Electro-Voice N/D478
A lean, midrange-forward dynamic that finished last in output and still got picked for snare.
Overview
In a 2010 Pro Audio Review Session Trial, six dynamic instrument mics were lined up over a 14-inch Gretsch birch snare and put through the same performance. The Electro-Voice N/D478 had the lowest output of the bunch. Reviewer Strother Bullins matched preamp outputs within a dB using a 1 kHz test tone at 105 dB and a voltmeter. When the snare came back as the source, the captured peaks spread just over 5 dB, with the Audix i5 hottest and the N/D478 at the bottom. That's not a flattering number to lead with. The N/D478 isn't a hot, fat mic. It's a lean one.
The same trial's blind listening notes describe the mic as sounding like it sat four to six inches farther from the drum than its neighbors. There was more room sound in the signal, and roughly 10 dB less energy in the 150-250 Hz range than any of the others, enough to gut the fundamental of a snare. That's a criticism, and on its own terms it holds. But another listener in the same session called it "detailed on the top end" and "open," and suggested it would work well on intricate snare work rather than the plain two-and-four of rock. The trial's final tally split the snare top pick between the Audio-Technica ATM650 and the N/D478. The mic with the least bottom end tied for first on the drum where its forward midrange mattered most.
It's not a mic for weight. It's one for when you want the midrange of the drum to sit up and be heard. On guitar cabinets the same trait reads as aggression. The trial notes call the N/D478 "aggressive" and "edgy" against a dirty amp, which is either what you want or what you don't, depending on the song. On bass cabinet it was found a bit "clacky," pronouncing pick and fret noise in a way one player found unmusical, though the same reviewer allowed it might suit slapping and popping. On floor tom it was one of the mics the panel liked least, too pronounced in the mids for a drum that wants a big round bottom. It got the job done on kick, but midrangey, emphasizing the shell rather than the thump, and it needed EQ help like everything else in that test that wasn't purpose-built for the job.
Electro-Voice positioned the N/D478 inside the N/DYM line as the percussion-and-guitar entry. A 2001 Mix (August 2001, p.157) lineup listing slots it under "Percussion, Guitars & Vocals" while the N/D767A took premium vocal duties and the N/D267AS and N/D167 covered lead and standard vocal work. The company's own advertising in EQ (July 2000, p.29) grouped the N/D478 with the N/D767 and N/D267 as one of three models carrying its Vocally-Optimized Bass technology, promising clear vocals that cut through a mix and "squeaky-clean bass." Anyone who has used the mic on a kick or a floor tom will read that claim with some amusement, because the independent testing found the low end to be the leanest of its peer group. The VOB badge is real and part of the mic's period identity, but it's a claim about vocal clarity more than a promise of heft.
This is a cardioid dynamic built for close-miking loud sources. The trial threw serious SPL, smacking transients, and tube-amp grit at all six contenders and reported that every one of them handled it without complaint. The N/D478 came through with impactful transient response and clean reproduction, and the same qualities that made it useful in a studio carry over to live sound. The panel found no undesirable qualities worth warning anyone about. It's good everywhere, just not the best anywhere except the snare, where its forward midrange is the point.
The N/D478 is the least glamorous member of the N/DYM family, since the vocal models carry the name recognition. That means the mic turns up affordably, and the period documentation puts it in the same price neighborhood as the other workhorse dynamics in its class, right around the hundred-dollar mark at the time of that 2010 trial. The practical caveats are the usual ones for a dynamic of this age. The output is low enough that a clean preamp with real gain helps, and a mic that leans this hard on its midrange needs a little EQ discipline.
Similar items on eBay
No exact Electro-Voice N/D478 listings are live right now — these searches show current Electro-Voice and similar vintage audio gear on eBay:
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.