The DynaCaster is a dynamic end-address cardioid broadcast-style mic hiding a potent trick up its sleeve. It’s a little stubbier than an Electro-Voice RE-20 or a Shure SM7B but its all-metal construction and solid build gives it a reassuringly weighty feel. Drop this thing and your toes will come off worse.
The design is beautifully executed. The engineers at sE have invested a lot of time ensuring the integrated swivel mount will attach to virtually any mic stand or boom arm, making it a doddle to set up. It’s also easy to clean the built-in, three-layer removable pop-filter/windscreen.
Its custom aluminium voice coil-equipped capsule, which is suspended in an integrated shock mount, is similar to the one you’ll find in sE’s well-respected V7 hand-held mic but it’s been fettled to elevate the DynaCaster up a notch or two.
The magic really happens when you play with the three switches around the back. Fire up phantom power on your interface, activate the centre switch and the DynaCaster’s built in Dynamite preamp will deliver an impressive +30dB of clean gain. This amount of boost is more than enough to get you noise-free recordings, and we noticed that it provided a slightly fuller sound too.
Either side of the boost switch are two three-way tone shaping switches, a low frequency trim and a high frequency trim. The low end can be left flat, boosted to provide extra warmth or cut to eliminate boominess and rumble. The high-end trim works slightly differently, providing a flat setting plus two levels of boost.
Essentially, used in combination, these controls enable you to fine-tune the mic to its surroundings, your talent or both. The inclusion of these tone-shaping tools, the built-in preamp and the DynaCaster’s relatively compact size make it a superb choice for producers on the move, who are often tasked with recording unknown talent in unseen rooms using unfamiliar equipment.