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Founded in Chicago · Designed & built in Naperville, IL

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Zeppelin Design Labs

Cortado Xe Contact Microphone

$169.95 $159.95

Description

The Cortado Xe packs the entire signal chain — piezo contact sensor, JFET preamplifier, and cable — into one all-steel housing smaller than a guitar pick. Connect to any standard 48V phantom-powered XLR input and go.

Built for musicians, recording engineers, sound designers, and anyone who needs to capture vibration from a solid surface, the Xe mounts on acoustic instruments, percussion, piano soundboards, or anything that resonates — and it rejects airborne stage noise far better than an air microphone.

The all-steel ferrous housing is tour-tough and magnet-mountable, so you can reposition it in seconds with the included putty, tape, or any common magnet. Extended frequency response (40 Hz – 40 kHz) captures harmonic detail well past the limits of human hearing — useful for studio layering, live performance, and creative sound design.

The Xe shares the Cortado family’s core philosophy — balanced XLR output, phantom power, extended high-frequency response — in the smallest, simplest form factor we’ve made. If you want onboard pad and high-pass filter controls at the microphone, the Cortado MkIII is the full-featured option. Many users will want both: the MkIII for control at the source, the Xe for travel, quick setups, and instruments where size matters.

Key Features:

  • All-in-one design — Sensor and preamp in a single 26mm × 11mm all-steel housing with permanently attached XLR cable
  • All-steel ferrous housing — Durable, well-shielded, and magnet-mountable for instant repositioning
  • Extended frequency response — 40 Hz to 40 kHz captures full harmonic detail
  • Balanced XLR output — Pro-grade signal, low noise, long cable runs without degradation
  • Phantom powered (48V) — No batteries, no DI box, no external preamp
  • Versatile mounting — Ships with mounting putty; ferrous housing also accepts magnets or tape
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