user reviews
“We were so blown away by the Potofone, we never looked back.”
“What I hear when I am playing is translated to the recording media.”
“The recording sounds as 'real' as the instruments sounded in the room.”
“Very natural sounding, therefore they make great room microphones.”
“Anyone interested in expanding their tonal pallet should definitely check this mic out!.”
“I was blown away by what I heard when I put it on an acoustic guitar. The top was smooth and clear, with no spiking, and the bottom reached down.”
“The Potofone is very open sounding with tons of low end. It has become my secret weapon.”
“The Potofone manages to be warm and natural sounding while at the same time capturing the detail necessary for modern recording needs.”
“I use it on everything. The Potofone has more high end than other ribbon mics I have used…”
“Nine times out of ten people have noticed the warmth, extended low end and overall organic musicality of the microphone.”
“…the Potofone 3552C Ribbon Microphone is definitely a unique recording piece. There is a kind of warmth that we can only get with this ribbon.”
“The Potofone has a permanent place in my mic collection, but because it gets used so often, it never spends much time in the mic closet!”
Craig Bishop
New York Noise - Exec Producer
The Potofone 3552C ribbon mic is a testament to beauty being way more than skin deep. I've used them on brass, drums and vocals. Vocals were full, detailed and in-your-face. As a matter of fact, for the vocal date, we decided to just give it a shot before putting up the mic we'd been using for this singer. We were so blown away by the Potofone, we never looked back.
As for drums, I've used them in a standard spaced pair configuration for overheads with great results. What really blew me away was setting then up in an over/under x-y configuration about four feet in front of the kit and at about rack tom height. Both the sound and stereo image were nothing short of spectacular. Perfect as recorded for straight-ahead tracks or, with the right plugins, a massive Led Zep vibe. I love these mics.
Credits: Mojo Mancini / Regina Spektor / James McCartney / David Kahne / Billy Cobham / David Byrne / Terry Lewis & Jimmy Jam / Change / The System / Tommy James / Spyro Gyra / Television
Chris Bowman
Drummer / Acoustical Designer
"The Potofone 3552C is transparent. What I hear when I am playing is translated to the recording media. For me cymbals and the drums are two different instruments and cymbals can get glassy and crystal sounding. The Potofone is very natural sounding and the drums and cymbals sound clear and even, more than other mics that I have recorded with before."
Credits: Jon Hassell / Paul Bley / Annette Peacock / Percy Jones / Jane Ira Bloom / Ratzo Harris / Larry Rivers / Frank Kimbrough / Dave Binney / Neil Leonard / Leo Smith / Major Lance / Bucky Pizzarelli / Lenny Pickett / Grady Tate / Steve Kahn / Luther Vandross / Patti Austin / The System. Chris founded CHBO Inc., the NYC-based acoustical design and construction firm with over 170 audio and video rooms to its credit.
Chris Butler
Producer - Future Fossil Music
My experience with ribbon mics has been limited to sessions where the engineer would drag out an old, precious RCA 77 or 44 for use on reeds – you know, for 'specialty' applications – and we would all bow down and treat these things with a (justified) reverence. But with the POTOFONE 3552C, I've been able to get and 'get' why ribbon mics are so cool, and are cool for recording anything – put a singer, a drum set or a guitar amp in front of one, and bingo… instant naturalness, a full-range richness. The recording sounds as 'real' as the instruments sounded in the room. The POTOFONE 3552C is well-built, well-thought out; a really great all-around mic.
Credits: Chris Butler led 1980s band The Waitresses. He holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest pop song recording in history, a 69-minute song entitled "The Devil Glitch". Butler produced Freedy Johnston's 1989 album The Trouble Tree. He runs Future Fossil Music/ Future Fossil Records. Past and current credits include The Cranks, Half Cleveland, Purple Knif, 15-60-75 (The Numbers Band), Tin Huey, The Cranks, The Seneca Twins, and Otis Ball and the Chains.
Rick DePofi
Creative Director -NY Noise
"I've used the POTOFONE 3552C on Piano and as Drum Overheads and was very impressed! As overheads, I could only describe them as "Modern-day Coles"... a little brighter, which is welcome for sure. Very natural sounding, therefore they make great room microphones. Not to mention, they are the coolest looking mics in the house!
Credits: Paul McCartney, Rosanne Cash, Shawn Colvin, Michelle Branch, The Wreckers, Joan Osborne, Kelly Clarkson, Elvis Costello, Natalie Cole, Janet Jackson
Jon Diamond
Guitarist / Producer
I had the pleasure of using the Potofone 3552C when producing and playing on the the latest Dana Fuchs record which was recorded at Cowboy Technical Services in Brooklyn with Tim Hatfield (who was quite impressed with the mic as well). The Potofone was able to catch an enormous warm electric guitar sound on a small combo and was fantastically natural yet large and smooth sounding on my acoustic guitars. We had a great array of hi end and classic mics to choose from. The Potofone gave us a unique thing that none of the others had. Anyone interested in expanding their tonal pallet should definitely check this mic out!
Credits: The Dana Fuchs Band. Jon plays guitar, writes the songs with Dana, and produces the music. Jon has toured and recorded with Joan Osborne and Debbie Davies, shared the stage with Etta James, Toots And The Maytals, and James Cotton.
