The durable and lightweight Beta 27 has low noise and a low mass, one-inch externally-biased, ultra-thin 24 Karat gold-layered Mylar® diaphragm for recording studio quality. There is a three-position switchable low-frequency filter to minimize stage rumble or the proximity effect from close singers, a -15 dB switchable attenuator and gold-plated internal and external connectors. The mic also has an internal pop filter with three separate mesh layers to reduce wind and p-popping from those same close singers.

I tried the Beta 27 on electric and acoustic guitars. On a Washburn EA-9, I got a very warm and natural sound. The mic has lots of gain as I only needed about 32dB of mic pre-amp gain to do the job. I also noted that since the mic is very directional, I had to precisely place--I experimented with many positions and you should start over the 12-fret. I ended up moving it towards the bridge for a brighter sound.

On a ZT Club electric guitar amp, I switched in the -15dB attenuator pad and aim squarely at the speaker's dust cover as close as I could without touching the grill clothe. Even at this brightest position, the sound was warm and full. Condenser mics in this position usually sound more "fizzy"--not this one!