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sE Electronics have taken the smart step of distancing themselves from the raft of budget Chinese mics dominating the market by concentrating on more esoteric high end products and the fixed-cardioid-pattern Gemini 11 microphone is currently their flagship large diaphragm studio mic. Rather than the usual transformer-coupled outputs associated with this type of mic, the Gemini uses two dual-triode tubes which accounts for its large, impressive appearance. The valves and diaphragm are housed in a substantial coated brass body with a series of holes to dissipate the heat, all topped of with a quality mesh cage. At the base of the mic is a switchable 10dB pad along and low-cut filter, and the mic connects to the chunky, brushed-aluminium PSU via a multi-pin mic cable. The current range of sE tube mic PSUs feature a controlled power-up LED, which blinks for around 30 seconds to give the tubes a chance to warm up, but as with tube mics in general it's best to allow the mic to warm up for a few minutes before you use it .

First up let us say that the Gemini is a very impressive looking, beautifully engineered mic and while I can see the reasoning behind producing a large expensive flagship mic like the Gemini, for me it was just too big and heavy. The shock mount in particular is like a piece of Russian ordenance and it's so big that it does prevent you getting the mic in as close as you would like on some things. There's no doubt that it’s a really nice sounding, quiet, transparent mic but at around £1100 pounds in the UK it faces some stiff competition most noticably from sE's other valve mic the Z5600s which is half the price and which to me sounds as good (with the added attraction of the variable pattern!) I've used the Gemini on lots of vocals and with the exception of one girl singer I’ve been really pleased with it and I don’t know whether it's because of the double valve design but the Gemini really works well close up and gives some fantastic detail without being particularly prone to popping. We’ve never had an expensive valve mic before in the studio and after the revelation of using the new AEA ribbon mics with all their inherent musicality I thought that the Gemini would have a definite character similar to the ribbon but it's really very different. Valve mics are noted for being warm, thick and full but the Gemini is in fact very smooth and transparent, so if you are in the market for a large expensive vocal mic then it does deliver though I personally think its a bit too polite and was hoping for something with a real definite character to match its steroid looks. It is in the nature of mics and recording that for someone out there this mic will be their perfect vocal mic and there are enough reviews around to suggest that for some this is a very special mic. However it’s a tough market out there and at £800, while the Gemini is a lovely microphone, is it really twice as good as the Z5600? Now SE's RT1 tube ribbon.... that’s another story….JS

 

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