Lauten Audio Clarion FC-357 Condenser Mic

The Clarion, essentially, is a vintage FET condenser microphone modified with a touch of modern air to its top end. This custom-crafted studio workhorse captures vocals with faithful and present realism, kick drums with rich, detailed impact, and bass guitar with astonishing depth and dimension.

Lauten's custom designed 35mm capsule has a sultry vintage timbre with just the right amount of air. Ideal for use on vocals, percussion and bass guitar, this twin diaphragm design captures sounds with depth, realism and exceptional transient response.

Extending the versatility of the Clarion is a three-position gain switch. The +10dB selection is ideal for use with quiet sound sources and consumer-grade audio interfaces where more character from the microphone itself is desired. The -10dB selection is useful when more colour and saturation from a high-end preamp is desired, or when paired with very loud sounds. Set to 0, the output of the Clarion is at its default output selection.

Polar patterns have a significant impact on the sound of a microphone because each selection determines what the microphone hears. A Cardioid selection will focus all of a microphone’s attention directly to where it is pointed. This is the most commonly used polar pattern for sound sources such as vocals and bass. Figure-8 and Omnidirectional selections allow the sound of a room or other off-axis instrumentation to be captured in a more open, natural or authentic way. These patterns are extremely useful when recording acoustic instruments like guitar, piano, or drums.

The Clarion signal path is hand-populated with high resolution, low distortion polypropylene capacitors, a US made low-noise FET, and a custom wound output transformer that puts the finishing touches on every sound that passes through its copper windings. The result is a full, smooth, mix-ready sound brimming with life and ready for anything.

After being hand-polished, the Clarion’s solid brass enclosure is hand finished with a durable, non-toxic ceramic coating and baked in an oven for curing before final assembly, burn-in, and testing.