Warm Audio WA-251

I've been using the WA-251 primarily for vocals, acoustic guitar and as a mono room mic for drums. 9 out of 10 times it's running through a Focusrite ISA pre-amp, usually on the '110' impedance setting, just for full disclosure.

As a vocal mic it really stands out - it's rich, warm and bright (but certainly not harsh). I've primarily used it for male singers in the baritone-to-tenor range doing rock-ish songs. I've done occasional work with female singers in the pop and jazz genres and it works like a charm here as well. Proximity effect is negligible and a well-schooled singer can deal with any problems that may occur. No sibilance issues of signficance either.

For acoustic guitar the same qualities shine; it's rich, full and warm and bright enough for that really 'expensive' sound. I've usually got it set up around 25-30 cm's away, pointed towards where the neck meets the body, using the cardiod or omni pattern. It sounds amazing.

For drums, I like to put it 5-6 meters out, at about 2 meters height, angled slightly downwards in the omni pattern. If the drummer is a cymbal basher, I'll put it around hip-height instead. Clean, crisp wonderfull image of the full kit.

Pro's: It sounds AMAZING! I know it's not cheap, but it sounds much more expensive than it is. It's a beautiful vintage design to look at, but the sound is what matters, and it does not disappoint.

Con's: Takes 10-15 minutes for the tube to fully warm up. Usually not a problem in a session, but it might bother some.

I highly recommend this microphone. If you're considering this mic, odds are you've been looking at the WA-47 as well. I've auditioned both and for my applications the WA- 251 won hands down.

I bought the mic some months ago just for fun as a global hype raised around the microphone. People were talking about the fantastic sound, that would be way above its price and yep, the sound is good! It has a warm sound with a super soft treble. This soft sound makes recordings with the microphone quite easy as singers appear sounding good even without the best performance. That's a difference to my Neumann U87! The U87 doesn't have this soft warm sound, way more it has a sharper, more precise sound with a "more-quality"-sounding character. The high frequencies are in a way better resolution on the Neumann used with a Neve 1073 preamp and give you more options to mix the vocals in post. The WA-251 sounds way cheaper but good for its price range. You cannot go wrong if you are searching for a good sounding mic for less than 1000$ (even though Neumann offers great quality mics for less than 1000$ as well). The biggest "flop" is the microphone mount itself. The quality is far behind "fine" and it keeps and keeps loosing grip which makes it hard to fix the mic in one position. Keep this in mind when buying the mic.
Cables seem to be good, nothing special or super high quality - but good.

SO OVERALL:
+ good sound for less than 1000$
+ included cables are ok and not too short
+ you can record after ca 15-20 mins of warming up the tube -> that is good!
+ great for beginners that cannot compare to higher-value mics or for pro's who just want a "new" mic to use for certain situations
+- singers can sound better because the mic does not create an "honest" sound which could be great for some situations (or singers) or bad for others
- the mount quality is horrible
- the general build quality is not on a high standard
- it can be more difficult to embed the track into a mix as it delivers a soft sound

--> build quality is behind the amount you pay (other mics in this price category are built better, especially the accessories)
--> sound quality is a little better for the amount of money you pay compared to other mics

--> just buy it or try it out in a shop or your studio and decide wether you like it or not, it is depending on the situation.


Note: it can be great for voice overs though!