Warm Audio WA44
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2024
- This week we're looking at a new offering from Warm Audio. A large ribbon mic based on the classic RCA 44. We put the mic head to head with an original RCA 44BX and see just how close Warm got to the classic sound of a big ribbon mic.
Special thanks to Drew Vision for the male vocal segment IG: @DrewVision
Special thanks to Samantha Howard for the female vocal segment linktr.ee/iamsamanthahoward
IG: @iamSamanthaHoward
What I used for this video (Amazon Affiliate Links):
Blackmagic 6k for in studio shots: amzn.to/49B2blm
Rokinon Cine 35m lens: amzn.to/3IokApu
Rokinon Cine 24mm lens: amzn.to/4c0hgyk
Parabolic Soft box: amzn.to/434ejsz
Key Light: amzn.to/3IkTr6K
Fill Lights: amzn.to/3TpHW4w
Sconce Lights: amzn.to/3wDvmpl
Teleprompter: amzn.to/49Ax35f
00:00 - Intro
00:24 - The Warm Audio Debate
02:45 - About the RCA 44 (A, B and BX)
06:10 - Why recreate a 90 year old ribbon mic?
06:49 - Ribbon Motor Comparison
09:32 - Spoken Word Test
10:41 - Piano Test
10:45 - WA44
10:57 - 44BX
11:12 - WA44
11:18 - 44BX
11:22 - WA44
11:27 - 44BX
11:33 - WA44
11:39 - 44BX
11:45 - WA44
11:51 - 44BX
11:57 - Electric Guitar Tests
12:02 - WA44 Clean Guitar
12:15 - 44BX
12:28 - Royer R121
12:41 - WA44 OD Guitar
12:54 - 44BX
13:08 - Royer R121
13:21 - WA44 Dist Guitar 4"
13:38 - 44BX
13:55 - Royer R121
14:11 - WA44 Dist Guitar 16"
14:28 - 44BX
14:45 - Royer R121
15:01 - Acoustic Bass Test
15:05 - WA44
15:34 - 44BX
16:02 - Royer R121
16:30 - Drum Room
16:35 - WA44
16:40 - 44BX
16:45 - WA44
16:49 - 44BX
16:53 - WA44
16:57 - 44BX
17:01 - WA44
17:05 - 44BX
17:08 - Townsend R22 with Putnam 44 Model
17:23 - WA44 Left 44BX Right Stereo
17:57 - Male Vocals
18:01 - WA44 No Processing
18:04 - 44BX No Processing
18:09 - WA44 No Processing
18:13 - 44BX No Processing
18:18 - WA44 Comp. EQ Verb
18:22 - 44BX Comp. EQ Verb
18:26 - WA44 Comp. EQ Verb
18:31 - 44BX Comp. EQ Verb
18:34 - WA44 Mix Context
18:40 - 44BX Mix Context
18:44 - WA44 Mix Context
18:48 - 44BX Mix Context
18:51 - WA44 Mix Context
18:53 - 44BX Mix Context
18:56 - Female Vocals
19:00 - WA44 No Processing
19:03 - 44BX No Processing
19:07 - WA44 No Processing
19:12 - 44BX No Processing
19:16 - WA44 Comp EQ Verb
19:21 - 44BX Comp EQ Verb
19:25 - WA44 Comp EQ Verb
19:29 - 44BXComp EQ Verb
19:32 - WA44 Mix Context
19:37 - 44BX Mix Context
19:42 - WA44 Mix Context
19:46 - 44BX Mix Context
19:49 - WA44 Mix Context
19:55 - 44BX Mix Context
20:04 - Conclusion 
Видеоклипы
I want to acknowledge the fact-based, non-hyperbolic approach you took on this video. Clearly a lot of effort went into this. Much appreciated.
Appreciate your comment and you checking out the vid!
Spot on comment
Just purchased one 10 days ago! Paired with SSL 4K B it's gorgeous sounding! Now the best most honest reviewer on RUclips is talking about it! Thank you
Thanks for checking it out. The stronger output of this mic definitely can put it in the hands of anyone with a halfway decent preamp as it doesn't need a ridiculous amount of gain to get it to a nice place level wise. Enjoy it. I've had a blast using ours so far, and have some clients that are going to be using it for some video stuff later this month.
Fabulous! Any preamp you recommend? I got the WA 273-EQ but in all honesty I preferred the stock pres of the RME UCX!
@@BesharALAzzawi so the higher the impedance at the pre the more bottom end youre going to get from the mic. I love to use my AEA RPQ pres for ribbons, but this mic seems to do well with just about anything that has at least 50db of gain. If youre doing vocals and dont want as much proximity, go with something with a lower impedance. I have tried the mic with a very low mic pre impedance of 150 ohms and, honestly, doesnt sound good to me. But that depends on what youre looking to do with it, as with everything in audio. I like a full sound i can sculpt later if i have any doubts. For something like a snare where i know what i want ill print extra things directly. Voice to me is never a certainty, so i go for the most bandwidth i can get from the combination of mic and pre.
