Download the entire circa-1962 Turner Microphone Catalog. Dig the crazy Soviet-esque graphic-design. Printed on that great old eggshell-texture paper, no less.
DOWNLOAD: Turner_Microphones_1962
The Turner Microphone Company was based for many years in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. What and interesting story they had. The Turners were a highly successful family of morticians. Their funeral home was so large and accommodated so many mourners that in the mid-20’s they became interested in installing an early PA system. This lead to DIY manufacture of PA systems, and eventually microphones. By the Mid-60s, Turner had become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of communications and PA (as opposed to recording and broadcast) mics.
Turner did manufacture some high-end mics for professional audio applications, though. I own a model 510, and it’s not terrible. The grey-blue finish is really stunning. When I get around to it… I hope to do a listening test of the 510 next to some period competitors (EG, Shure SM-56 and an EV 666). 510s are hard to find. The example that I own is the only one that I have ever seen in the flesh.
Much more common are the Turner U9s and its several variants. See this link for a listening test I did with a U99 earlier this year. When Turner describes this mic as rugged, they are not kidding. I own three of these; they are around 50-60 years old, and they all work perfectly. And they get used in the studio for ‘certain’ sounds.
Turner 250 series mics are also commonly found today. They made and sold a shit ton of these for use in PA and paging systems. I like the sound of these mics as a close-mic for raw-sounding rock vocals, along with a good condenser mic a few feet off of the performer for some depth. Blend em and voila. Lots of grit without the typical ‘Strokes-mic’ vibe.
You will also see a lot of these little plastic Turners around. I have not found a good use for mine.
I am not sure that this is an effective way to mic up a rock band, but like I said, Turner Microphones were not considered studio-standard.
5 replies on “Turner Microphones Circa 1962”
In i961 thru 1966 Turner produced a special order mic for the Hallicrafters Co. This mic was produced specificaly for the SR series HF transceivers. All I have been able to find out about it is a few specs and a guess or two. It is a dynamic mic Z is 500 ohms. The output into a 100k load was -52.5db (0 db=1 volt per microbar). The case was the dark 350 case. The guts were those of a SR90D-5. I am looking for any information on this mic in particular any copies of correspondance between Turner and Hallicrafters and spec sheets.
73, Walt WD0GOF
Hello,
I just became curious about a Turner microphone element labeled “model 13C” when I saw it on eBay. It looks much like a couple defunct ones I have that are (on the elements themselves) labeled BO1140, but I don’t see this on the pictures of the element and much of what *is* shown is simply gasket.
The eBay listing is titled:
“N.O.S. N.I.B. Turner Model 13 Microphone “Interior” Magnetic Cartridge Element” if you want a squint at it. It is priced at $145, but ships free. It is somewhat unique in that it is still in the original box.
From the 1962 Turner catalog:
https://www.preservationsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Turner_Microphones_1962.pdf
#13C
Universal replacement dynamic interior
used in Turner models 9D,
20D, 33D, 70D, SR90D and 250.
Sze is 2″ dia. x 7/8″ depth.
List Price $11.00
how does the 500 differ form the 510?
Hi Al. I’ve owned two 510s, have one remaining now, but ive never owned a 500 so I have not A/Bd them. I CAN tell u that the 510 has a matte gray ‘broadcast’ finish and paint-matching clip and paint-matching XLR4 rather than the shiny silver 500 – but other than that, i dont know, it may simply be marketing hype OR the 510 might be a ‘selected’ optimal 500 OR the 510 might actually have a different capsule and/or transformer. The 510 was WAY more expensive and spec’d higher, so maybe there are real internal differences? But i don’t know. i will say that the two 510s i had sounded quite different, for whatever that’s worth.