The Amethyst

"The Amethyst" Standard uses a single diaphragm VD26 capsule and is designed for what we know as the modern sound - with airy highs, extended vocal presence, accented low end response and a unidirectional cardioid pattern.

"The Amethyst" Vintage uses dual diaphragm VD67 capsule and is designed for that classic warm sound we know from the classic vintage microphones. It has a slightly wider cardioid polar pattern.

"The Amethyst" Series of studio microphones utilize capsules with 6-micron gold sputtered Mylar diaphragms tensioned and adjusted on precisely made brass backplates. They possess a very fast impulse transient response without sound coloration or low frequency reduction, as well as the ability to handle louder sound pressure levels.

"The Amethyst Standard" has a dark amethyst red body and uses a single large-diaphragm center-terminated capsule to provide a modern, detailed sound with airy highs, medium vocal presence and accentuated low-end response. The internal phantom powered preamplifier is a fully discrete Class 'A' transformerless circuit which provides high output, flat audio response and ultra-low distortion and noise.

"The Amethyst Vintage" has a grey/blue body and uses a dual large-diaphragm, center terminated dual back plate capsule which provides a classical, wide-spectrum, vintage microphone sound. Both models have a unidirectional cardioid polar pattern with minimal proximity effect and are linear over the wide frontal incidence angle. An acoustically transparent head construction reduces internal resonances and reflections. The internal capsule shockmount along with the massive body construction reduces stand rumble, outside infrasonic interference and mechanical shocks.

Both microphones can be mounted directly on a standard microphone stand or in the optional ASM elastic shockmount. Gold plated contacts on the output XLR connector provide a noise-free connection.

Images

The Amethyst
The Amethyst
The Amethyst
The Amethyst
The Amethyst
The Amethyst
The Amethyst
The Amethyst

Description

Both "The Amethyst" models are based on our own original true electrostatic capsules. Large size diaphragms are made of the highest quality 6-micron Mylar film. Using our original technology the diaphragms are tensioned and adjusted on precisely made brass backplates. The diaphragms are sputtered with our special formula of gold mixture. It gives them a faster impulse transient response without sound coloration, low frequency reduction, and adds the possibility to handle louder sound pressure levels. At the end of the manufacturing process each capsule is carefully checked for all parameters and measured in an anechoic chamber for optimum performance.

The unidirectional cardioid polar pattern reduces ambient studio noise. Both microphone models have minimal proximity effect and are working close to linear over the wide frontal incidence angle. The microphone's headgrill is made as an acoustic filter of multilayer brass mesh that reduces plosive sounds, breath, pop and wind noises, minimizes internal resonance effects, but keeps high frequencies and sound transparency unaffected. An additional metal mesh studio pop filter and polyurethane open cell foam windscreen is available as an option.

The internal solid state preamplifier of the microphone is based on class-A fully discrete transformerless electronics circuit, built using only the best quality selected components. The circuit is designed under the highest audio standards and provides a linear audio frequency range, high dynamics, ultra-low self-noise, and very low audio distortion of all types. "The Amethyst" requires quality and stable 48 V phantom power. It is available from external microphone preamplifier and mixing console inputs or from separate phantom power supply units, but some units, though rated as 48 volt sources, may supply inadequate or unstable phantom power, which can result in distortion and degraded performance. Please check your phantom power source under real microphone load.

"The Amethyst" is ready for direct mounting on the standard microphone stand. Rugged microphone construction and two internal shockmounts, separately for the capsule and for the electronics, effectively reduces stand rumble, outside infrasonic interference and mechanical shocks. The additional external elastic studio shockmount is available as option. We recommend to use our audiophile quality microphone cables with gold plated contact connectors to minimize external noise, signal loss and maximize contact quality. The cables are available as an option. Under special order "The Amethyst" microphones are available in matched stereo pairs to provide balanced stereo recordings.

OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES:

ASM - shockmount

VMC - microphone cable

Specifications

Transducer type

electrostatic

Operating principle

pressure gradient

Diaphragm's active diameter

25 mm (1")

Frequency range

20 Hz to 20 kHz

Polar pattern

unidirectional - cardioid

Output impedance

50 ohms

Rated load impedance

1000 ohms

Suggested load impedance

>500 ohms

Sensitivity at 1000 Hz into 1000 ohms load

21 mV/Pa

S/N Ratio CCIR 468-3 weighted

76 dB

S/N Ratio DIN/IEC 651 A-weighted

87 dB-A

Equivalent noise level DIN/IEC A-weighted

7 dB-A

Maximum SPL for 0.5% THD at 1000 ohm load

134 dB

Dynamic range of the internal preamplifier

127 dB

Phantom powering voltage on pins #2 & #3 of XLR

+48 V (+/-4 V)

Current consumption

<2 mA

Output connector

3-pin XLR male, gold plated contacts

Dimensions

168 x 63 x 41 mm, 350 gr

Artists

"Amethyst Vintage sounds awesome. Really amazing on cello."

