Tula is a new company founded with the specific purpose of developing user-friendly hardware and software for sound acquisition and its debut product, the Tula Mic, is now available after a successful crowdfunding campaign last year. Tula Mic is both a USB-C microphone input for computers and mobile devices, as well as a dedicated recorder with built-in memory and its own battery that can provide up to 14 hours of continuous use. It's a strong introductory offering that fits many user needs at an attractive price.
Basics
The Tula Mic is small: it is certainly best described as "hand held", as it takes up roughly the size and surface area of a deck of cards. The physical design includes microphone pods at the top, with control buttons that slide along either side, and a USB-C charging port in the center of the back of the hardware. The top left side also features a standard 3.5mm port, which can be used not only for headphones for monitoring and playback, but also for lavalier microphone input, effectively turning the Tula into a body pack.
Just below the grille that holds the recording capsule, there are two lights on the face of the Tula Mic. These include a gain / peak indicator and a recording indicator, providing simple yet effective visual feedback. There are 8GB of built-in memory on board and that built-in rechargeable battery that offers up to 14 hours of continuous recording. Inside, there are not just one, but two recording capsules, including one with a cardioid recording pattern for capturing audio from a user speaking into the microphone and one with an omni pickup pattern for room sound. recording, ideal for events or interviews.
The Tula Mic comes with an attached stand, which folds and magnetically attaches to its core for easy carrying. This is also removable and can be replaced with a standard microphone mount threaded attachment point. It's a simple and elegant design that proves very useful in active use, but the proprietary mounting method here means that if you lose one or the other of these accessories, you can't just get a generic one like you could if they 'For example, I used a standard tripod wire.
Design and performance
The design of the Tula Mic definitely conveys a retro aesthetic and its flat-sided oval shape is immediately eye-catching and recognizable. The unique appearance also offers a great grip in the hand, and when used in stand mode it is immediately clear how a user should approach the microphone in use. The flip-up stand is stylish and holds the microphone securely in place, thanks to its weighted metal frame.
The controls located on both sides of the Tula Mic are labeled, but I found that I absolutely had to refer to the included user guide repeatedly before I could consistently remember what each of them did. Icons are useful, but not necessarily immediately intuitive. It's nice to have physical controls, however, rather than touch-sensitive surfaces or a screen for input.
The most important thing to note about the Tula Mic's performance is that it sounds great, both in wired USB-C mode and in standalone recording mode. Having the ability to switch between omni and cardioid pickup models is also immensely beneficial in terms of microphone versatility as a one-stop solution, since you can use it for podcasts, to record a lecture or lecture, and for recording a two-person interview. , all with equal ease and very high quality results.
Finally, Tula includes a built-in local noise cancellation algorithm, which allows you to capture a short recording of the room tone to automatically remove it from the next recording. It is a very useful and surprisingly effective feature, which should provide great advantages in terms of later use of the recordings from the microphone with transcription services such as Otter.ai.
Bottom line
At $ 199, the Tula Mic is already priced to match many of the leading USB microphones on the market today. The fact that it's also a full standalone digital recorder, many of which are also priced at or close to that brand, really makes it an obvious choice for anyone looking for portable recording flexibility in a compact package.
