recordinghacks

Mojave Audio MA-201 FET

Cardioid Condenser Microphone

The MA-201 FET is David Royer’s first FET mic under the Mojave Audio name. It features a fixed-cardioid, 3-micron large diaphragm capsule, a Jensen output transformer, and “ultra clean” circuitry in between. It is billed as a solid-state version of the MA-200.

The PCB has very few components on it. There is no DC converter; the capsule is polarized at about 45V. There is no pad nor filter.

Dusty Wakeman, Mojave Audio

[The MA-201FET] has more of a presence peak [than the MA-200], so some of our rock drummers are preferring it for drum overheads over the 200, which a little more of a pretty, open, airy sound, U-67-ish sound. The 201Fet has more of a presence pump to it. It works great on bass guitar amps. I call it the “poor man’s 47FET.” It works great on kick-drum; use it with a dynamic microphone on the kick drum and it works wonderfully.

It ships with a suspension shockmount in an aluminum flight case, and carries a 2-year warranty.

Pro Audio Review, 2009-03

Room miking revealed the wide cardioid pattern of the MA-201; it was nearly as open as my omnis…

After spending several months with the MA-201 FET, I’ve found that during the microphone selection process, it is applicable to think of the MA-200 as a modern-day Neumann U 67 and the MA-201 as a modern day Neumann U 47 FET.

Electronic Musician, 2009-03

One standout application for the MA-201s was on piano… The MA-201s served well spread out across the soundboard, close to the strings for a bright, present, attacky sound… They also sounded great backed off a bit in XY to get a roomier, larger sound for use in a sparser song.

The Mojave Audio MA-201 FET is also known as: MA201.

The mic was released in 2008.

Specifications

Frequency Response - CardioidClick Graph to Compare!

Pickup Patterns	Pads & Filters
Cardioid (11 mV/Pa; 20 - 20,000 Hz)

Capsule Dimensions	Impedance	SPL/Noise
Diaphragm diameter: 26mm Capsule diameter: 32mm Diaphragm gauge: 3 microns	550 Ohms (Low)	Max SPL: 125 dB Self-noise: 16.0 dB(A)

Weight	Length	Max Diameter	Interface(s)
454g (16.01oz)	194mm (7.64'')	51mm (2.01'')	3-pin XLR male (1)

Power Specifications
Requires phantom power Phantom voltage: 48v

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