Excerpts
Available singly or as boxed matched pairs with a stereo mounting bar, the SE1 is a fixed cardioid capacitor 'stick' mic with a diaphragm just over half an inch in diameter. It is built in China, but despite its very low cost the standard of design and mechanical engineering is impressive. SE Electronics is the brand name these mics are sold under when they are not badged for someone else. The wooden case is also very nicely made, with a rigid foam lining and accurate cutouts for the mic, the included mic clips and an impressive solid stereo bar.

SE1 On The Session
I was fortunate enough to be working on a project with guitarist Gordon Giltrap when these mics arrived, so we decided to give them a try using them as a spaced stereo pair to record one of his Martin acoustic guitars, one mic favouring the neck and the other the body of the instrument. Not knowing what to expect, I was quite prepared to switch back to mics that I knew would do the job well, but as soon as we heard the sound back over the studio monitors, it was clear that these were easily up to the task. The slight presence lift brought out the picking detail in a natural way, but the sound was also full and well rounded with no unnatural coloration. Because of their ability to translate detail without being overstated or aggressive, a pair of these mics would make fine drum overheads or piano mics. They're also sensitive enough to use for ensemble or choir recordings.

As usual I moved the mics around to get the best sound rather than reaching for the EQ and, without needing any EQ or compression whatsoever, we ended up with a wonderful-sounding track. Gordon's playing clearly had more than a little bearing on this! All that was added was a hint of a small hall reverb and we had a track good enough to master.

We went on to try the mics with other guitars, as well as with other acoustic instruments lying around the studio, and they handled everything effortlessly, so if you're in the market either for a single instrument mic or a matched pair that can be used for stereo recording, I have no hesitation in recommending these as offering a level of performance that goes some way beyond what you'd expect for the price. You can get better quality if you pay 10 times the price, but the difference is less than you might expect.

SE Electronics SE1000 & SE2200
Also from the SE stable are the SE1000 basic cardioid capacitor mic and the more sophisticated SE2200 cardioid capacitor model, featuring somewhat different body styling plus additional pad and filter switches. The traditional SE1000 features a large diaphragm capsule, while its noise and sensitivity figures are comparable with other microphones of its type. In its SE Electronics guise it comes in a very nice camera-style case with a shockmount, and it performs far better than it has any right to for anything like the price. Its nominally flat response, combined with a gentle high-end presence peak and a roll-off above 18kHz, works well for vocals, acoustic instruments and, in pairs, drum overheads.

While the shape of the SE1000 suggests a famous European studio mic, the SE2200 has a tubular body and basket, with two slide switches built into the body immediately below the basket. Overall, it looks rather like a classic tube mic, though both these mics have FET preamps. One of the switches brings in a lowcut 'rumble' filter to reduce the effect of stand vibrations or traffic noise, while the other is a 10dB pad, designed to reduce the output from the mic when it is used close to very loud sources that might otherwise cause your mic preamp's input stage to overload and distort. Nominally one inch in diameter, the capsule again has a cardioid pattern and is well suited to vocal and acoustic instrument recording. The frequency response goes a little higher than the SE1000 at 25Hz-20kHz, the sensitivity is 16mV/Pa (not untypical for this type of mic), and the output noise is adequately low at just 17dBA. The sound isn't hugely different to that of the SE1000 other than perhaps a hint of extra high-end transparency, though the addition of pad and filter switches adds to the mic's versatility.

—Excerpted from an article by Paul White, world-renowned audio engineer and author of more than ten books on the basics of mastering, mixing techniques, microphones and studio design, published in Sound On Sound Magazine September 2003. Article available in it's entirety at www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep03/articles/semics.htm#1

Excerpts

Valve mics have become a 'must have' for many serious project studios, and SE Electronics has now entered this market with guns blazing. Their new Z5600 tube model has the benefits of multi-pattern operation, yet costs just under £400 in the UK!

