Remic Reshape

Should you buy a specialised instrument mic, or a multi‑purpose ‘pencil’ design? With the Reshape series, you can have both...

Based in the Danish town of Silkeborg, Remic specialise in the design and manufacture of musical instrument microphones. Founded by artist, musician and engineer Thorkild Larsen in 1996, the company’s research has yielded a highly regarded range of instrument‑specific miniature capacitor microphones for grand piano, bowed strings, brass and woodwind. The Reshape RE7100 and RE7200 electret microphones form the company’s first new product line since Larsen’s departure in 2020, and they mark a change of strategy. These two microphones are considerably larger than their predecessors, and their instrument‑specific mounts are sold as separate items, along with a ‘pencil ‘mic’ adaptor that fits into a standard microphone clip.

Black Is Black

Clad in Remic’s classic all‑black livery and sitting at the end of a 2m long black, cotton‑clad cable, the two new microphones share the same form factor: an approximate overall length of 59mm (including the cable strain relief) and a diameter of approximately 8.5mm. The mics’ 8g metal bodies take up the first 29mm or so of their total lengths with their (as best as I can tell) 5mm capsules positioned behind slotted grilles. The impedance converters of both microphones sit inside the cables’ male XLR connectors and are powered by 6‑48 V phantom power.

The RE7100 features a pressure‑operated, omnidirectional capsule that picks up sound arriving from all angles evenly. The microphone’s polar pattern isn’t entirely symmetrical, as there is a +4dB bias towards the front, which won’t cause any issues in its intended applications. The RE7200, by contrast, is a supercardioid mic and thus rejects sound arriving off‑axis, albeit with a slight rear pickup lobe.

Being Specific

Both microphones have a stated frequency range of 20Hz‑20kHz. The frequency response curve of the RE7100 (measured at 15cm from source) shows a fairly flat response up to 1kHz and then a gentle rise to a peak of +6dB at 11kHz, dropping back to 0dB at approximately 19kHz. The RE7200’s frequency response covers the same range, and shows a flat (±1dB) response to 1kHz, followed by a gentle rise to +5.5dB at 7kHz, which then drops to ‑8dB at 19kHz or thereabouts.

The RE7100 can cope with 125dB SPL and the RE7200 can withstand 128dB without exceeding 1% total harmonic distortion (THD). The RE7100’s A‑weighted signal‑to‑noise ratio (SNR) of 68dB equates to a very respectable self‑noise figure of 26dB and a dynamic range of 99dB at less than 1% THD. Similarly, the RE7200’s 66dB SNR equates to a self‑noise of 28dB and a dynamic range of 100dB at less than 1% THD.

Instrument Mounts

The Reshape mounts, which fit both the RE7100 and the RE7200, follow the same form factor and compression mounting paradigm as Remic’s current series of instrument microphones. The biggest difference this time round is that instead of a microphone and its housing being permanently integrated into an instrument‑specific mount, either microphone can be fitted into any mount. This change makes a lot of practical sense in that, for example, a multi‑instrumentalist, recording studio or hire company could maintain a stock of Reshape microphones and mix and match those with mounts as required.

As with their earlier instrument‑specific equivalents, the Reshape mounts for violin, viola and cello are designed to be mounted under the ends of fingerboards, with the double...