Realistic 33-1090A PZM

This review is for the Realistic PZM, this mic has an omnidirectional pickup pattern. The condenser microphone on is mounted a couple of mm high pointing towards it's metal body. So it's is slightly more directional than a run of the mill Omni. It uses a single AA battery is used to power it and it doesn't use phantom power. Unfortunately the output is a unbalanced Jack output connector but can easily be modified. There are many mods available around the net for a phantom power upgrade that also increases the spl.

I could't find a manufacturer (Radio Shack) data sheet. On the otherhand from using the mic I can tell you it is usable in a kick drum, bearing in mind the drummer is monster on the drums, so it can pretty much be used on most hi spl sources. The design is licensed by crown and does sound similar to their pzm so I've heard. Never the less it's a great mic with a pretty natural sound and is great for getting say an overall sound for a drum kit string section or used as a room mic but equally works well close up. It doesn't really have any weird frequency boost to colour the sound that much either.

All in all this microphone has excellent bang for buck and nothing in it's price range really comes close. You can pick these up for around £30-£50 depending on condition second hand as they have be discontinued.