CAD M179

CAD M179 Review / See All ZenPro Audio Reviews Here: Review Page

If this site had a “ Warren’s Picks” the CAD M179 would certainly top the list in its price range. I have been a huge fan of this mic for many years. The M179 is variable patterned (by that I mean it doesn’t have “fixed” patterns but rather you use the dial on the face of the mic to choose any pattern or combination you like!) and has a 100hZ hi-pass filter and -20dB pad on board. The M179 at the time of this writing ships with both the hard and spider style shock mount from ZenPro Audio, as well as a black hard case.

I’ve always thought of the M179 as sort of the poor man’s C414. It has a natural sort of sound for the most part, a true workhorse in that it doesn’t impose much of its own tone on the source yet still delivers a lot of detail etc. On acoustic instruments the M179 delivers a full sound, a gentle presence bump brings string sounds out nicely without being bright. The midrange is very well represented but smooth, not annoying. The low end on the M179 is very linear in response and far reaching, we’re talking 10hZ here. Guitar cabs it can work well, and on the right voice (read I don’t think it’s a go-to vocal mic) it can shine.

My real love for the M179 comes in drum use, whether it is for its big beefy overhead sound that delivers the whole kit in a big way…or for its magic it works on close mic’d toms. Totally serious, there isn’t a mic in the world that I would need to swap out my M179 for on a tom. Set to hypercardioid with the pad engaged, it’s heaven on earth for a big sound with a perfect attack and round bottom. The rejection is as good or better than hyper dynamic mics too, but the bleed is so much smoother (bleed matters!). The depth and attack also translates on floor and rack toms, so no more mis-matching mics for me: I get a consistent sound on every tom and I hear all of the deep tone needed for my mixes. It’s also one of the nicest outside kick mics ever, big depth and round sound.

Conclusion: The ultimate affordable workhorse mic, I’ve never heard an M179 sound “bad” especially when compared to anything in its price range. For tom-tom use however, I must say it is THE mic and kills everything else in my experience. Everybody should own one, or our very own 3 pack which covers most drum kits and so much more. This means you could use as overhead and outer kick on certain tracks etc.