Apex Electronics 210 by Rob Coates
The Apex 210 ribbon mic is not only a well constructed, great looking and great sounding mic, it's also one of the most inexpensive and comes in a really nice aluminum flight case. This was one of the first Chinese ribbon mics to be manufactured, and paved the way for all the others that have followed. This is a big, impressive looking mic that weighs several pounds. Being a so called "long ribbon" mic, it has an extended upper frequency profile, and is a tad more detailed than a short ribbon mic like the Cascade Fathead. One unique feature of this mic is a hard wired cable. The cable that came with mine was about 12 feet long. I actually prefer the hard wired cable as it makes connecting the mic a bit easier. One of the neat things about the Apex 210 is that it is easily modified for even better performance. There are high frequency resonator waffle plates inside of the mic that if removed, really open up the sound on both the high and low ends. Detailed directions for doing that can be found on the web. I've owned many of the inexpensive and medium priced ribbon mics, and my modded Apex 210 beats them all. Overall, the Apex 210 is a really great sounding mic and one of the best buys in a ribbon mic that you will ever find.