KEL Audio Ships The P-1 Pencil-Style Condenser Microphone

Canadian microphone company, KEL Audio, is now shipping the P-1, a 20 mm German-manufactured "pencil-style" condenser mic designed for recording acoustic instruments and ensembles.

The P-1 features an 80 dB-A signal to noise ratio and a smooth open sound, along with good off-axis characteristics and fast transient response.

"We tried several ideas but settled on a 95% hand-built, German-design," Kelly Dueck of KEL Audio reports. "It does cost a bit more than our fatter sounding HM-1 but it's still very affordable for the serious home recording artist or professional engineer on a budget. The no-frills approach helped keep costs down. It's just a simple fixed cardioid mic with no pad, or low-cut switches."

KEL Audio recommends the mic for use with any acoustic stringed instrument, or percussion, especially drum overheads.

With its more controlled low-frequency response and lessened proximity effect, the P-1 also lets recordists close mic sources in noisy home studios without any boominess. Unwanted low frequency rumble is also less of a problem when recording on location.

The P-1 ships singly or in factory-matched pairs and comes with a hard-shell case and mic clip. The retail price is $399 each or $799 for pairs and is available directly from www.kelaudio.com