AKG D-310
The plainest member of AKG's D300 family. It's a cardioid vocal mic built to survive the road, with no switches to fiddle with.
Overview
The D-310 is the one in the D300 trio that doesn't ask you to make a decision. Its siblings, the D320B and the D330BT, carry contour switches for shaping the top and bottom end. The D-310 is the fixed-response cardioid of the family. AKG's own literature from the period laid out the lineup plainly: three microphones for vocalists, all sharing the same transducer-and-suspension architecture, with the D-310 as the "plain" model. Electronics & Music Maker described the series in just those terms. It noted that the 330 BT and 320 B offered bass and treble contour switching while the D-310 was "the plain D 310", and that it was the cardioid in a family where the other two were hypercardioid.
The polar pattern is a bigger difference than the missing switches. A cardioid pickup is the forgiving choice on a loud stage. It rejects what's behind the mic while still tolerating a singer who doesn't stay glued to the grille. The hypercardioid models reject more from the sides but demand more disciplined positioning. For a vocalist who moves around, the D-310's pattern is the practical one.
The physical build is where the D300 series earns its reputation. AKG's promotional copy, the kind of thing that ran in Mix Magazine (July 1981, p.49) and the Canadian musician press, described a "patented suspension system" that lets the transducer float inside the housing. That decouples it from handling noise and cable thump. Around the floating element is a strong internal grille, a tough die-cast housing, and a plated stainless steel outer grille. The company's advertising billed the series as the industry "work horse." That's marketing, not a verdict, but the design description underneath it is specific. A mic that gets dropped, stood on, and dragged across a stage floor needs this kind of layered armor.
The integral windscreen is the other detail to know. Period advertising for the D300 series, Studio-Sound (October 1979, p.9) among others, made a point of the "integral windscreen" and its role in eliminating pop and breath noise. That's what lets a vocal mic work close-up without popping on every plosive. Add the cardioid pattern's suppression of ambient noise and feedback, and the D-310 was pitched squarely at live work: studio-quality sound, in AKG's phrasing, delivered on stage.
The D-310 is not a switchable, shape-it-yourself tool. To roll off the bottom for a boomy room or lift the presence for a cutting lead vocal, you need the 320 B or 330 BT. The 310 gives you one response and expects you to work with it. Some engineers prefer that, since there are fewer things to knock out of position between soundcheck and the second set.
Collectors and working players hunting the D300 series should note that documentation for the D-310 specifically is thinner than for its switch-equipped siblings; most period coverage treats the three as a unit and dwells on the 330 BT. The cardioid 310 is the quiet one of the family, and that's fine — it was built to be the dependable, no-nonsense option, and the design brief shows it.
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