Lewitt LCT 440 PURE

LCT 440 pure is a beautiful modern designed large diagram condenser microphone with impressive electronic circuit and wonderful sounding 1 inch capsule, which can also be found in Lewitt hi-end range of microphones.

The microphone features impressive specs with self noise of 7dB (A) and a sensitivity of 27.4mV/Pa which means it will not introduce any noise in the signal chain and you'll need less preamp gain. It is therefor suitable for recording quiet sources such as Foley.
On the other end, it can handle the SPL of 140 dB, so you can throw it in front of the loud guitar amp or drums without worrying it will distort.
Frequency response is very smooth, with little emphasis on the upper region, which generally help the sources cut through the mix.

The most impressive thing about this microphone is the sound it captures. It is very detailed and refined, with clear reproduction of sound source(s). It's neutral and true to the source, without coloration, but tuned to give a slight boost in high frequencies. It has nothing in similar with the nasty/piercing sound of the overly bright cheep condenser microphones.

I would highly recommend using this microphone for recording Speech, Vocals, Acoustic Instruments, Sound Effects and Foley.

I bought this mic based on fact finding and recommendations from various youtube users.

I was looking for an upgrade from my t-bone sc1100 and although the 200-300 euro choices have some good packages the LCT Pure stood out less about added value and more about quality.The less that came with it the happier i was as i had no need for a pop shield,hard case or even cable.
You get a carry pouch,mini plastic pop shield and cradle and a very well built mic.
Compared to the t-bone the difference in quality of build is obvious,the LCT440 feels like a decent mic.Compared to the t-bone and sound i found the LCT440 to be smoother at the high end and requiring alot less corrective eq in general.
On my voice (baritone) it just kills.On acoustic it kills again.On electric guitar near and far it kills.
Trying to find things i don't like is hard as the LCT440 is a dynamite performer on everything i've put in front of it so far.The leap in quality of recorded sound has made a big impression upon me and i'm over the moon i made the choice of Lewitt.
Picking a mic when you don't have a large budget is really tough so getting it right the first time is paramount.
If you're upgrading from a cheap capacitor then i can't recommend the Lewitt highly enough.For me it's been a tangible step up in quality and it's built to last a good while.Once and if my budget allows i'll go for another Lewitt without hesitation.They have a strong reputation for good reason.