Beta 91A, 98A/C, 181 Microphone Review - Reviews

Although Shure categorises these as drum mics, their range of applications is actually far wider. Huw Price goes Beta-testing.

Price: £294.00
Manufacturer: Shure
Website: http://www.shure.co.uk

Beta 91A, 98A/C, 181
Manufacturer Shure
Price Beta 91A £294. Beta 98A/C £270. Beta 181 £502 including one capsule (extra capsules £282 each)
Contact Shure 01992 703058
Web www.shure.co.uk

Shure’s Beta 91A is a half-cardioid boundary condenser tailored towards bass frequencies with a switchable 400Hz notch filter. The 98A/C is a mini cardioid condenser and the 181 is a side-fire small-capsule condenser with four interchangeable capsules.

Beta 91A
We started out with both skins on the bass drum and placed the 91A on the floor in front of the drum. It did a fine job of capturing the softer, rounded woody tones of a jazz-style kick, but you will need to build a packing blanket tent over the drum and the mic to minimise spill – especially from the snare.

Next we removed the front skin and placed the 91A inside the drum on a pillow. Once again it captured plenty of the natural tone of the drum, with huge but tight low-frequency content.
By comparison to the AKG D12 we used for reference, the 91A may not be the best option for a dry rock kick with plenty of attack, but it enhanced the sense of realism and tonal depth when we combined both mic signals.

Beta 98A/C
This bijou condenser thrives on close placement, where it produces an extremely realistic and balanced tone. Clarity is impressive and high SPLs presented no problems in any of our tests. It actually has the tonal integrity you might achieve by using a regular mic at a slight distance, but since you can get place it so close to the source the spill issues are minimal.

We started with the 98A/C next to the rim of a snare drum, firing across the top of the skin. Here the tone was wide open, punchy and full of snappy transient detail. Aimed a little more towards the edge of the skin the sound became weightier and slightly more solid. Aimed directly at the skin, from a distance of 2cm or so, any ringing was largely eliminated and the snare had real low/mid thump.

Beta 181
The 181 is probably the peachiest-looking mic we’ve seen since the AT4081 and sonically it doesn’t disappoint. Compared to the 98A/C it prefers a bit of distance, but to be fair, most of Shure’s suggested applications for this microphone – like drum overheads, acoustic guitar and choirs –aren’t usually close-mic’ed.

None of the capsules sounded in any way hyped and once again the overall vibe was natural, balanced and refined. The acoustic guitarist we were recording remarked that it sounded just like his guitar. The cardioid capsule produced the highest output level with just a hint of added shimmer in the high frequencies and slightly fatter mids.

Omni was quietest of all but it also captured more of the subtle transient details and had a greater sense of transparency. By contrast, the hypercardioid and figure-8 capsules sounded a little pinched, but we’d love to try a pair of 181s in mid/side stereo.

Sounding off
Much depends on starting out with a bass drum that sounds pretty good already because the 91A won’t do it any favours. What’s more, boundary mics like this one can’t really be placed directly in front of the beater.

The 98A/C is a one-stop solution for snares and toms that requires little or no equalisation and will probably eliminate the need for an under-snare microphone. However, it is very delicate and will need to be handled with care. After one session the spindly cable managed a fair impersonation of the Gordian Knot, so we’d suggest this mic for studio rather than live applications.

The 181 is beautifully made and the capsule fixing arrangement allows you to swap tops without having to reposition the body. We were also impressed with the ‘grown-up’ sound quality. While it isn’t necessarily the world’s most exciting-sounding small-capsule condenser, it does seem to work on just about anything. MTM

Verdict
WHY BUY
Low noise
Great build quality

WALK ON BY
91A is highly specialised
98A/C may be slightly delicate
These microphones are versatile, beautifully made and sound superb in a variety of applications.
91A
★★★★★★★ (7/10)
98A/C
★★★★★★★★ (8/10)
181
★★★★★★★★ (8/10)

Score: 7

This review first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 99
Filed under Home, Microphones, Reviews, Shure Microphone Reviews

/mtm/reviews/beta-91a-98a-c-181microphone-review

New users, please register here

Please enter your details below to set up your new account. Fields marked with a red asterisk * are required.

Your name
*First name:
*Last name:
Job title:
Company:

Account settings
*Email address:
	Please make sure your email address is correct, as we will send you an email with a link to activate your account.
*Username:
	Choose a username between 7 and 100 characters in length, without spaces or unusual characters. You may use your email address as your username, but note that it may appear in community areas of the site where others can see it.
*Password:
*Confirm password:
	Choose a password between 7 and 100 characters in length, without spaces.
	Remember me on this computer

Your address and contact info
Address 1:

Town or city:
County or state:
Postcode or ZIP:
Country:
Telephone:
Fax:
Website:

	By registering to use the Music Tech website you agree to allow us to contact you with our Music Tech email newsletters featuring news, competitions, exclusive content and special offers, as well as with communications from our carefully selected music technology retail and manufacturer partners. If you provide phone and post details we may contact you by those means as well with special offers relating specifically to Music Tech Magazine and our other publications. WE WILL NOT PASS YOUR DETAILS TO ANY THIRD PARTY. If at any time you wish to stop receiving our email newsletter, simply follow the Unsubscribe instruction on our newsletter. Contact us by email of post if you wish your post or phone details to be removed from our database.

MTM 111	FXpansion BFD Eco Review For those who don’t want to go the whole hog and dish out for the full version of BFD 2, BFD Eco brings you many similar features...	MTM 108	Brainworx Vertigo VSC-2 Review Brainworx’s latest plug-in is modelled on a £3,600 German-built VCA compressor. Mark Cousins finds a head for heights.
MTM 108	Yamaha 01V96i Review The latest incarnation of Yamaha’s new digital console continues the evolution of the 01V. Mike Hillier takes to the stage.	MTM 107	25 Tips for Mix Processing There is a multitude of mixing tools and features to be found in every DAW, but how and when should you use them? Liam O’Mullane takes you through the options.
MTM 107	Control for Live Performance Marrying technologies old and new with the traditional aspects of live performance, controllerism is one of the fastest-growing arenas, both in terms of music itself and the kit we use to make it. Hollin Jones reveals how you can get a slice of the		Music Tech Focus - Ableton Live 2012 MTF Ableton Live 8, 2012 edition is on sale now featuring 132 all-new pages of Live 8 Workshops, tips, features and interviews - buy online now
	Music Tech Focus - Synthesis 2012 MTF Synthesis 2012 is on sale now featuring tutorials for Arturia, Cubase 5, Logic Pro 9, Massive, Reason 5, Razor, FM8 and more	MTM 106	25 Pro Tips for Kick-starting Composition Initial ideas that spark the songwriting process must inspire you enough to see it through to completion. Liam O’Mullane explains how he gets the fire going...

Shure Beta 91A, 98A/C, 181 Microphone Review

Sign in to download this article

New users, please register here

See also...

Menu