Alex Watts

The more I use my Sphere DLX microphone, the more I appreciate what a useful, great-sounding and fun mic it is to use. It’s a modelling mic, which means I can select from a large number of different microphone profiles modelled on real microphones including rare and vintage tube mics, expensive ribbon mics and even the trusty Shure SM57 among others.

The ability to choose between microphone models after recording came in particularly useful following a recent recording session as it allowed me to achieve the exact tonal characteristics I wanted for each of the instrumental tunes recorded. Some of the instrumentals called for a more vintage character, so being able to audition between vintage microphones like a .berlin U47 tube mic and an RCA 77 ribbon was fantastic. Pairing that with UA’s unison pre-amps, vintage compressors, EQs, reverbs and analogue tape emulation plug-ins further enhanced the feel I was going for and made the whole process from tracking to mixing so fun and inspiring!

The pictures show my Logic Pro session with the Sphere DLX and Oxide Tape plug-ins open. And a photo taken from the session itself with Peter Griffin performing into the Universal Audio Sphere DLX mic, a pair of Neumann KM184s in XY configuration, and a Shure SM57 and AKG C1000S as a kind of spaced-pair.