Mic Review - ADK SC-1

[parsifal]

I bought a pair of ADK SC-1s about a month ago, mainly for miking acoustic guitar, and they've proved to be quite a revelation.
Working, as many of us are, on an almost non-existent budget, I shopped around and weighed up my options for inexpensive small diaphragm condenser mics. I drew up a shortlist of the usual supects - AKG C1000s, MXL603s, SE-1s, JM27s, Rode NT3s and did some research into their respective pros & cons.
All good mics, each with their own particular strengths, but then someone suggested I take a look at the ADKs.
I must add here that being in the UK, all the above mics are priced at roughly ?100 ( well, the SE-1s are a little cheaper) but the ADKs had a very attractive price tag of ?49.99. It turns out that they're made in China by S.E Electronics to specifications set down by ADK and, on the face of it, there seemed to be very little difference between these and the SE-1s & JM27s ( which are also made at the factory).
So, since I could bag a pair for under ?100 I went for the ADKs.
I tried them on a medium sized Takamine acoustic first, one on the body, one pointing at the 12th fret - they were ok, maybe a little harsh sounding, but not bad. Then I tried them on a Gibson jumbo. Big difference - they worked a treat, and didn't have the boominess of other mics I've tried on this guitar ( like the AKGC1000s) and captured the tone very well.
Being wide cardioids, they tend to pick up a lot of vocals if you're recording guitar & vox at the same time, so placement is paramount in this application - and some degree of separation with baffles was neccessary to get a useable guitar sound. On the plus side they make great overheads for drums as a result of their polar pattern, and they've also seen action on mandolins ( they REALLY love the mandolin), guitar amps ( pretty good, but not the best sound - tend to be quite *fizzy* - which some will love I'm sure), banjos ( excellent) and various percussion instruments ( again, excellent - particularly on a tom-tom I played with beaters).
I know there are better mics out there, but for the money - and their usefulness in a wide variety of situations - I really must hand it to ADK. They've made a great little mic - and they're practically giving them away at the price. Also, ADKs' main man, Larry Villella, is always happy to respond to any questions about his products & I'm very impressed with their level of customer service.

[Larry J. Villella, ADK]

I appreciate the nice review of this mic, but I feel compelled to make a few
observations and corrections. The following statement is not correct:

"It turns out that they're made in China by S.E Electronics to specifications set down by ADK and, on the face of it, there seemed to be very little difference between these and the SE-1s & JM27s ( which are also made at the factory)."

First of all, despite claims made at various trade-shows and postings,
there is no relationship between SE Electronics and ADK. ADK was around
long before SP, SE, and even before MXL. If there is little difference between
our entry-level mics and any other brand of mic and ADK, it's because
these companies have copied or produced variations on mics that we developed.

We build microphones in Five Different Facilities, including Belgium and USA.

I know of no other microphone company that owns any of these facilities!

I am not saying the reviewer is telling an untruth, just that he
has been mis-informed. (Not the first time we've hear this myth!)

ADK is small group of musicians living in the woods who decided they
could do a better job of building mics than the major brands. We began
in 1998 with the idea of simply building a few mics for our friends.

That commitment remains today. We have one purpose only: to make
our clients sound good. Get a copy of "Genius Loves Company" - Ray
Charles Duet CD - and decide for yourself. 22 ADK mics were used in
the studio for these Live Orchestral Session. At ADK it's about the music!


Respectfully,

[joelpatterson]

Larry, you sound like a very committed guy, and I personally would love to hear what your mics can do. But... how do I say this... your style of expressing yourself... you've come a long way from the woods.