Thanks for your reply! The RME pres with their 2 kOhm sounded beautiful and full. Man you're videos are spot on
So happy that I got the "warm"! I'm sensitive to noise and the warm performed better in that regard! Thanks again for the awesome video!
I think it is a great sounding mic, especially on spoken work or singing. Piano was nice. A bargain for a grand.
It really is. The build quality, something i should have gone into more, is superb as well. Very solid and very close to the original. Theres no plastic on this besides the strain relief for the cable. Solid mic! Thanks for watching!
Great video! The vocal tests sounded particularly good to my ears. I'm used to using the RCA 44 on drum room but I may have to rethink my approach to 44s. That's a pretty awesome vocal sound! Also, I fully agree about 44s not sounding the same. I regularly work at a studio that has 2 and until they were both serviced by the same tech at the same time they sounded dramatically different. Warm 44... here I come.
Jeeez.... You're videos are just outrageously good. Also, that female vocalist is incredible.
Youre too kind and she was ridic.
I think it does, give the vintage sound yes.
For the price, it’s a value for the pro or the home studio enthusiast! I enjoy well made microphone’s or rack gear.
Front End Audio had a 10% off sale so I bought 2. I believe that as long as you're in the ballpark you'll be just fine. Plan on putting them to work on my next session.
For the cost of 2 you still couldnt get one RCA 🤣
Always awesome to see you post! Fantastic rundown and coverage! :D
Thanks for watching as always! Appreciate ya!
I gotta hand it to warm audio, they’ve been improving a LOT. I hated their stuff forever, but their neve clone was pretty decent, not enough for me to buy (i have a BAE pre/eq), but enough to give them some respect. This gets really close just listening to the piano test! And it’s a mic i wish more people would attempt to replicate. The main difference i notice is slightly more forwardness with the RCA mic. Not sure if it is a midrange bump or a transient thing though. Very noticeable in the guitar test more subtle in the piano. Though i liked the Royer 121 in the guitar test the best lol.
I also love that you included the sphere mic, which sounded VERY different. Along with using them as a stereo pair. Felt a bit wonky, but worked better than i expected!
In the context of the mix i felt the original sat way better in the mix. The warm definitely has something working against it, but it gives that flavor for sure! That being said with it being so much cheaper it’ll give that flavor and look for a fraction of the price and that’s awesome! Props to warm audio. Now I’m just curious how it compares to other rca clones that are out there not that there are too many.
I also want to note that with female vocals these differences were less apparent. I’m thinking it may have to do with lower pitched things that makes the differences more noticeable. That being said i didn’t listen to the bass tracks since i don’t usually track upright bass. So it may be one of those mics you pull out for use cases that it doesn’t suffer as much, but then again i feel like where ribbons are meant to be used with are things where you want to emphasize the warmth.
Lastly i love your conclusion, which is also what i like and dislike about warm audio. They start making things look like clones, but they are often not, just a large diaphragm ribbon, so let’s make it look like a 44 but it’s not, it’s a marketing trick and it annoys me. I had a studio say they had all these high end mics and when i got there it was all warm audio. I can definitely hear a difference on all of them, it’s not that they are bad mics, but it’s misleading marketing. And honestly at the price point you can often find similar quality or better mics. That being said at 1k this is a great market to tackle with it sounding so good.
we were trying to get an AEA44 in there as well, things didn't align for us to make that happen though. Price for the AEA is on par with buying vintage, so not sure what the advantage is there. You're spot on, the RCA is a little more mid forward (well, this particular RCA at least). I think this gets me 90% of the way there from a sound perspective and even more so from a looks perspective. For clients that want to shoot videos and want "that" look... its perfect. The sound can be eq'd to get even closer. Perhaps i should try to do an EQ match with comparisons in the furure. Thanks for watching! Appreciate it!
@@meistudiony yeah for sure! the AEA may as well be an RCA at this point, but getting an actual RCA is props!
"For clients that want to shoot videos and want "that" look... its perfect" - exactly! there's something real to be said about that! i think i'm just a bit turned off by WA's marketing so i don't wanna buy their products lol.
@@CreativeMindsAudio i can respect that. Being a DIY guy, i was not thrilled at the business model at first. Something like this though is not easily done without a lot of tooling and metal work.
@@meistudiony oh for sure! Definitely takes a lot of work. they've definitely earned their props.
also would love a detailed comparison of the UAD DLX mic with their originals. been eyeing that one for a while for its versaitility, but will probably just get another 1500 mic (likely a neumann) first lol
Cool mic! Thanks for the video. My last mic purchase to speak of, was a pair of Neumann KM184, so my mic buying is on hold for a bit. My Son on the other hand, got a WA 47 Jr, I believe it’s called… and I’ve heard very good things about that one. We’ve come a long ways since the very first condenser Behringer made, that I bought him when he was a kid.😜 talk to ya later, Buddy. Thanks again!
