Tula Microphones is a newer company to the space, but brings with it an impressive lineage from those working in the company. Their debut product – the aptly named Tula Microphone – looks like something that could make waves in the scene for the consumer. Sporting a sleek design and simple useage, is the Tula Microphone something you should buy? We tested it out to give you the answer.
Tula Microphone Specs
- Frequency Range: 50 — 20k
- Inputs/Outputs: 3.5mm jack and USB-C
- Patterns: One cardioid and One omni
- Internal Memory: 8 GB
- Battery Life: 12 hours continuous
- Color: Cream, Red, Black, Seafoam
Tula Mic Pros
The first thing you will notice about the Tula Microphone is its appearance. The mic itself will easily fit in your hand, as it is about the size of a deck of cards. Additionally, the mic sports an aesthetically pleasing design, which is clearly modeled after mics of yesteryear. The design – which comes in four different colors – will never go out of style. This means no matter if you use it on your Zoom calls for work or out in the park, the Tula Mic will always look good but still discrete.
The most impressive part of the Tula Mic, from a technical perspective, is the noise cancellation feature. Tula partnered with Klevgrand, which is a Swedish company that created a new algorithm for noise reduction. With one click of a button, you turn on the noise cancellation feature and it removes basically all background noise. It is truly an impressive piece of technology. Additionally, the Tula will also record the audio as two files, one with the noise cancellation on and one with it off. Just in case something in the background does happen and you want it when editing.
The Tula Mic features both a cardioid and omnidirectional capsule. That means that, depending on your need, you can use the Tula Mic for various things. Could just be on a work call, could be for recording a two-person podcast.
Another big positive for the Tula Mic is the versatility it provides. As we just mentioned, the cardioid and omni capsules provide recording versatility. But, the mic is not just a mic. It is also a mobile recording device. The Tula Mic features 8 GB of internal memory to store recordings. That means the mic can store, approximately, 12 hours of recordings.
In terms of sheer sound quality, the Tua Mic is pretty damn good. It performs extremely well at both the high-end and the midrange of sounds. You can lose a little bit on the lower end with the noise cancellation turned on, but that is rare and something you can expect from any noise cancellation process. However, there is no reason whatsoever that a Tula Mic can’t be used for basically everything you would need as a consumer. Scratch tracks on the go, professional-level podcasting, an important job interview, streaming and more.
Tula Mic Cons
There are a couple of cons to the Tula mic that may make it difficult for newbies to get used to. First, the lack of an interface. The mic itself offers no display to indicate things such as battery life, storage space, or your levels. For levels, you do obviously have the LED display on the front of the mic, which will give you the basic gist but not specifics.
The second potential issue we had with the Tula microphone is the buttons. They worked well and they lit up clearly but there is a learning curve. This is especially true if you are not incredibly familiar with audio recording. Turning up things like gain with a button is convenient, but, understanding exactly what you are doing and how it sounds is all about testing. The lack of immediate feedback may turn some off.
Neither of these are that types of issues to make a Tula microphone unusable. They simply take time to learn or some solid understanding of audio recording ahead of time. If you’re not worried about a little bit of trial and error, there are really not many issues to be found.
Conclusion
From a pure quality standpoint, you are going to be hard-pressed to find a better microphone in this price range than the Tula Mic. The audio sounds clean and clear without the need to be a master audio tech to use. As both a microphone and a recording device, it truly does excel. There are definitely some design choices that make use come with a learning curve, which does hinder the overall rating. However, if you are willing to learn the interface or are just looking for a plug and play microphone, you are not going to do much better than the Tula Mic.
