I've been doing some upgrading to my home studio lately and have been having way too much fun (and working too hard!). Outside of microphones, preamps, software, control surfaces and acoustic treatment upgrades, I grabbed one of the little small-diaphragm condensor mics from Avant: the Avantone CK-1.

I haven't had the opportunity to really try this thing out yet, but so far, so good! I tried some voiceover with this little mic as an odd introductory test. Oddly enough, I may have found one of my favorite sounds for my voice (in certain situations). This little mic was picking up everything in its vicinity with ease.

I have to admit, the fit and finish was a little rough. I had to clear some of the grill vents of flash and reposition the internal screen, but overall it's very nice. The option of three different capsules makes this mic more than worth its asking price.

I have a performance coming up with a saxophone quartet and hope to capture that with some of my new ribbon mics, but the next rehearsal we have in a nice space, I will be placing the Avantones up to see what gets captured. Looking forward to it!