Especially amongst amateurs, microphones remain as one of the most underestimated pieces of equipment in the home studio. People will go to great lengths to upgrade their speakers, their pickups, their amps and guitars in search of the perfect tone, but what many (read: most) fail to realize that the sound they’re looking for is already lurking within the gear they have, and a high quality microphone is likely the key to unlocking it in a recording.
So, what do you do when you’re in need of a quality mic, but you aren’t really sure where to start? We say, you look at the Lewitt 441 Flex. This is an incredible mic that fits the bill across a number of areas when it comes to recording vocals and guitar based music.
In this KillerGuitarRigs Review, we’ll be taking a deep dive into this fantastic mic to bring you all the details on why we love it so much. We do have to point out that Sweetwater did provide us with a Lewitt 441 Flex for the purposes of this review, but they didn’t ask us for any input, and as always, all thoughts and opinions are our own.
So, if you’re either shopping for the perfect mic, or you’re looking to upgrade from your old dynamic mic, we highly recommend that you keep on reading!
Read more about our review process.
Contents
Lewitt 441 Flex: Who is This For?
The Lewitt 441 Flex is a great condenser mic for a number of different user types. First off, it makes a great professional studio mic. If you run, or work in a studio setting, this makes for a great primary mic, as well as a secondary unit in a 2 mic setup.
It’s also a solid choice for enthusiastic home recording amateurs. It handles everything from vocals, to miking acoustics and amps, and offers a range of settings that make it effectively like having a number of different mics.
Appearance / Features / Controls
This Lewitt mix is one of the coolest looking units on the market. We absolutely loved the squared off look, which really helps it to stand out amongst the majority of competitors, which for the most part look pretty much indistinguishable from one another.
The bulk of the body is made with an extremely robust zinc alloy, which asides from being nigh on indestructible, also keeps the weight down to a measly 11.5oz, which is less than ¾ lb!
It had 8 different polar patterns, including cardioid omni, wide cardioid, supercardioid, figure 8, reverse cardioid, reverse wide cardioid, and reverse supercardioid – there was even an illuminated panel to indicate which pattern was selected. This covers more than most people will ever need, which really helps to cement it as a one stop shop kind of mic.
To ensure exceptional audio quality, it came with a gold plated 3 pin XLR connector, plus a gold sputtered Mylar diaphragm. For exceptional high volume performance, it had a massive 144dB max SSL.
It came with a range of great accessories, including a super high quality pop shield, a wind screen, a shock mount, a mic stand adapter, and even a storage pouch.
Performance / Features
In terms of performance there aren’t many mics that can top the Lewitt 441 Flex within its price point. The range of features is unmatched, and the overall fit and finish is spectacular.
It was exceptionally versatile thanks to the variety of polar patterns. Some mics may have 2, 3, maybe 4 options, so having 8 was really fantastic. Switching between the patterns was simple, and this made on the fly adjustments super easy.
The lighted logo was one of our favorite features. Not only did it look great, but it actually gave a visual indication as to when the mic was clipping, as the light turned red. This isn’t particularly common on mics, but we found it extremely beneficial, as we were able to make level adjustments right away.
We found that it was particularly exceptional when it came to vocals. It lent a really nice, bright tonal quality that complimented a range of vocal styles. We spent most of our time using the standard cardioid pattern for vocals to get a nice proximity effect.
After making our way through the rest of the polar patterns it was really clear that each setting delivered dramatically different results. If you’re skeptical of the abilities of such an affordable mic to offer so much functionality, we can assure you, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Its ability to handle acoustic guitars was also fantastic. Miked at the 12th fret, it captured every element of our Martin D-18s natural character, which is not easily done with as little effort as was required here. For this take, we set the mic in an omni pattern to try and capture more of the room acoustics in the mix, and the results were fantastic.
Because its max SSL was so impressively high, we also had great success when close miking heavily overdriven amps. Of course, speaker quality will impact your individual results, to, but trust us when we say this mic works with you, not against you.
Final Thoughts on the Lewitt 441 Flex
At first you might not think a $400 mic could be considered an “affordable option”, but when you stop and think about the incredible build quality, the light weight, the tonal versatility, and of course, the superb sound quality of the Lewitt 441 Flex, you’ll probably change your mind. It really is like having 8 mics in one – something that home recording enthusiasts will definitely appreciate.
If this sounds like the kind of mic you’d find useful, head on over to Sweetwater and get your own Lewitt 441 Flex!
