I’m a very hard sell on new tube microphones – especially on those that fall under the 4k price range. They might sound deceivingly decent during tracking, but once you process the signal for a mix and compression and EQ are applied, the lack of warmth, naturalness, and musicality becomes super apparent and you’re left with impossible problems to fix. With Vanguard’s flagship V13 tube microphone, I was pleasantly surprised! After weeks of working with and putting it up against microphones 20x it’s price, I was impressed by not only it’s quality but it’s incredible versatility as well. I honestly could not find a source that it did not work effectively on. I don’t know what kind of voodoo goes on in the creation of these mics, but I can assure you – the V13 is a major contender at any price point. Even if you have $6-8k budgeted for your next mic purchase, give this mic a listen – you might just end up buying 10 of them.