This video is basically the story of how the Austrian Audio OC-S10 won me over—despite the fact I didn’t even want to review it at first. I’ve already got plenty of high-quality mics, and for most home studio jobs I’m covered: KM184s for acoustic, a C414 for my own vocals, and Suzi is famously fussy and normally only really likes the Neumann U87. But after five or ten minutes of tracking vocals and acoustic guitar, we were both giving each other those “hang on… this is special” smiles. The OC-S10 sounded rich and deep in the headphones, with a top end that was noticeably smoother—especially compared to how harsh Suzi’s sibilance can get on the U87. Then it gets properly interesting: the OC-S10 has dual XLR outputs, so you can record the front and rear capsules separately and do things in the DAW you simply can’t do with most mics. I show Austrian Audio’s free Polar Designer plugin, which lets you change polar patterns after recording (even by frequency band), and even simulate proximity effect to tame low-end buildup. I also demo the free Stereo Creator plugin, including pseudo-stereo and a ridiculously practical pseudo mid-side mode for acoustic guitar—wide, natural, and with great mono compatibility. And yes: knowing what I know now, if I had to choose between buying a U87 set or this mic, I’d buy the OC-S10.