SANKEN MICRO SEMI CARDIOIDE CS-1E

The phantom power requirement is no issue in my studio setup, and the included short XLR cable makes positioning this tiny mic a breeze. Picked it up for a rental job and was genuinely impressed by how cleanly it captured vocals without picking up the whole room.

It's so light at just 55 grams that I forgot it was clipped to my shirt during the whole interview, and the short XLR cable that comes with it made setup a breeze. That little semi-cardioid pattern did a solid job keeping background noise out of the recording, which is exactly what I needed for this

Picked this up for a rental job and the tiny 19mm size made it easy to hide on set without looking intrusive. Sound was clean and clear with phantom power, though the included cable is a bit short for bigger setups.