John Peluso hit the nail on the head with this thing, with everyone who's hearing them saying that it sounds "the way they used to." When John sent this microphone around to his closest studio friends that all owned original AKG C12's, the common theme has been, "The P12 sounds the way I remember my C12's sounding when they were at their best." Bright, present, and detailed highs that are warm, but not harsh characterize the sound of this thing. Unfortunately, many C12's that are floating around out there have capsules, tubes, and other electrical issues as relates to their age which either hinders the top end, muddies the detail, or simply makes them noisier than they should be in today's studio environment. The P12, like the original is made to sound "pretty." Out of the box, no EQ, the microphones put a presence and shine on most vocals that not only pretty's them on their own, but also makes them sit well within the mix. The typical scooped midrange one comes to expect of a modern pop vocal recording of just about any kind persists with the P12 out of the box. If you are looking for that classic, sought after tube warmth, but designed with modern, ideal, hand selected and tuned components, built here in the United States, the Peluso mic line is the way to look. If you are looking for the mic in particular that will shine in your mix with little knob twiddling, this is your new baby. Top it all off, this thing is priced right. Request a quoteback (above)and see for yourself.