Large Dual-diaphragm Capsule
The Z5600 is a large-diaphragm model with a 1.07-inch gold-sputtered diaphragm, and it offers a choice of nine polar patterns from omni to figureof- eight, via all the cardioid permutations. There are no switches at all on the mic --there are no pad or roll-off switches anywhere in fact -- and the rotary pattern switch is on the power-supply box.

A standard and easily replaceable 12AX7 valve is used to amplify the signal from the capsule before feeding it out via a balancing transformer, and access to the valve is simply a case of unscrewing the base of the microphone body. The microphone comes in a rather nice foam-lined aluminium camera case, with a reassuringly hefty shockmount and the necessary multi-pin XLR lead to connect the mic to the included power supply. The slightly larger diaphragm provides fatter bottom-end response and increased sensitivity, while the use of a 12AX7 valve in this specific configuration provides a very low self-noise rating for a valve microphone, specified as 16dBA.

On paper, the Z5600 has a fairly typical sensitivity for a mic of this type (12mV/Pa) and a nominal frequency response extending from 20Hz to 20kHz. This isn't flat, as there's a definite presence peak which changes magnitude slightly depending on what pattern is chosen. Although there's no pad switch, the total harmonic distortion at 130dB is only 0.5 percent, so few natural sound sources will overwhelm it.

Mechanically, the mic seems to be very well put together and is neatly finished with a plated, machined metal body and a machined end cap protecting the innards. The XLR pins are gold plated, and the capsule is protected from damage and RF interference by a tough steel grille with a finer grille inside that can help prevent popping. Internally, the circuitry is mounted on a double-sided, glass-fibre circuit board secured to a folded metal chassis. The components look like good-quality, non-esoteric types. No 48V powering is required.

Testing Time
Like most reasonably well-designed valve mics, the Z5600 pretty quiet when used for close sound sources. For the best results, the mic needs to warm up for at least half an hour before use, and ideally for an hour, something common to all valve mics. The intended application this type of microphone is studio vocal and instrument recording, and in that application the noise performance is absolutely fine.

Compared to my Rode NTK, the Z5600 seems just a hint more sensitive, and it has a more pronounced presence, which is not surprising as a deliberate presence peak is built into its response curve. This presence improves articulation in some situations, but the other side of the coin is that it can detract slightly from the smoothness of tone, and the density of the sound seems slightly less than I get from the NTK. Neither is right or wrong -- as ever you have to pick the character of mic that best suits your needs, and I found nothing to dislike in the overall tonality of the Z5600. If anything, the manufacturers have erred on the side of caution in not hyping the valve sound too much, which is a good thing, as there's nothing worse than a 'forced' valve sound.

Checking out the different patterns showed a decently consistent tonality provided that you work at a great enough distance to avoid the proximity effect which affects the cardioid and figure-of-eight patterns, so if you try to make a judgement when working very close to the mic, the omni pattern will always seem bass light in comparison to the cardioid.

Verdict
My overall impression is of a well-built, workhorse of a mic that has a versatile, fairly neutral tonality with just a hint of added presence. This lack of a specific sound makes it more versatile in those situations where you have to deal with different singers, but the possible downside is that it might sound less 'valve-like' than a valve mic with a more obvious character.

On balance I liked this mic, as it combines a good standard of build quality and finish with a musically believable, solid sound. It should also not be overlooked that the Z5600 is a very classy-looking mic, something that might be relevant if you have clients to impress!

—Excerpted from an article by Paul White, world-renowned audio engineer and author of more than ten books on the basics of mastering, mixing techniques, microphones and studio design, published in Sound On Sound Magazine May 2003. Article available in it's entirety at www.soundonsound.com/sos/may03/articles/sez5600.asp

Now represented and marketed in the US, the Chinese manufacturer SE Electronics is a long-established Shanghai-based company with a sizeable lineup of affordable mics of various designs. I happened to have bought their SE5000 vacuum tube condenser mic just as Recording was looking to review this particular models, so I wrote this review based on my experiences with my own mic—I said my own—sorry, but there will be no drop-tests! Then its new sister model came my way—the SE 5500 (soon to replace the SE5000), which I'll get to in a moment.

