BL8

Kickin’ Great Sound

Bullet-proof, built like a tank and ready for the road, your secret weapon for a variety of applications such as kick drums and other high SPL sources.

BL8

Kickin’ Great Sound

Bullet-proof, built like a tank and ready for the road, your secret weapon for a variety of applications such as kick drums and other high SPL sources.

Recommended Use

Kick Drum, Cajon, Piano, Speech, Conferencing, Room Miking / Ambience, Stage Floor Miking

Highlights

Featuring our renowned 1/2" true-condenser cardioid sE8 capsule

Transformerless Class-A circuitry ensures plentiful headroom without distortion

Low-noise electronics deliver transparency and clarity

Reproduces low frequencies with stunning accuracy

Character switch provides classic & modern voicings

Integrated low-cut filter & pre-attenuation pad enable a variety of applications

Compatible with our sE8 omni capsule & The Kelly Shu Flatz™ Isolation System

Inside the BL8

Featuring our renowned 1/2″ true-condenser sE8 cardioid capsule

Utilizing the same capsule as the celebrated sE8 small-diaphragm condenser, the BL8 features a hand-crafted, true condenser capsule with an ultra-thin three-micron gold-sputtered diaphragm for superior transient response.
Bullet-proof, built like a tank and ready for the road

Robustly built, the BL8 features an all-metal construction and a dent-proof grille, perfect for touring environments and busy stages. The BL8 is also compatible with The Kelly Shu Flatz™ Isolation System for easy integration into any kick drum, making it ideal for touring applications.
Classic and modern voicings accommodate for live and studio settings

The ideal studio kick drum tone is often different than our preferences in a live sound environment. Similar to our award-winning kick-drum mic, the V KICK, the BL8 offers “Classic” and “Modern” voicings. These options both cut and shape the low-mids to emphasize transients and punch. In its center position, the capsule’s neutral response is retained, which is ideal for a variety of other applications.
Pre-attenuation pad and low-cut filter

The integrated low-cut filter and attenuation pad switches make the BL8 a very versatile microphone, excelling at ambience recording, room miking, and can even be used on acoustic pianos while keeping high-SPL sources from overloading your mixer’s input.
Incredible dynamic range in all areas

The BL8 utilizes transformerless Class-A circuitry to ensure plentiful headroom without distortion. Its ultra-low-noise electronics enable demanding applications such as grand piano or room miking while also designed to reproduce low frequencies with stunning accuracy, the BL8 is perfect in combination with our V KICK, but can also be used alone, without an additional outer kick-drum mic.
Gold-plated XLR connector

Built to last, the BL8 has a gold-plated XLR connector to ensure loss-free, reliable signal connection for years and years of demanding use.

BL8 Capsule & Mounting Options

Compatible with the sE8 omni capsule

The BL8 offers a remarkable advantage with its versatile interchangeable capsule options. Being fully compatible with the sE8 omni capsule, the BL8 can effortlessly cater to any sonic requirement and environment. Although the sE8 omni capsule is not included with the BL8, it is an excellent investment for any comprehensive mic collection.
Easily mountable for simple & secure installation

The BL8 microphone is the perfect solution for hassle-free installation in music venues, theaters, and houses of worship. The mounting brackets are conveniently indicated on the bottom of the BL8 and can be easily accessed by removing the casing. Then, the BL8 can be securely mounted onto any flat surface.
Compatible with The Kelly Shu Flatz™ Isolation System

The BL8 is the perfect companion for any production, whether touring the world or recording in the studio. And when paired with The Kelly Shu™ Flatz Isolation System, it becomes an even more powerful tool. This combination allows for easy and secure mounting of the BL8 inside a bass drum shell, providing superior isolation and minimizing unwanted vibrations and rumble. With the BL8 and The Kelly Shu™ Flatz Isolation System, artists and engineers can focus on their performance without distractions.