Thanks for checking it out as always, appreciate it!
@@meistudiony Sorry to bug you. It’s not the Jr my Son has, it’s the tube version. Derrrrrrrrr. Big difference. Also… I talk way too much. ☺️
@@BadChizzle thats even better actually! Way decent mic. And its all good man, love seein comments pop up! Lol
I love ribbon mics. I have the AEA R44. First time I used it I almost cried. I find them hard to describe. The Warm Audio is 1/3rd the price. Since the AEA is virtually an RCA I would guess the comparison would be the same as in the video. I thought the RCA had more dimension/depth. But yes, Warm is in the ballpark.
A friend of ours has one of the AEAs, we were trying to link up before we filmed this video so we could compare all 3, unfortunately schedules didn't align. The AEA had been my #2 choice (and im surprised that even AEA didn't bother with the voicing switching on their re-creations as well... wonder if that transformer is too much of a pain to do today). The prices are just insane though. $3.5 - 5.5K for a mic. :( I think the Warm got me close enough, and in the context of a mix, probably not missing much if anything. I noticed the RCA was a little more mid forward than the WA, and I've noticed that mid scoop kind of thing on ribbons that use neodymium magnets. Not sure if thats a thing or not, just something I've noticed (the royers seem to have it and even the dynamic mics from EV that use neodymiums). Might be something i can look into in the future. Thanks for watching!
@@meistudiony I have been curious about the different tonal characteristics regarding the magnet types in Ribbon microphones also. It is certainly very noticeable in guitar/bass pickups and loudspeaker drivers. I have a diverse range of ribbon microphones , although they are all unique from each other, I seem to hear a distinct tonal difference that seems consistent to Neo magnets in them. They seem to have more prominence in the upper mids and high frequencies. interesting topic..!
I like it.
Aftera bout a month with it, im diggin it!
God I wish I could get this thing! I love that vintage look and the sound is just perfectly smooth.
Definitely something worth saving up for. It's a beautiful piece. Thanks for checking it out!
@@meistudiony I've always loved ribbon mics, some anyway. It's just hard to find one thats very well worthy. This one is it! It's just right. I'd literally compare it to a u87 with how flat its tone is, its natural as it gets.
It looks the business too!
Indeed it does! Thanks for checking it out!
Nice testing and video presentation.
Appreciate it! Thanks for checking it out!
@@meistudiony Keep up the great videos!
The female vocalist is crazy good ❤
lemme tell ya, her first run through, she was clipping both mics from about 2 feet away. Insane pipes! Theres a link to her IG in the description. Thanks for checking it out. (shes gonna be back in a future video)
Easy to recommend the WA44 especially when price is factored in
Yeah, 1/4 the price of an original unit... I'll put that money to good use. This mic is definitely going to get a workout in the studio on a number of projects.
They aren't exactly the same obviously, but that's a thing pretty much always. This was a lot closer than the WA19 vs D19 comparisons I've been hearing, but again, what did those D19s sound like 50 years ago? Who knows. I tend to prefer darker everything, so I love ribbons, but I have used quite a few and I find that even the super cheap MXL ones can sound great if you take the time to open them up and make sure they're in good working order. It's super easy to swap out the transformers in them if you're into that sort of thing. I think Manny from Manny's Mic Locker has a side business that does just that.
I have a pair of the old Fathead 2s with the upgraded transformers in them that I love.
At the end of the day, there's only so much you can do with a ribbon design, and lets be honest, they had most of it figured out nearly a century ago. Of course there's the standards, M130s/160s, 4038s, 121s, and if you have access to those that's awesome, but there's TONS of great ribbon designs out there and they all do essentially the same thing IMHO. I will say 1k$ seems a bit steep... with a little patience I could probably get a matched pair of 160s used for that price... and I would definitely go that route myself.
I really don't understand all the hate for WARM... just like in the live world when people talk shit about X32s... I always have to wonder if they've actually spent any real time on the hardware...
Ive found that most that have drank the haterade towards Warm have either never used or even heard the products and are either just parroting something someone else said, or are trying to use the negativity as some kind of gatekeeping behavior. Most of the money in this mic, im convinced, is in the actual metal work for the body/mount. It is exquisite. Thanks for the comment! I was looking at grabbing a used pair of fatheads to play around with, but every time i see some for a decent price, i get beat to the punch on ebay or reverb. My feed is always like a day late or im a dollar short lol.
I would not spend the money on the RCA/AEA today. The Warm sounds close enough!
I mean... You're not wrong and the proof is in the tests. $3500 vs $999. I can use that extra $2500 for a good preamp and EQ to match the differences if i wanna get picky! lol Thanks for watching!