What is
The SE5000 is a tube condenser microphone, reminiscent in shape and size of classics like the old AKG C-12VR. It's about 9" long and 2" in diameter, with a solid painted cast-metal body (blue, black and nickel are available) and a large wire-framed grille surrounding the capsule on the top portion of the mic(gold or nickel depending on the body color). Inside the SE5000 is a single-pattern, fixed Cardioid 1" gold vapor diaphragm, a small printed-circuit board and the tube in a ceramic socket.

The SE5000 comes with a 12 AT7 tube, but tubes are interchangeable. A special cable (included) connects the mic to its separate regulated power supply. Also included is a spider-type shock mount, maybe not the heftiest you've ever seen, but it certainly does the job. The mic screws into the mount from the bottom and, once tightened, stays firmly in place. The SE5000 is no lightweight, so be prepared to counterweight it if you intend to mount it on an extended boom. Or hang the mic upside down for vocals or as an overhead.

Note that the mic comes with all this stuff- the shock mount, power supply, and cable, as well as a carrying case- for a suggested retail price of $579. Yes, a 1" gold-sputtered diaphragm tube mic, with all the trimmings, for $579 retail. And you should find, as I did, that the street price is discounted aggressively even below that.

The mic
Recent years have brought us a windfall in affordable yet decent quality mics. The SE5000 claims a respectably flat frequency response from 20Hz through 18kHz, and THD of <0.5% at 120 dB SPL. The power supply may be switched from 110V to 240 V AC. After years of working with vocal mics that are hyped in the high end for extra crispness, I was surprised and impressed with the SE5000's sound. The best way to describe this mic is to say it's fat. No bumps or hot spots that stuck out, no valleys to thin out the sound. The bottom end on male vocals is extremely round and bassy, the top end is smooth and unobtrusive. I would have loved a rolloff on this mic, around 160 Hz or so to ease the bass down when necessary. I also would have liked a choice of patterns, like omni and figure-8, but those additions would certainly raise the price out of the super-bargain bin.

I found that rolling off the low end with my console's highpass filter (100Hz) worked well, and adding a touch at 12kHz, perhaps just 1-2dB before tape, gave me the top end I was looking for. The nice thing about the SE5000 is there is little chance of sibilance, a problem my voice has on most vocal mics.

On the job
The SE5000 proved to work well on male and female vocals, and it added body to a rather thin female voice. I recorded a rather boxy-sounding Baby Taylor guitar using the SE5000 about 3 inches in front and slightly off axis of the sound hole, and nearer to the fret board. In past performances it had taken an awful lot of eq to get an even-sounding track from this guitar. The SE5000 added a rich bottom to the guitar, and the top came through perfectly. I had to add some eq to the low mids, of course, but less than usual. Percussion sounded good, and electric guitar from a Marshall JCM 800 recorded quite well although a bit bottom-heavy.

All in all I'm very All in all I'm very happy with this mic and won't hesitate to use it with top clients to approximate that vintage tube sound so cherished by many.

SE 5500
Soon after I finished the SE5000 review, the new distributor of SE Electronics sent me the newly released SE5500 that will soon replace the SE5000. The two are identical in looks and accessory packaging. I used the SE5500 on two sessions; one consisted of a male vocal and a medium-size Taylor acoustic added to a background track, while the other centered around a female vocalist with a style similar to Stevie Nicks. In each instance, the 5500 performed as well as expected and consistent with the sound of the 5000. Plenty of warm, evey lows and a nice clear top end.

The female vocals were exceptionally well recorded, taking advantage of the warmth of the mic. All tracks were recorded flat and stayed that way through the mix. Only the Taylor needed some eq, and only to fit it in the track properly. Had it been a solo acoustic track with vocal, I doubt I would have used any eq at all. Priced even lower than the SE5000, it's one heck of a deal.

So
Both the SE5000 and SE5500 do a tremendous job of bringing vintage tone to the masses. SE Electronics has done a great job with these mics, and according to its website a whole new line of professional mics are on their way. I'd hurry up and grab one of the 5500s if I were you, in case they're hard to find once the new line emerges.