Specs

Components

Capsule Hand-crafted small-diaphragm true-condenser capsule

Power

Powering 48 Volts according to IEC 61938

Electrical impedance 60 Ohms

Current consumption 5.0 mA

Connectivity 3-pin male XLR connector

Sound

Polar patterns Half-cardioid

Frequency range 20 – 20,000 Hz

Sensitivity 25 mV/Pa (-32 dBV)

Max. SPL (0.5% THD) 143 / 153 / 163 dB SPL (0/10/20 dB attenuation pad)

Equivalent noise level 14 dB(A)

Dynamic range 129 / 139 / 149 dB (0/10/20 dB attenuation pad)

Signal-to-noise ratio 80 dB

Low-cut filter 80 / 160 Hz, 6 dB/oct, switchable

Attenuation pad 10 / 20 dB, switchable

Recommended load impedance >1k Ohms

Dimensions

Mic length 139 mm (5.47 in.)

Mic Width 95 mm (3.74 in.)

Mic Height 28.5 mm (1.12 in.)

Mic weight 538 g (18.98 oz.)

What's in the box

BL8 microphone

Pouch

Downloads

User Manual

Download

"The BL8 is the warmest, most natural-sounding boundary mic today. Our kick drums sounded so much better after we swapped over to the BL8 - it was almost comical. Thanks to sE for their continued excellence in bringing amazing, quality products to the marketplace."
— Andy Meyer, FoH Engineer (Shinedown)
"The BL8 is my one-mic solution for kick drums. The larger element and voicing options allow me to create a very present kick drum sound with a huge, round low end. The BL8 is a dramatic improvement when compared to other industry standard boundary mics."
— Bob Strakele, FoH Engineer (Slipknot / A7X)
"The BL8 is such a transparent microphone and the switchable low cut, pad and character switches make it my first choice when in need of a boundary microphone."
— Jojo Kobylecky, FoH Engineer (Old Crow Medicine Show)
"sE have delivered another banger of a microphone which completes my sE arsenal. I love the classic/modem modes, so I can adjust depending on the artist I’m mixing. The BL8 delivers the perfect ratio of low-end punch and top-end slap that I desire from a kick-in mic. Like any good monitor engineer, it will rarely be spotted, but it also looks sexy as hell. Just like this monitor engineer 😉"
— Simon Hutchby, MON Engineer (Skindred)
"As soon as I plugged it in, the BL8 gave me an immediate natural kick drum sound. I’m more than happy using it as the only mic on the kick, and the switches on it give it ultimate versatility."
— Manu Jimenez (Lalah Hathaway, Brandy, Xscape, Snoh Aalegra, Broods)
"The BL8 is my new go-to kick mic. The built-in filters offer more options than competing boundary mics, allowing you to get that much closer to your desired tone before having to even touch an eq, delivering a big, yet precise sound. It has changed the way I address the kicks in my mix."
— Matthew "Woody" Woods, FoH Engineer (Trivium)

BL8

BL8

Inside the BL8

Featuring our renowned 1/2″ true-condenser sE8 cardioid capsule

Bullet-proof, built like a tank and ready for the road

Classic and modern voicings accommodate for live and studio settings

Pre-attenuation pad and low-cut filter

Incredible dynamic range in all areas

Gold-plated XLR connector

BL8 Capsule & Mounting Options

Compatible with the sE8 omni capsule

Easily mountable for simple & secure installation

Specs

Downloads

"The BL8 is the warmest, most natural-sounding boundary mic today. Our kick drums sounded so much better after we swapped over to the BL8 - it was almost comical. Thanks to sE for their continued excellence in bringing amazing, quality products to the marketplace."

"The BL8 is my one-mic solution for kick drums. The larger element and voicing options allow me to create a very present kick drum sound with a huge, round low end. The BL8 is a dramatic improvement when compared to other industry standard boundary mics."

"The BL8 is such a transparent microphone and the switchable low cut, pad and character switches make it my first choice when in need of a boundary microphone."

"As soon as I plugged it in, the BL8 gave me an immediate natural kick drum sound. I’m more than happy using it as the only mic on the kick, and the switches on it give it ultimate versatility."

"The BL8 is my new go-to kick mic. The built-in filters offer more options than competing boundary mics, allowing you to get that much closer to your desired tone before having to even touch an eq, delivering a big, yet precise sound. It has changed the way I address the kicks in my mix."

Photos