Teegarden Audio PPC-125

Teegarden Audio have gone back to first principles to design a versatile studio instrument mic.

Bret Teegarden is a veteran American recording engineer with many high‑profile credits in the world of Christian and Gospel music. Over the last decade he’s built up a successful second career as a designer of audio equipment, with a range that includes mic preamps, valve and solid‑state DI boxes and studio reference monitors, all handbuilt in Nashville. Bret has now teamed up with microphone engineer Steve Mills, who spent 25 years at Crown and played a significant role in the development of the PCC‑160 boundary mic, and together they’ve produced a new range of microphones.

The first of them to reach these shores is the PPC‑125 cardioid capacitor mic, which is the fruit of some refreshingly different thinking. PPC stands for ‘Pure Path Condenser’, and the designers apparently put a lot of work into coming up with an active, transformerless circuit that would offer low noise, minimal coloration and the headroom to handle high sound pressure levels. Another key design focus is consistency of manufacturing, to ensure that stereo pairs are perfectly matched.

In terms of its function and intended role, the PPC‑125 is a general‑purpose studio mic, but Teegarden Audio envisage it being a first‑choice option for acoustic instruments. “We wanted the transient and high‑frequency response of a small‑diaphragm condenser,” says Bret, “and the low‑end warmth of a large‑diaphragm microphone.” To this end, rather than design their own capsule, the duo spent much time auditioning samples from different suppliers until they found one that offered the manufacturing consistency and tonal qualities they were after. They then set to work designing a custom housing and grille that would retain a clean off‑axis response.

Happy Medium

Unusually, Teegarden Audio describe the PPC‑125 as a ‘medium diaphragm’ microphone, as its 25mm‑diameter electret capsule falls between the dimensions of typical large and small‑diaphragm models. It’s not unique in this, but whereas other medium‑diaphragm mics I’m aware of tend to use a side‑address form factor inherited from the large‑diaphragm side of the divide — one thinks, for example, of the Neumann U89 or the Sony C80 — the PPC‑125 is an end‑address design. It is therefore a bit too stubby to be considered a ‘pencil’ mic, but is still much more discreet than a typical side‑address model.

The PPC‑125 is available individually or as a stereo pair. A pair was sent for review, supplied in a plastic case with clips and foam windshields. The build quality of the mics themselves is impeccable, but I would urge Teegarden to find a better case — the current offering looks like something you’d get with a wish.com socket set, and really undermines the sense that you’re getting a quality product.

The published specifications for the PPC‑125 are closer to those of a typical small‑diaphragm mic than to a large‑diaphragm model. No frequency response or polar pattern plots are available, but a deviation of ±2dB is specified across the entire 20Hz‑20kHz frequency range. Maximum SPL is quoted as 140dB, although this is in respect of 3% distortion rather than the more usual 1%. Self‑noise is a respectable 16dB (A‑weighted) and the PPC‑125 can operate on phantom power voltages of 24‑48 V, drawing a modest 4mA or less. There are no built‑in pads or filters.

The PPC‑125 has unusually low sensitivity by the standards of modern capacitor mics, clocking in at a mere 6mV/Pa. For reference, the old Neumann KM84 delivers 10mV/Pa, and most newer mics are significantly hotter than that. Personally, I think Teegarden Audio’s restraint in this department is to be applauded: the PPC‑125 is still more sensitive than typical dynamic or ribbon mics, so you’ll never struggle to get enough signal from it, but equally, you can use it on loud sources without fear of overloading preamps and converters.

Point & Shoot

The PPC‑125’s form factor made it feel natural to compare it mainly with other end‑address mics, though I made sure to try it also in roles where I’d normally use a large‑diaphragm mic, such as on vocals. The KM84 is an obvious reference point in the former context, and using the PPC‑125 side by side with it made for some interesting comparisons. They’re both fine mics on almost any acoustic instrument, but they do sound noticeably different. The KM84 pulls off the neat trick of being rich and detailed without being remotely hyped; there’s a sort of compact, self‑contained quality to its capture. The PPC‑125 feels on the one hand slightly cleaner, yet on the other a little brighter and more open, with a broad presence lift running through the upper midrange and into the high frequencies.

In many cases this presence lift reflected what I’d want to do with EQ to the KM84 in any case, and on instruments such as acoustic guitar, I felt the PPC‑125 delivered something closer to a mix‑ready sound. Where the source is already on the bright side, though, you might need to be a little careful, and for example cymbals that sounded well controlled on the KM84 were a hint on the splashy side when I tried the PPC‑125 as an overhead mic on drum kit. This application also suggested that the PPC‑125’s cardioid pattern is perhaps a little less tight than that of the KM84, as it picked up noticeably more hi‑hat in the ‘floor tom side’ overhead mic.

With its form factor hinting at the aesthetics of typical stage mics, the PPC‑125 might provoke fewer raised eyebrows from vocalists than your average small‑diaphragm capacitor model. Its tonality is also well suited to the role; that subtle presence lift is not so different from what you’ll encounter in many vocal‑oriented large‑diaphragm mics. At the low end, there’s a controlled but noticeable proximity effect to work with, although it shares with most small‑diaphragm mics the quality of being quite susceptible to popping.

The primary market for the PPC‑125 will be engineers, studios and live sound engineers looking for a high‑quality instrument mic, and I think it very much hits the spot.

At the end of the day, though, the primary market for the PPC‑125 will be engineers, studios and live sound engineers looking for a high‑quality instrument mic, and I think it very much hits the spot. Stereo matching is subjectively as good as Teegarden claim, and I didn’t encounter a source that was too loud for it during the review period. It faces relatively little competition from explicitly ‘medium diaphragm’ mics, but there are of course numerous pencil mics in this price bracket, including the beyerdynamic MC930, Austrian Audio CC8, Sennheiser e914, Shure KSM141 and many more. Whichever way you place your money, every mic locker should contain at least a couple of mics that can be dug out and pointed at almost anything with confidence, and the PPC‑125s fulfil that role admirably.