Bobby Tahouri
Composer.

 

"The Violet Amethyst Vintage pair of Mics just floored me on my old vintage early 1908 upright piano (with the Wedge as a room mic) on up to recording Acoustic Guitars as well as Overheads on Drums...highly recommend this super versatile mic! Also using my Wedge for female vocals a lot...super cool and smooth...all going through various mic pres and my SSL Matrix board...every combo sounds killer"

Doug Bossi
Award winning composer and driving force behind iSpy Music.

 

"Tracked the new Gavin DeGraw & Colbie Callait song called 'We Both Know' using a pair of Amethyst Vintage mics on the piano, and a Black Finger as the hi hat mic. The Amethyst Vintage is great on pianos, drum overheads, and vocals. I like to use the Black Finger on hi hat, and for percussion overdubs as well. It is also a nice acoustic guitar mic too. The Amethyst Standard works really well on guitar cabinets, and on darker pianos that could use a touch of brightness."

John Paterno
Engineer/Mixer/Producer.

 

"I have yet to find a situation where the Violet "Amethyst Vintage" doesn't sound good. I've used them recording acoustic guitars with ISIS, drum overheads on the debut record from my new band Palms, and tracking various percussion sample from glockenspiel to timpanis with Tool drummer Danny Carey. I also love the shock mount system which can easily be adjusted to fit just about anywhere. This is an amazing microphone. "

Aaron Harris
Recording Engineer, Mixer.
Drummer of Palms and ISIS.

 

"I first used Violet Amethyst Vintage microphones while working on the last Volto record ( Incitare) with Joe Barresi. The results were fabulous to say the least. Now they are not only my first choice for overheads on every session I do, but also the most used microphones in my arsenal. From sampling tympani to tracking acoustic guitars, these mics rule! They are versatile, precise, and crush everything in their price range. "

Daniel Edwin "Danny" Carey
American Drummer
(Tool, ZAUM, Green Jelly.)

 

"I recently used the Amethyst Standard on guitars through some seriously distorted amps. I was surprised at how much I liked it. Normally I stick with a dynamic mic and shove it right in the speaker cone, but this mic on a 4x12 provided a clarity and body that helped make the guitars jump out of the speakers. It is also a fantastic mic for piano and acoustic guitars."

Joe Barresi
Record Engineer/Producer
(Kyuss, The Melvins, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard)

 

"I was really happy when I used the Amythest Standard the first time. It was so clear and open, with so much detail shining through. I use a pair of them on overheads, and haven't used anything else since then. I also use an Amythest for acoustic guitar recording, and a pair of them for acoustic piano. Wonderful mics...."

David Kahne
(Sublime, Bangles, Paul McCartney, Renee Fleming, Regina Spektor, Fishbone)


"Violet microphones, the Amethysts in particular, have become my go-to mics on almost everything. They capture the source the way I imagine it."

John Paterno
Producer / Mixer / Engineer
(Bonnie Raitt, Faith Hill, Joan Osborne, Los Lobos)

 

"This mic [Amethyst Vintage] is an amazing discovery! It has all the detail you would expect with a condenser mic, yet it has a body and warmth that I love from tube mics. I first tried these on overheads and realized I didn't need U67's nor EQ anymore - just a great all around mic with amazing definition."

Joe Barresi
Record Engineer/Producer
(Kyuss, The Melvins, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard)

 

"It's clear to me that Violet Design has a winner on its hands with the Amethyst Vintage."

Randy Poole
Pro Sound News

"The Amethyst Vintage is my first choice on piano."

John Paterno
Producer / Mixer / Engineer
(Bonnie Raitt, Faith Hill, Joan Osborne, Los Lobos)


"The first time I try the amethyst vintage was during a session with Joe Barresi in France where we use the mics like Overheads, I was really impress with the well balanced sound we got on the kit, now after I spend more time experimenting with the microphones they become my very first option when tracking drums,with just a stereo pair on "recorder man technique" i can get a huge well defined Image of the drums, for electric guitars the low end it's incredible with sweet highs that never became harsh.. On vocals this mic it's warm and full just comparable with those hard to find vintage tube mics , with the amethyst you'll never be wrong !!!"

