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Audio Review: Astatic 1700VP Microphone
Continuously-Variable Pattern Condenser Overhead Microphone
The use of a suspended microphone in the church environment is not uncommon. It’s a handy tool to capture a pastor’s voice, a choir singing, or ambience from the congregation. One drawback of suspended microphones, however, is that if they are permanently installed, making adjustments to them can be a little tricky. It’s downright impossible if the adjustment must come in the middle of a service. For instance, a suspended mic might be used to capture a scripture reading by someone standing in a very specific location, and a nice tight cardioid pattern works very well for this application. But a moment later, that same suspended mic may be employed to capture a small choir that has taken the platform, but a tight pickup pattern simply won’t do – a much wider pattern is necessary. It’s not practical for someone to bring a ladder, climb up to the mic, and change out an element to arrive at a wider pattern. Astatic Commercial Audio has introduced a microphone that largely solves this difficulty.
The Astatic 1600VP consists of mic element, which ships with a control box, a 30-foot cable, an XLR wall plate, an articulating steel hanger, and anti-twist thread and rods for suspension. The Astatic 1700VP is the designation of a kit that includes the 1600VP and Astatic’s MB-1, which is a miniature overhead carbon fiber boom stand, specifically intended if the 1600VP can not be suspended. To get into specifics, the mic element is less than two inches in length and ¾ inch in diameter in a nice matte black finish, with a taper from the tip down to where the mic connects via a TA3M connector. This condenser mic exhibits a frequency response from 40 Hz to 20,000 Hz with a sensitivity of -29 dBV @ 1Pa and an impedance of 135Ω. Its self-noise is a nice low 22 dBA, and it can handle SPL of up to 110 dB (@1%THD – 1 kHz.) The big practical wow factor of the mic is that it is continuously variable throughout the polar patterns. A remote provides a knob that adjusts the pickup pattern continuously from figure-eight to hypercardioid to supercardioid to cardioid to omnidirectional (clockwise around the knob.) One feature of this variable nature that truly impressed me is the remarkable consistency in its frequency response regardless of polar pattern. There is a bump of approximately 6 dB centered between 6 and 7 kHz, but the response is otherwise quite flat, and doesn’t change much at all when the pickup pattern is altered. This makes the mic exceptionally useful in the church environment.
As mentioned earlier, it’s difficult if not impossible to quickly or easily change out a mic element if it’s suspended 12 feet above the platform. Having the capacity to easily change the pattern of a suspended mic is a game-changer. As in our previous example, the mic could be dialed down to a tight cardioid to pick up a single presenter at one moment, and then broadened out to a near omni pattern to accommodate a choir or a small ensemble of acoustic instruments and/or vocalists. And when the frequency response is consistent regardless of the pattern, the engineer can just twist the knob and not have any worries over changing EQ in order to compensate.
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John McJunkin is the CEO of Avalon Podcasting in Chandler, Arizona, which offers high quality podcast production and consultation services to a broad range of clients. He’s also the host of the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast at www.avalonpodcasting.com.
Quick-links
1600VP and 1700VP Microphone LIST PRICE: 1600VP is $800. LIST PRICE: 1700VP is $900
www.astatic.com | 800-421-3161
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