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The Pearl MS8 Microphone

In the slow changing world of truly professional microphones, where all too often the wheel is simply reinvented, it is nice to have a fresh entry that actually offers something different. In my opinion, the Pearl MS-8 does just that, and does it very well.

First, just a little bit about MS, or Mid-Side, recording. This technique uses two elements; one, usually a cardioid, facing forward for the middle portion of the image and one "figure eight" element facing left and right for both sides of the stereo image. The mids are typically recorded on channel one and the sides are recorded together on channel two. While monitoring or playing back the original recording, the two channels are passed through a combiner or "decoder" box to produce the left-right stereo image.

There are two advantages to this method: The width of the image can adjusted during postproduction and, the resulting image, if summed, is completely mono compatible without loss due to out of phase frequencies. For this reason, the MS technique is often preferred by, and is most often seen used by film and television productions. Since stereo television broadcasts are the norm in the U.K., mid side recordings are more common than here in the U.S., but we are gradually catching up. Now that popular digital studio mixers such as the Yamaha 03R include mid-side decoding ability, recording studios are bound to discover the technique as well.

Pearl’s MS line is available in two versions: The MS-8, which is a Mid-Side only output and the MS-2 which, while using the MS technique, combines the signals internally to output Left-Right only.

The Pearl MS is an outstanding high quality performer, with very low self-noise and transparent wide response, resulting in very clear and natural sounding low level ambience, which is where lessor microphones usually fail. While it is a natural for ambient effects for film production and nature sound effects, it is also gaining acclaim with sensitive recordings of acoustically performed music such as Classical, Choir and Bluegrass.

Speaking of film production, while certainly passing the sonic qualifications, its physical design (meaning small and lightweight) makes it a natural for location film sound recording. It fits nicely into a medium length Rycote Zeppelin, and using 25mm clips it fits right into suspensions made for the MKH-60, 416, KMR-81, or Schoeps. However, because of its moderate weight, the newer four-point suspension is recommended.

Considering the other options, the price is also a welcome relief. With a nice aluminum case, the microphones list for $1956 for the MS-8 and $2,085 for the MS-2. An optional decoder box is available by Pearl for $340. They are all in stock at Trew Audio. — Glen Trew

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