When all over the world people restricted to working from home tried to connect whatever microphones they had at hand to record, live stream and even for conferences, the results were seldom what people wanted. In many cases these users found out that the microphones didn't provide enough "sound" when connected to standard USB interfaces and preamps, and that voices sounded thin and the recorded signal was sometimes noisy. Companies such as Shure were also surprised to see sales of its SM7B vocal microphone quickly selling out existing stocks, which in turn generated an Internet trend from unhappy users discussing the inability to get the sound they expected - and which they appreciated from watching trending videos.
Fortunately, the buzz about the solution quickly spread and it mentioned the name Cloudlifter - and specifically the CL-1 as the magic solution to boost the quality of results. Today, the CL-1 is frequently found in online retailers in a bundle with the SM7B. Particularly for people recording more ambitious material at home, or producing podcasts, the combination was like a perfect match, with the cardioid capsule helping to avoid the poor acoustics of home recording and the CL-1 adding the boost and the sparkle to the intended source signal.
For Cloud, this also means that its Cloudlifter products in general are now globally recognized and appreciated and launching a new model, featuring Cloud’s signature gain boosting to match a wider range of popular microphones was an obvious expansion opportunity. Of course, its uses now, need to go beyond adding gain and clearly enter also the creative realm that the range was always intended to deliver.
The included nickel-core Cinemag transformer delivers an incredible amount of bandwidth at normal input levels, and can also provide a variable amount of harmonic content and saturation as the input signal is increased, adding extremely musical flavors to the CL-X’s output, which can change dynamically based on the input level of the source material.
"Our customers love the CL-1 for its ultra-clean, transparent gain," says CEO Rodger Cloud. "With the addition of a custom transformer, the CL-X will respond to different sources and input levels, returning ultra-clean gain with varying levels of character and mojo. We like to say ‘the more signal you give it, the more love it will give back’."
"The CL-X is the perfect companion piece for CL-1 owners," says Cloud. "The additional gain settings – neither of which can be found on the CL-1 – combined with the sonic flavor of the transformer opens up a whole new world of Cloudlifting possibilities."
The Cloudlifter X uses parts sourced exclusively in the USA and carries a $269 MSRP with a MAP price of $229, and is currently shipping. CineMag transformers, with its history going back to the 1940's as Reichenbach Engineering, still manufactures all its products in-house at Simi Valley, California.
www.cloudmicrophones.com
