recordinghacks

Violet Design Ltd. Black Knight

Cardioid Condenser Microphone

Violet’s Black Knight is a transformerless, fixed-cardioid mic that is developing a reputation as a studio workhorse. It exhibits nearly flat frequency response, with a subtle bump around 3 kHz.

The capsule is a dual-large-diaphragm design (yet has a fixed cardioid pattern), with a 27mm 6 micron edge-terminated Mylar diaphragm coated in Violet’s proprietary gold alloy.

The grille is made of an open brass mesh, which can reduce the reflections that occur within headbaskets made of multiple layers of screen and foam. This design necessitates the use of a pop filter when tracking vocals, but results in a clearer, more transparent sound for instrument recording.

Connor Smith - The Studio Files

The Black Knight is a great vocal mic; its subtle boost around 3k brought out the best in my voice. It also seemed to capture the lower midrange frequencies very well, not coloring them (or cutting them) like some mics can.
The Black Knight could definitely be a “workhorse” mic for any studio. It sounded great on anything I put it in front of. The swiveling head is the most convenient feature I’ve ever seen on a mic.

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Specifications

Frequency Response - CardioidClick Graph to Compare!

Pickup Patterns	Pads & Filters
Cardioid (33 mV/Pa; 20 - 20,000 Hz)

Capsule Dimensions	Impedance	SPL/Noise
Diaphragm diameter: 27mm Diaphragm gauge: 6 microns	50 Ohms (Low)	Max SPL: 134 dB Self-noise: 6.5 dB(A)

Weight	Length	Max Diameter	Interface(s)
450g (15.87oz)	208mm (8.19'')	44mm (1.73'')	3-pin XLR male (1)

Power Specifications
Requires phantom power Phantom voltage: 48 ± 4v

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