Marcel Fernandez

Producer/Chief Engineer Robert Lang Studio

Applications

"The Amethyst" microphones are designed for the recording studio all-around needs, capable of capturing vocals, piano, guitars, drums, percussion, strings, wind and other instruments. The microphones can be successfully used in professional sound reinforcement systems, in broadcast and TV studios, in movie and video industry, project studios and home recording, and many other applications. Both "The Amethyst" models are unidirectional cardioid microphones, please use them from an active side of the capsule marked with Violet Design logo.

The handy compact size and versatile mounting, combined with high SPL capability make these microphones ideal for close instrumental situations. "The Amethyst Standard" is particularly recommended for percussion and stringed instruments. For vocal applications "The Amethyst Standard" is more oriented for a male voice and "The Amethyst Vintage" for a female voice. Use them up close, within 2" to 4" to get best results. The internal amplifier and capsule are hard to overload and are well suited for close miking of vocals.

VOCALS Both "The Amethyst" models are great on vocals recording. Choosing a model is a question of your taste and vocalists individuality. The Standard is more oriented on a male voice, and the Vintage on a female voice, but it is a recommendation only. Use them 3 to 10 cm from capsule to get best results. There is no need to worry about the microphone overload in case of close using. Use pop filters in studio, or foam windscreens in live applications to reduce plosive sounds, breath, pop and wind noises.

PIANO "The Amethyst" Standard gives excellent results on piano. Use a pair or more for stereo recording. There are many methods with close miking, distance miking and combined miking. The result depends highly on rooms acoustics. The right microphone placement is the most important factor. The best method is to find it by your own ear - go and listen.

ACOUSTIC GUITARS "The Amethyst" Standard is giving excellent results on metal string acoustic guitars, the warmer Vintage model is the better choice in case of classical nylon string acoustic guitars. Right placement is the most important factor again. We recommend beginning with facing the microphone to guitars neck, where it joins body, in some 10 cm distance from it. Use a pair or more microphones for stereo recording.

ELECTRIC GUITARS "The Amethyst" Standard gives excellent results for dynamic and bright clean amp sound recording, the warmer Vintage model is the right choice to record lead guitar overdrive and distortion sounds or warm jazzy tones. Place the microphone at 5 to 10 cm from the center of a loudspeaker to get more upper frequencies, or move the microphone toward the cone edge to get fuller tone with more mid and low frequencies. We recommend orienting a microphone diaphragm under some angle with a loudspeaker diaphragm to avoid low frequency peaks. Larger distance from the loudspeaker will add more air and room acoustics and soften high frequencies. There are endless methods of combining close miking, distance miking, miking from a backside of an open speaker box, experimenting with different room acoustics, etc.

DRUMS "The Amethyst" Standards fast impulse transient response, crystal clear highs and loud SPL handling make it excellent for the drums recording. The advisable distance is 5 to 10 cm from a drum rim, but you can try different positions and angles. A bigger distance will add more air, environment and naturalness. A smaller distance will increase the low frequencies and separation from other sound sources. You can use a pair as overhead microphones. There are different methods to record drums - from one pair of stereo microphones for right balanced drum kit in an optimal acoustics room until several microphones on each drum kit unit.

PERCUSSIONS Like the drum recording "The Amethyst" Standard microphone gives transparent, clean and real results in all kinds of percussions recording. The distance of 30 cm is the best to start. Closer distance will add more details, tone and separation. Larger distance will add room ambience, naturalness and blending with other instruments.

BOWED STRINGS "The Amethyst" Vintage is an excellent choice for recording all kinds of bowed string instruments. The distance of 30 to 50 cm above the instrument bridge is preferable for violin and viola. The distance of 10 to 20 cm in front of bridge is right for double bass or cello.

BRASS AND WIND The smooth, natural tone of "The Amethyst" Vintage microphone makes it the best choice to record saxophone and other brass and wind instruments. For the clarinet and the soprano saxophone use the microphone 10 to 30 cm above the horn and lowest pads. For the other saxophones place microphone 5 to 15 cm in front of the lip of the bell. For the flute place the microphone above the middle of the instrument. Use 10 to 50 cm distances for the trumpet, the trombone, the French horn, the tuba and other brass instruments.