The Solaris is a large-capsule condenser microphone that delivers a sound as warm, round and appealing as its looks. But behind its elegant exterior lies the best solid-state electronics currently available on the market. Classic design principles, combined with the most demanding manufacturing standards, result in less than +/-1 dB of deviation across the entire frequency range, from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Thanks to its ultra-thin evaporated gold diaphragm, the thinnest on the market, the Solaris also offers incredible sensitivity. Its multi-pattern architecture provides maximum versatility for recording vocals, guitar, piano, drums and live events. It's like having three mics in one.

Condenser Microphones
To give some background to those less familiar with microphones, let's recall the basic division between the family of dynamic mics and condenser mics.

At first glance, it can be said that the dynamic mic is generally more rugged and tougher, suited to live events and concerts (and as a rule cheaper too). Condenser mics, for their part, usually have somewhat more complex electronics, require phantom power and are especially well suited to studio recording because of their sensitivity, clarity and character.

The great growth of the “home studio” is well known. Advances in computing and technology let users access good-quality recording systems at prices where you previously couldn't have bought 10% of the equipment.

Thanks to the evolution of workstations, control surfaces and computer-based recording systems, audio/MIDI interfaces, the development of samplers (making the system cheaper), virtual instruments and much more, we can have a frankly satisfying recording system that's not too hard to use (depending on the case and the results expected).

Sampler development certainly allows us to work with audio samples, triggering real samples via MIDI (from our master keyboard or another MIDI instrument) that give our creations or recordings a completely real “flavor.” This now even reaches instruments that used to sound like a “toy machine” when triggered. Even in the most difficult cases, such as guitars, absolute realism of the samples has been achieved, with a degree of flexibility and editing range. All of this, together with the development of tools that let us work with loops, tempo changes without altering pitch or speed and so on, turns the computer into a system capable of simulating the “human” with good results, without the human directly taking part in the end user's recording.

And What Does All This Have to Do With a Mic?
Demanding production calls for personal touches. Even if we rely 90% on standard (or not) sampler samples, having a good microphone allows us to personalize our work completely.

That goes both for recording our own sampler samples through “guest artists” or our own effects, and for recording anything that needs to be captured with a mic.

The mic lets us add the touches that give that “totally human” feel, setting us apart from the samples you can find in any other production. Obviously this extends our studio to capturing vocals, acoustic guitars, cajones, tube guitar amplification (not simulated) and much more.

Will We Notice the Quality Improvement From Using a Condenser Mic?
It is completely common to hear comments from other people when they listen to our (badly recorded) demos, comments such as “I can't understand the vocals,” “the voice sounds weird” and an abundant collection of criticisms of our “homemade” work.

As with the rest of the gear, the quality of the tools we use will enrich or ruin our results. Having a good microphone lets us capture takes with good accuracy, sharpness, clarity, intelligibility and a good signal-to-noise ratio, among other qualities.

The price of condenser microphones has become more accessible for all of us “mere mortals” who don't have a million-dollar budget for buying equipment. For this reason, it's more and more common every day to find condenser mics in small studios, which (in some cases) are beginning to compete clearly with mid-size studios with far more resources, thanks to their quality in recording, mixing and final mastering.

The differences you'll notice in recordings between a poor dynamic mic and a mid-range condenser mic will be qualitative.

The Theory: The Condenser Microphone
Condenser or electrostatic mics are omnidirectional by default. They have a thin, flexible diaphragm close to the rigid back plate. When the diaphragm moves, vibrating in sympathy with the sound pressure, variations in capacitance arise between the two plates. These variations become voltage changes in a small amplifier that sits (generally) inside the capsule itself.

As for the diaphragm, it could be a thin metal, or perhaps a plastic membrane coated with gold. The back plate has small cavities, because without them the layer of air would be too stiff and would keep the membrane from moving freely.

For the mic to work, a polarizing voltage must be applied between the diaphragm and the back plate, or alternatively an electret may have been built in.

SOLARIS
Cardioid, omni and figure-8
Given all the advantages described, when our studio gets a new, warmer, more faithful and more manageable microphone, we decide to check out the new SOLARIS from M Audio. Its look is undeniably attractive, since it is a rugged large-capsule mic and has the look of the most powerful mics on the market.

Versatility
The polar characteristic of a cardioid mic is that it is live on one side and relatively “dead” on the other, but the active side is very wide and indiscriminate. The cardioid mic is a special case that combines the principles of pressure and pressure gradient. When two microphone types are combined in one capsule, a switch can be added to move from one to the other. This gives them great versatility, since a wide range of responses can be obtained by varying the polarization of the diaphragm.

A written outline of the graphs that would result from these three directional responses
The figure-8 response: the response is similar in the plane through the 0º - 180º axis; in the plane perpendicular to the axis, 90º - 270º, the output is zero. At 60º off axis the output is half. The response from the rear is out of phase.

Omnidirectional response: the scale from the center outward is the average sensitivity in proportion to the maximum response (taken as unity). It can also be given in decibels. A scale with zero on the outside and –25 to –35 in the center gives a similar diagram for the main working range.

Cardioid response: it is the sum of the omnidirectional and figure-8 responses when the maximum sensitivity of the two is the same. The front lobe of the “eight” is in phase with the omnidirectional and they add. The rear lobe is out of phase and they subtract.

What's in the Box
The mic comes with a hard case (aluminum case) especially well suited to carrying something as delicate as a mic. Besides the microphone (obviously), it includes a shock mount kit that helps eliminate unwanted pickup and isolates the mic from “untimely” vibrations.

Phantom Power: 48V
The mic requires (like all condenser mics) phantom power, which can be supplied by a preamp or mixer (equipped with it). Take a look at preamps, since the complete mic + preamp set will give you big improvements in recording anything that has to be captured with a mic, thanks to the fidelity of pickup and the possibility of enriching the sound, “warming it up,” “rounding it out” or “steering it” toward a refined sound that matches our intention.

Sound and Rating
As for ruggedness and ease of handling, the Solaris stands out. The mic's price is relatively affordable, since condenser mics (with exceptions) generally cost more.

Its pickup is faithful and precise and, paired with a good preamp (the icing on the cake), it allows professional recordings. The mic can be adjusted so that we can “configure” it to our needs (0 –10 dB attenuation pad switch and Bass Cut switch) depending on the instrument, room or kind of sequence we're going to record.

Using Bass Roll-Off on a Mic
On directional mics the response can drop below 200 Hz. As a correction, we can use the proximity effect to restore a flat response. Likewise, if the response is flatter, this bass “cut” or correction is needed, through the mixer's channel control or via the mic's own filter if it has one.

The result of the cut is a reduction of the room's low-frequency reverb, which can be used as compensation in small rooms or venues.

Conclusions
A warm, faithful sound, professional construction and all the elements for proper recording at a competitive price. There are cheaper condenser mics on the market, but it's not all about price, and the range of features and properties the Solaris offers, the accessories in the set, its looks and its professional quality make it an interesting purchase that you should definitely consider when the need arises to get a good mic.