[b mcgibney]

Well somehow I found myself donw at the local music store. Gear lust got the better of me and I picked not one but 2 APEX 460- the last two in the store . These mics are made by APEX-perhaps made in't the right word - they are distributed by APEX which is a wholly owned subsiudary of Yorkville /Long and MCQuade Music -the only national music store in Canada. After a couple of hours here are my observations.

1 Big and heavy-real heavy. I'm guessing 2.5 pounds plus. Thes seperate power supplies aint light either. No wall wart here, three pin IEC cords with a proprietary 7 pin 25 foot cord that runs to the mic-plug your xlr to the power supply.

2. For the dollar the build qulity seems decent. The spider seems a bit cheap but it works ok.

3 Dead silent it ain't although even in the first hour the noise floor came down as the mic warmed up and burned in--makes a great hand warmer in cold studios

4. Sat the two mics up about 16 inches away from my acoustic guitar. Ran throught the 9 (count them) variations of omni,uni, and figure eight. with variations in between.. Even though I have not sung into it yet i just like the sound of my spoken voice . FWIW the four mics I have been using are C-1000s, C-2000b (which despite the fact that nobody else seem to like it it do) a old sm 87 and a AKG d330..

5 Obviously I have not tested these mics fully but am pretty impressed. Big ,full, smooth with nice top end that seems bright but not too harsh.

6. The price kills. 250 Can = stereo tube mic/multi pattern for less than 575 for the pair -taxes in

7. My one worry is the reliabaility /repairability of these chinese made mics. We will see


Brian