XLR/USB Recording Microphone – FIFINE Tank3 Review

It's time for my review of the fine fine Tank three full disclosure fine fine Sent this microphone to me for the Purpose of this review inside the box of Course you get the microphone Instructions and a USBC to usba cable at The time of this recording the tank 3 Retails 4.99 us however I was able to find it on Sale for 89 us Specs wise the tank 3 is a combo USB XLR Microphone with a cardioid polar pattern A frequency response of 50 HZ to 16 khz A signal to noise ratio of greater than 80 DB a sensitivity ofus 50 plus or Minus 3 dbb and a Max SPL of 120 DB Build wise the tank 3 has an all metal Body a listed weight of 1.72 lb a sturdy Grill that's stylish peeking through the Six pane design a half yolk with metal Tightening knob built-in 3/8 in and 5/8 In Threads the mic has solid volume and Headphone knobs on the side and a silent Mute button on top that's green when It's in use and red when muted the back Of the microphone keeps it simple with a USBC Port an 8in headphone jack plus an XLR connection the mic microphone also Includes an internal pop filter sizewise The apply named tank 3 Towers over its Sibling the K 669d let's put that Internal pop filter to the test with Aive test right now I'm 6 in from the Front of the microphone Peter Piper

Picked a peck of pickle peppers now I'm 3 in away from the front of the Microphone Peter Piper picked a peck of Pickle peppers when it comes to off axis And rear rejection I'll talk into the Side of the microphone and then the back Of the microphone right now I'm 6 in From the side of the microphone now I am 12 in from the side of the microphone And now I'm 2 feet away from the side of The microphone right now I'm 6 in from The back of the microphone I'm one foot Away from the back of the microphone and Now I'm two feet away from the back of The microphone now I have the microphone Back in position and here's how it Sounds if I were typing away on the Keyboard while I was talking this is What it would sound Like now if I were trying to be sneaky Typing here's how it Sounds now I'll take a microphone that Everyone has heard the sure Sm7b and I'll put it on the boom go back And forth and you can decide for Yourself which one you think sounds Better the sm7b $400 And the fine fine tank three just $99 now I'm back and now I'm on the sure Sm7b and here's what it sounds like this Is a tried and true microphone that is Used in broadcast and recording studios Across the globe it's been around Forever it feels like it is the

Ubiquitous microphone in podcasting you Just seem to see it everywhere and sure Being a premium brand the microphone of Course is $400 and here's what it sounds like what Do you think about the sound in Comparison I'm going to switch back to The tank 3 now I'm back on the tank 3 And here's what it sounds like way less Gain required to drive the tank 3 as Opposed to the Sm7b obviously the sh sm7b is very gain Hungry and this microphone phone in STK Contrast is not this would be more akin To needing gain like a zoom zdm one Etc But here's what it sounds like here's The sound profile and I'll go back to The sm7b one more time all right back on The sm7b here's what it sounds like in Comparison to the tank three by fine Fine I'll be curious to hear your Thoughts please chime in in the comments Down below which one do you prefer Overall and then obviously is this worth $300 more in your opinion as you can see I'm back on the tank 3 and you might Wonder if there's a sound quality Difference when you're using it in USB Mode so I am going to plug it up to the Computer I'll be recording the audio in A different manner when I'm in USB mode So I apologize if there's a disparity Between the normal regular parts of the Video with the audio interface in use as

Opposed to in USB mode but just so you Kind of get a little sample of what it Sounds like in USB mode and how much Noise it's going to pick up with the Computer on the microphone was Identified instantly by the PC that I'm Using it's also able to drive these high Impedance headphones on the outport on The back of the microphone it easily can Drive these so there's no issues on high Impedance headphones so what I've Noticed about the mute functionality on This microphone in my specific setup Anyway is while the button is silent I Am fat fingering onto the body when I go To press it which is causing Some Noise To come through into the microphone not From the switch itself so I don't know If it's just because of my technique on How I am hitting It but it is the resonance from the body Coming in before it is fully down Because I'm hitting more than just the Button so I think that's something to Think about on this as well the dials Are effective I don't have it all the Way cranked up right now or else I'd be Clipping in OBS the output on low Impedance headphones is really loud and It's plenty loud enough for high Impedance headphones while I have this In USB mode I am going to plug in the XLR and see if I can record to the Roadter while

Also recording to the computer now you Can see I am getting a great signal on The XLR portion as well as getting a Great signal in OBS at the same time I Don't hear any extra noise sometimes When you do that on other microphones Sometimes you'll get an extra whining Noise or some sort of other noise that Comes out of the device but I don't hear Anything extra when I'm doing this not a Use case that many people would have to Have them plugged in at the same time I Don't even know if they recommend that To be honest with you proceed at your Own risk but while I have it I wanted to Give it a shot and see how it would work When it comes to pros and cons on the Pros front I would have to say the price $99 is a good price for the versatility Of a microphone like this whereas some Of the microphones in this C category Start to get up to the 13050 $200 range so it is a nice budget Option right behind that would be the Build quality I think it is constructed Very well and I appreciate the design Another Pro is the sound profile I Really like how this microphone sounds Hopefully I'm not alone in that you can Chime in in the comments but I do like The sound profile I think it fits my Voice nicely and I like it better than The k669 D that they make as well Another Pro would be the microphone is

Very easy to drive I have to turn the Game way down from the sh Sm7b in order to match them up and so You could use this with any interface That I can think of another Pro is since I like mounting the microphone to my Right the knobs are on the right hand Side here so they're hidden from the Camera and that is very convenient for Me another Pro I like that it includes a Mute button but we'll come back to that I like the visual cue of red being muted And green being unmuted I also thought It did a good job of off axis and rear Rejection and the internal built-in pop Filter seems to work quite well on the Cons I got to come back around to that Mute button since it's physical I was Kind of having to touch the body in Order to get this baby to to go and by Touching the body then I was introducing Just Reg regular noise into the Microphone not from the switch itself so That's one thing that capacitive buttons Have over these even though with a Capacitive button you can accidentally Engage them when you don't want to That's always a toughy for that but on The physical button side then you kind Of get a little bit of the handling Noise because it's really not any way Around getting to that button Effectively in a live streaming Situation you're going to be happy you

Can mute you're not going to be too Concerned about creating a little bit of Handling noise another nitpick con would Be that this in interface mode is 16bit You'll remember when I reviewed their Audio interface a while back that that Was a complaint I had on that device and I think just as we go forward everything Minimum should be 24 bit that's just a Critique from me personally bit depth Does not really impact things the way People think it does uh it's more to do With dynamic range but I like 24-bit for Workflow purposes overall I really like This microphone I think the price is Right I think the build quality is very Good and I'm going to be comparing it to Some other XLR USB microphones in the Coming weeks and months so stay tuned For that so thanks to fine fine for Sending this microphone out to me and For helping me finally understand how to Pronounce their company name and as Always thank You