For the first time in its history of world-class microphones, Mojave has released a handheld microphone to contend with the usual suspects: the Mojave MA-D dynamic handheld.
American company Mojave was started out in a garage in 1985 by audio legend — and technical grammy award winner — David Royer. While he’s well known for his ribbon microphone designs with Royer Labs, he’s also built a reputation with Mojave with his Tube and FET condensers.
To add to the collection of “affordable microphones without compromise” is the brand-new Mojave MA-D. It’s a handheld dynamic microphone that is going to give those expensive handheld condensers a real run for their money. We tested this out in the studio with Indigenous artist Aodhan with a stripped-back version of his single Catch Up.
The Mojave MA-D has a sleek and classic design, feeling solid to hold and not trying to be too flashy or be something it’s not. Fitting right at home on a dark stage — being all black except for an elegant badge — it’s got a smooth sound and focused cardioid polar pattern to reject those drummers who find it hard to adapt to the room they are performing in. Come on people!
Aodhan has been around for a minute, he’s done a whole lot of weird and wonderful shows around Australia, so he’s used to the live stage and those staples that come with it. After quickly smashing out an acoustic guitar track, he grabbed the Mojave MA-D and gave us a few takes — both for him to get comfortable and for us to have a decent reflective listen.
Having used this microphone before on a few of our Live from Happy sessions — The Terrys: Doctor Doctor (Live from Happy) — our first impressions were that the Mojave MA-D was clear, high-quality, rejected well, and handled a strong vocal.
Aodhan gave very similar feedback saying that he normally uses the house mics, but found this nice and clear, nice to hold, and was impressed with the quality and feel. As far as the sound goes, it sits in the calibre of the Neumann KMS 105 and the Shure Beta 87A but this microphone comes in at a considerable less amount.
It’s got smooth frequency response — meaning you should be able to add more gain before getting any feedback, a uniform cardioid pattern — which means it focuses only on what’s in front of it, an integrated shock mount, built in windscreen and it comes with a zip up soft case and solid mic clip.
The Happy team were really impressed with this mic and have integrated it into our Live from Happy sessions as the go to vocal mic. The Mojave MA-D comes in at $354 Australian dollars and you can pick one up from mixmastersproaudio.com.au