Ed sent me a Potofone to try out. I was blown away by what I heard when I put it on an acoustic guitar. The top was smooth and clear, with no spiking, and the bottom reached down on my J-200 (Acoustic Guitar) like I'd never heard before - and the mic was farther away from the guitar than I usually mic, because I was wondering about level.
Then I did a drum tracking session, and we used it as a mono kit mic, and again I was blown away again. We pushed it down with an 1176 (Classic Limiting Amplifier), and the kick was huge, snare was tight, and the cymbals weren't hurting at all.
So I'm now an official Potofone devotee : )) Way to go, Ed and Dave!!
David Kahne
Producer / Musician / Composer
Credits: David Kahne has worked with and produced Tony Bennett, include Paul McCartney, Fishbone, Sublime, The Strokes, The Rubens, Sugar Ray, The Bangles, Translator, Romeo Void, Stevie Nicks, Teddy Thompson, New Order, Kelly Clarkson, Lana Del Rey, The Outfield, Renee Fleming, Brenda Kahn, Regina Spektor, Ingrid Michaelson, 78violet, and Alexz Johnson, and Linkin Park.
Using ribbons microphones recording my guitar amps has been the most significant upgrade to my sound of late, and my Potofone 3552C Ribbon has been outstanding in this regard. The Potofone is very open sounding with tons of low end. It has become my secret weapon.
Gerry Leonard
Musical Director & Guitarist
Credits: Musical director for David Bowie and Rufus Wainwright. Guitar side man for Suzanne Vega, Duncan Sheik, Laurie Anderson and Roger Waters.
John Leventhal
Producer / Guitarist
The POTOFONE ribbon mic manages to be warm and natural sounding while at the same time capturing the detail necessary for modern recording needs. Good work Eddie and Dave.
Credits: Grammy Award winning producer, musician, songwriter and recording engineer (Rosanne Cash, Shawn Colvin, Michelle Branch, Marc Cohn, Joan Osborne and many others)
I have been elated ever since I received the Potofone 3552C. I use it on everything. The Potofone has more high end than other ribbon mics I have used. Vocals, pianos, tambourines are rich and smooth but not dull when recorded with the Potofone. I use it on drums centered above the rack tom for amazing mids and highs. There is lots of usable low end and it is sensitive enough to use further away than other ribbon mics. For guitar overdubs I use it on small amps 3 to 4 inches away for a full sound. I pair it with a modded telefunken pre. I don't like modern ribbon mics, preferring my two RCA 74s but I don't use them since I got the Potofone. The Potofone 3552C is a special ribbon mic that adds a whole other dimension to the picture.
Kevin S. McMahon
Producer / Recording Engineer
Credits: Real Estate, Ha Ha Tonka, Swans, Titus Andronicus, Frightened Rabbit, The Walkmen, The Felice Brothers, The French Kicks, The Mooney Suzuki
Shawn Pelton
Drummer Extraordinaire
"I have used the Potofone 3552C next to some of the best ribbon mics made. Nine times out of ten people have noticed the warmth, extended low end and overall organic musicality of the microphone. As a drum overhead I prefer the Potofone over all other ribbon mics." - Dig on it...!!!
Credits: Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, Billy Joel, Saturday Night Live
Duncan Sheik
Singer-Songwriter and Compose
"In the building of the new Duncan Sheik Sneaky Studios, one of our goals was to outfit the facility with unique tools for recording. In this day and age of recording 'in the box' we are searching 'outside the box' to set ourselves apart. Ed and Dave's design for the Potofone 3552C Ribbon Microphone is definitely a unique recording piece. There is a kind of warmth that we can only get with this ribbon. There is a analogue vibe that can only be achieved with it. At Sneaky Studios, we are happy to have it in our arsenal of rock (AOR)."
Credits: Duncan Sheik is a singer-songwriter and composer known for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing". Other work includes the albums Great Expectations, Humming, Phantom Moon, Daylight, and Whisper House among others. He has written compositions for motion pictures and the Broadway stage, including the multiple award-winning musical Spring Awakening. He is currently working on new theater projects and an album.
Michael Tudor
Producer / Engineer
"I use the Potofone 3552C ribbon whenever I need a beautiful airy bottom sub on bass amps or room mics. I also use it on instruments that have more midrange sound pressure, like horns, accordion, banjo and solo electric guitar. It makes them sound velvety and rich and sits them nicely in the mix, out of the way of vocals. On drums, the Potofone is ridiculous. With overheads, these ribbons bring a nice three-dimensional image. All that being said, I have a use for these mics on many recording dates. My clients are always impressed. It is exactly the balance this ribbon strikes that makes it a true hybrid between antique technology and modern design. The Potofone has a permanent place in my mic collection, but because it gets used so often, it never spends much time in the mic closet!"
Credits: Ryan Adams, Bacon Brothers, C&C; Music Factory, Moby, Duncan Sheik, Rufus Wainwright, John Cale, Fat Joe, Taj Mahal, The Astrojet, Clara Venus, and Mikki James, Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, HR (of Bad Brains), Ice Cube, Suzanne Vega