a SM58 on this mic, however this doesn't really bother me when put through a clean pre. I have a lower voice, I give this mic a some eq adjutments mainly in the low and high end and it sounds on par, if not better than a 58.