With its clean, streamlined all-brass construction, Ear Trumpet Labs' Wanda seems to be the first of their unique microphone line that has no plumbing or bike parts in sight. A 26 mm diaphragm phantom-powered condenser mic, Wanda measures under 4-inches long by 2-inches in diameter – with a built-in 5/8-inch stand mount that pivots front to back. The mic feels solid, like no drummer or clumsy engineer could do much damage. Wanda was designed to handle high SPLs and given how many ETL products I see touring through town this makes sense. The mic shines with the clean brass finish, and though it's less of a look-at-me than some ETL mics it doesn't look like anything else currently out there. The medium-large diaphragm uses a transformer-less FET circuit, and all ETL mics are hand-made in their fun Portland, OR, shop; see my interview with founder Philip Graham in Tape Op #159.
We've had a Wanda prototype at Jackpot! Recording Studio for several months and later received a proper production model. The first test I gave her was a last-minute tambourine overdub on a hurried session. Over the years, I've noticed many condenser mics fart out and clip internally when confronted with a tambourine, but Wanda captured the hits and off beats with elan, and also sat in the final mix quite easily without a lot of compression or EQ.
On acoustic guitar, placed pointing at the join/12th fret area, it had a wonderful, rich tone. It was not shrill or super bright by any means, but delicate finger picking was well-articulated and low notes carried substantial weight without getting boomy. On harder strumming, the guitar's midrange came forward in a perfect, usable way. The balance of frequencies from this mic on acoustic guitar was spot on, and my assistant and I both though the result almost sounded compressed in a way as if the mic added some of its own focus.
On electric guitar amp, it was able to handle a dimed Benson Vinny Reverb with no audible internal mic circuit breakup or capsule issues. With softer playing styles, it, once again, didn't over-accentuate the high end but presented a very workable sound. In fact, at a few points I felt the mic'd sound in the control room was better than the sound in the live room. And again, there was almost a compressed focus to what it was capturing. Compared to a Langevin CR-3A with its -10 dB pad on (a Manley-made Neumann U 87-style mic), Wanda had a similar output level before the preamp. Tonally, on the amp the CR-3A felt scooped in the mids after enjoying the ETL mic, but then Wanda felt midrange-forward and not as bright or harsh as the CR-3A. I began to get the feeling that Wanda wants to almost sound like a dynamic mic more than she wants to be a condenser mic! I think this is a very useful place to exist, where actual clarity isn't all about top end frequencies.
On snare, with the mic right up on the rim and the preamp turned all the way down (without a pad on), Wanda had a full-bodied low end punch with an excellent top end crack on even the loudest hits. With brushes, the articulation was smooth – more like a ribbon – and was very usable in the mix when played this way. This mic is definitely designed not to fail under higher SPLs, and we kept finding it could handle everything we threw at it without an external pad needed. I always regret having to use pads as they don't ever sound quite right to my ears.
On electric bass cabinet, Wanda is an excellent choice. The balance of lows and higher frequency articulation is perfect. I vacillate between condenser and dynamic (ribbon or moving coil) mics on bass cabs and sometimes will use both. Wanda lands in a really good spot, catching my typical playing-melodies-against-open-string style very well, and also clear as a bell when I switched to a flatwound string bass and played in a lower, groovy register.
I never got a chance to try Wanda on a singer, but I'm curious. I heard a major star is taking a few on tour for vocals, and I'm dying to hear that! There's a multiple layer pop filter built in, which also might explain some of the tonal color of this mic (it's not shrill!). Being that one of my favorite voiceover mics is also my favorite bass amp mic, I see a similarity here. Trumpet and other horns and woodwinds would likely do well on this mic too.