Rode M3 Bundle

This is the second M3 I've purchased - so that in itself gives a hint as to how satisfied I've been with this mic.

As with other Rode products the M3 is VERY solidly built and feels like a substantial piece of kit. It comes nicely packaged with a leatherette pouch and a very good quality mic clip, a well as a basic foam windshield. The M3 also comes with Rode's impressive warranty.

At this price point, the M3 has some impressive and very useful features - pad switch, a bass roll-off filter, and the option to power it by battery - very handy if no phantom power is available. This could make it a good option for field recording or news-gathering/interviewing applications.

In use I've found this to be an extremely versatile mic - my first test involved an interview-style recording of a presentation my girlfriend was preparing for her job. She was quite taken aback on hearing her voice played back - it was very cleanly recorded, very intelligble and with nice full lows and good midrange clarity. This was done through Motu preamps - so not exactly boutique quality pre's but nonetheless the M3 delivered excellent sound.

I've used it on a variety of sources since - it handled percussion very adequately (bongo drums) and I've used it for single mic'ing of a glockenspiel with respectable results. I've also used a stereo pair during studio rehearsals to capture a trio of backing vocalists, with excellent results.

I can't really fault this product - at the asking price it represents excellent value for money and personally I would favour these over a well-known industry standard dynamic mic for sheer flexiblility. The only slight negative I can think of is that these are fairly large microphones so may not suit every situation. for me this is not a problem, but I can imagine situations where a less bulky mic might be more appropriate.

I would highly recommend this microphone to anyone looking for a flexible workhorse SDC on a tight budget, and I can see myself investing in a few more of them in future.