I agree, Jeronimo
The real deal reproduction of the RCA 44 is the AEA 44 but it's price tag is four times the WA44 so obviously there are some compromises made by Warm but it's unfortunate that they couldn't make a 1.8 micron ribbon like the original RCA mics and the AEA but instead went for a 2.5 micron
I think w the magnets they used in the configuration of the motor, a thinner ribbon may have had too much high end. Eventually i’ll wind up putting a lighter ribbon in there just to see what happens. I have a video planned where i replace the reynolds aluminum foil ribbons in some cheap mics with sub 2.0 micron ribbons. Should be fun.
@meistudiony Yeah the neodymium magnets are another difference and as you stated, I can certainly imagine that using a thinner ribbon might show up the brighter qualities of the neodymium magnets in a maybe less than appealing way.
I think the differences between the WA44 and the RCA show up best on your recording of the upright bass, not because of low frequency content but in the openness of the mid range and the highs. The WA44 just doesn't capture that last bit of detail that the RCA manages to get. Acoustic instruments really tend to show off the differences between a good and a great mic.
Just have to say that this is a very well done review of the WA44.
@@7171jay Thank you really appreciate it. I heard the bass thing you were talking about too. It seems theres a little dip in the mid freq around 700-about 1500 or so. The Warm extends the highs a bit further than the RCA but its like barely a thing. The mid range is where the differences lie for sure though!
Dark sounding mic. Maybe they’re using a heavier ribbon (not as sensitive to high frequencies).
Yeah, its a big ribbon mic. Im rather fond of darker mics.
There's a discrepancy in the upper mid range, (like 3-6k) but thats about it. Both mics are just about equally sensitive in the high upper frequencies (surprisingly up to 20k). The low end plotted almost identical. If you watch the drum example you can see it on the spectrum analysis. The mid range thing is really audibly noticeable on the drums and upright bass. (I hear it most noticeably on the snare drum, which is right in that 3-4k area.) Thanks for checkin it out!
Am I the only one that hears a buzz on the RCA mic on the piano comparison?
No, but youre the first o comment on it! The RCA (like every other RCA i've ever owned/used) is tempermental with ground. Since this mic wasn't mine i couldn't do the necessary modifications (paint removal) to make sure the mic is properly grounded all around. It wasn't terrible with this mic, (ive had some that are attrocious) but its there if you crank up the gain.
@@meistudiony wow! Well that's good to know. Do you know if the newer AEA mics have the same issue?
@@emmanuelechem2811 i havent experienced it on the aeas ive used.
Noise floor is better on the WA44
By a good margin.
I don’t like the low end of the Warm, the original is more vintage sounding as in what’s played from past recordings, Warm is clean aside from the lower spectrum. They’re both huge sounding and the sphere, what the hell was that? It’s a good mic overall but not essential imo.
Its definitely a niche thing. This is not something im gonna dig out for guitar recording probably ever, but i definitely have clients that will want to use it for video shoots. I kinda liked it on drum room too. Something a bit different and i dont have to do much in post with the high end.
@@meistudiony 💯 , I was thinking the exact thing, that it looks nice. The money is in the low side of the spectrum, we say hi end gear but the great capture of the lows is magic and is like good wine and cheddar to mix, easy money. Great video, thanks.
So why would any company, Warm or otherwise, bother with replicating a particular microphone, down to the style of the body and grill, unless it's to piggyback off of that legacy as a means to make sales? There is no other reason. Any excuses about "honoring" this or that are simply just excuses. They could just as easily make a microphone that sounds similar, because not even the originals sound equally the same, and aim for that "sound" but that in and of itself doesn't seem to float enough egos. Sigh! When the day comes that Warm simply makes its own mics without this ambulance chasing behavior will be a welcome day. Until then... this is what we get...Another Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas. He's "good", maybe even a better Elvis than the original, but he's still just another act.
The inner cynic has spoken …. And while i hear you i could not Afford to hear with the Original but WA has helped in That area
That's Warm Audio's thing though, trying to clone/emulate "expensive" and/or old gear at consumer friendly prices.
@@moses1440 replicate at a consumer Friendly Price is the company goal … i bought a couple Like cx 12 for a grand where 25k for an Original simply would never happen so ya Thats the point .. i get a decent representation of something other wise would simply be beyond reality
@@bobbyarthur-yf3yf Yeah, man, that's what i meant 👍 I'll edit the comment.
The Chinese copied everything without any sense of justice and everyone went crazy. Now "American" and German companies are doing it (and also produce in China) and people are talking about "honouring" a heritage. I think that's a hypocritical statement. It's still bad style at least once. For me simply wrong. They even copied the bag of AEA! Good video. The product is a problem. Get inspired by stuff, invent you own stuff and everything is ok.