sE Electronics
VR1
Ribbon · Figure-8 · 20–18,000 Hz
- The Voodoo passive ribbon: no electronics and no phantom needed, at 230 g.
- Reaches 18 kHz, unusual for a passive ribbon, and the reason it gets used on overheads as well as cabs.
Frequency response
No response curve yet.
MicSense only draws a curve redrawn from a graph the manufacturer publishes — it never estimates one from the microphone’s class. No published graph has been redrawn for the VR1 yet, so the numbers are in the spec table below.
Polar pattern
Generated from the first-order directivity formula for figure-8. It illustrates the pattern type — it is not a measurement of this individual model.
Specifications
| Manufacturer | sE Electronics |
|---|---|
| Model | VR1 |
| Type | Ribbon |
| Form factor | Side-address |
| Polar pattern | Figure-8 |
| Frequency range | 20–18,000 Hz |
| Sensitivity | 1.8 mV/Pa · -55.0 dBV/Pa |
| Max SPL | 135 dB SPL (0.5 % THD) |
| Self-noise | 19 dB(A) |
| Impedance | 300 Ω (electrical) |
| Connector | XLR3M |
| Powering | None (passive ribbon) |
| Weight | 230 g |
| Caution | No phantom needed — passive ribbon; avoid hot-patching or unbalanced cables with 48 V on. |
Specifications: sE Electronics specifications page · last checked 2 Oct 2026. These are the maker’s published figures for this model. A dash never means zero: “not published by the maker” means the maker’s documents give no figure; “not yet checked” means MicSense has not confirmed one yet. Spotted an error? Tell us.
MicSense notes
| Price tier | Pro |
|---|---|
| Introduced | — not recorded |
Price tier and “a rider regular” are MicSense’s own judgement, not the maker’s.
What it gets used for
- Guitar cab
- Horn / brass
- Overhead
MicSense tags microphones by the job on a live stage, not by studio category — so you can filter for “kick in” or “monitor vocal” instead of working backwards from “large-diaphragm condenser”.
VR1 alternatives: closest in published specs
Based on published specifications only — always listen at soundcheck. These are the microphones in the MicSense library whose datasheet figures sit closest to the sE Electronics VR1’s for the same live job, with the reasons. It says nothing about how they sound.
Not compared for the sE Electronics VR1: response curve not redrawn yet.
-
sE Electronics
X1 R
- Same job: guitar cab, horn / brass, overhead
- Same type: ribbon
- Same figure-8 pattern
- Same form: side-address
- About the same output — within the datasheets’ tolerance
- Max SPL as high or higher (135 vs 135 dB SPL)
-
Shure
KSM313/NE
- Same job: guitar cab, horn / brass, overhead
- Same type: ribbon
- Same figure-8 pattern
- Same form: side-address
- About the same output — within the datasheets’ tolerance
- Max SPL as high or higher (146 vs 135 dB SPL)
-
Shure
KSM353/ED
- Same job: guitar cab, horn / brass, overhead
- Same type: ribbon
- Same figure-8 pattern
- Same form: side-address
- About the same output — within the datasheets’ tolerance
- Max SPL as high or higher (146 vs 135 dB SPL)
Compare it against the alternatives.
MicSense lets you put up to four microphones side by side — spec table, overlaid response curves and polar diagrams on one screen. Free with a free Squaresmile account.