Apex 460 Circuit Mod Review

Editor's Note -- This is a review of our first-generation circuit mod kit for the Apex 460 tube mic. The current version of this kit, now called the Fox 460 Circuit Mod, incorporates several significant updates, including a custom transformer that yields 6dB higher output than the original mod.

Apex 460 Circuit Mod Review, by George Capone, 2014-02-20

The modded Apex 460s are now beautiful.

I did the quick before and after voice over test as recommended and both mics were impressive….

Once they got up over the drum kit, which was the main reason for getting these mics and subsequently the mods, they made the kit sound great. I have been working with them for a couple days a week since the mods. Cymbals are smooth and finally under “control.” The cymbals are so smooth, without peaking frequencies, and especially noticeable is the absence of harshness around 3k-4k. The cymbals shimmer, which is what I’ve been hunting for with EQ, reverb and compression, to no avail, and the cymbal decay is now clear and clean. There is tonal clarity and an evenness over the whole drum kit. Now the drum kit is much easier to mix. We aren’t struggling with tweaks, and we are still experimenting with barely tweaking, and that just might be a habit because they sound great before any tweaks.

I couldn’t be more pleased. If there is a better option I don’t think I’ll know any time soon as these mics are not the weak link in the chain, we can now focus on the performance. While I don’t have direct access to the vintage name brand microphones, we have all heard them on final recordings and this sounds like it is as good as it gets and not “… just for the money.”

These are great modifications and it was the right thing to do for the Apex 460s.


Contact George via Studio 1625 in New Westminster, British Columbia