The Bottom Line
The Karma K-Micro burst onto the scene as a really, really cheap microphone -- their first run sold for 99 cents per mic! Offering a wide frequency response, a cardioid pickup pattern, and limitless possibilities due to it's small size, the Karma K-Micro is a steal at it's current price of $26 (sold as a matched pair). Perfect for drums (overheads and spot-micing) as well as guitar amps, the K-Micro falls short for room micing and live recording.
Pros
- Only $5 (Sold in Matched Pairs)
- Wide Frequency Response
- Small Size
Cons
- Easy To Distort
Description
- Frequency Response: 50Hz to 13kHz
- Max SPL: 145db
- Cardioid Polar Pattern
- Cost: $5 (Sold individually, or as a pack of matched pairs for slightly more).
Guide Review - Karma K-Micro Miniature Condenser Microphone
The K-Micro has an advertised frequency response of 50Hz to 13kHz, which isn't too bad for a cheap microphone; it sounded great when tested on toms and snare, as well as for drum overheads.One great feature of the tiny K-Micro is the ability to put it virtually anywhere you'd want it; I was able to use a small piece of gaffer's tape to place the microphone on the high-hat stand of a drum kit for an unobtrusive hat mic; I also was able to stick it in a large drum kit's tom set without disrupting the large cymbal pack directly above the toms. Sound quality was tight, refined, and robust when used on toms.
The K-Micro sounded equally good on blues-style guitar amps; it fell a little flat for louder rock kits due to it's easiness to distort; it also sounded pretty distorted when used on a bass amp. For drum overheads, it works well; but the mics needed a little EQ and a touch of compression to sound great.
The area where the K-Micro really didn't do very well was room micing and live recording. For PA recording, it sounded slightly hollow; the bass response overpowered the mid-range, and with extension to 13kHz, the mic was lacking the sparkle of other mid-range microphones.
Freshly updated in 2009 for better frequency response and SPL handling, the K-Micro is really a great addition to any mic collection, but for $13 per mic, keeping expectations in check is very important. For what they are, the K-Micro works fantastic -- and it's an easy way to add some great, utilitarian microphones to your arsenal for pocket change.
