DL: Beyerdynamic_1974

Products covered, with text, specs, and photos, include ribbon microphones M160n, M260n, M500c; moving coil mics m 55 LM, M 550 LM, M550, M 101 N, M 111 N, M 67 N, M 69 N, M 88 N, M 201 N, M 81 LM, M 818 LM, Soundstar X1 N, X1 HL, M 810 N, M 57, M 64 SH, M 410 N, M 411 N, M 412 N; a full line of accessories including stands, clips, bases, transformers, and windscreens.

Headphones covered include DT 100, DT 100 RR, DT 900, Sound Juwel DT 480 DT 100 V Induction headphones, DT 204, DT 48, DT 96A, DT 98, DT 109, DT 49, DT 109V, DT 302, DT 301, 302, 303; and various headphone accessories.  Wireless mic systems TS 73, TS 83, SM 84, NE 75, NE 84, TE 20 are also covered.

We have a pair of older M 260 ribbons at Gold Coast Recorders and they hand above the drum kit at all times. I love them, and I’ve never wanted for other overheads.  Even recording to analog they sound wonderful.  We also have three of these M69 dynamics, and while I can’t say they are any better at anything than an sm58 or sm57, they certainly aren’t bad mics.

Beyer M 201s have always intrigued me but I’ve never come across a ‘deal’ and $300 new seems a bit rich.  Anyone?

I am a big believer in Beyerdynamic headphones.  Their DT 770 M is a miracle product, esp. for tracking rap vocals when the vocalist is not very loud and they like the track loud in their cans.  Highly recommended for any situation where bleed is an issue.

DOWNLOAD: Microphones and their placement

Written by Arthur Davis, Phillip Erhorn, and their team at Aerovox, the article offers an interesting historical perspective on microphone technique in the 1950s.

(image source)

If you’ve spent much time creeping around inside old electronic equipment, you have undoubtedly seen numerous examples of the capacitor shown above.  I really don’t have a super-strong sense of ‘how good’ Aerovox caps were as compared to their contemporaries, IE., how often they tend to need replacement, ETC,, but IIRC they tend to be more reliable than most 50’s foil caps.

“The Aerovox Research Worker” was a sort of ‘branded content’ marketing item that the company published from at least 1949 through 1958.  I recently picked up a large pile of these publications, and most focus on RF and TV applications.  This was the only one I could find that was audio-focused.  Enjoy. CR

“Davis nearly died in an automobile accident on November 19, 1954, in San Bernardino, California, as he was making a return trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.^[24] The accident occurred at a fork in U.S. Highway 66 at Cajon Boulevard and Kendall Drive (34.2072°N 117.3855°W).^[25] Davis lost his left eye as a result. His friend, actor Jeff Chandler, offered one of his own eyes if it would keep Davis from total blindness. The offer was not needed.^[26] Davis wore an eye patch for at least six months following the accident.^[27][28] He appeared on What’s My Line? wearing the patch.^[29] Later, he was fitted for a glass eye, which he wore for the rest of his life.

“While in Community Hospital, in San Bernardino, Davis’ friend, performer Eddie Cantor, told him about the similarities between the Jewish and black cultures. Prompted by this conversation, Davis—who was born to a Catholic mother and Protestant father—began studying the history of Jews. He formally converted to Judaism several years later, in 1961.

“In 1957, Sammy was involved with Kim Novak, a young actress under contract to Columbia Studios. The head of the studio, Harry Cohn, was worried about the negative effect this would have on the studio because of the prevailing taboo against miscegenation. He called his friend, mobster Johnny Roselli, who was asked to tell Davis that he had to stop the affair with Novak. Roselli arranged for Davis to be kidnapped for a few hours to throw a scare into him. His hastily arranged and soon-dissolved marriage to black dancer Loray White in 1958 was an attempt to quiet the controversy.” (SOURCE)

The Shure SM-56 (click here to download the specs) was the 2nd generation of the Shure 546, and as far as I can tell they are pretty much the same mic.  We have an 546 at Gold Coast Recorders and it’s my go-to top-of-snare mic.  It sounds pretty similar to an SM-57, but the top end is a little smoother; it seems to mellow things out a bit but without ever sounding dark.   SM-56s and 546s have become outlandishly expensive in the past few years, so if you find a working one of these for under $150, i’d recommend picking it up.  As this 1977 advert shows, the SM56 was sold as late as 1977.

While not a great microphone on the level of a good vintage RCA or Beyer, the MXL sounds surprisingly good when mod’d with an aftermarket transformer.  We ran an article on this easy+inexpensive process some years ago, and it has proven to be one of the most popular articles on PreservationSound.

Click here to read that article.

…And click hear to check out a listening test that we did of 4 different ribbon mics, including the mod’d R40.

DOWNLOAD: fostex_mics_1980

Models covered, with text, specs, and photos, include: Fostex M85RP, M88RP, M80RP, M77RP, and M55RP.

These mics, like the Fostex RP headphones, use a unique method of transduction that combines elements of dynamic, ribbon, and condenser-mic design.  I’m not 100% sure why they are termed ‘regular phase,’ but I suspect that it might be because the design works without any driver suspension.  You may not have realized before, but consider a generic woofer, and the acordian folds in the suspension:  at any moment of driver excursion, portions of the suspension will necessarily be moving out-of-phase with the cone.  This is a significant cause of transducer distortion.  By eliminating the suspension, that particular distortion factor is eliminated.  Here’s a cutaway of the Fostex design:

I’ve seen a few of these things on eBay from time to time, generally from ex-US sellers, and I’ve never seen one in the flesh, so I imagine that they are pretty rare in the US.  The catalog that I’ve scanned above was actually printed in Canada, so I can’t even say for sure if these were sold in the US.  I am super-curious, though, as I have always really loved the Fostex RP headphone line (I own a pair of T50, a pair of T40, and several pairs of T20s), and I’ve also had good luck with the classic Fostex full-range Banana Cone hi-fi drivers, so these mics seem like something I might dig.  Anyone?

DOWNLOAD: Neumann_Fet80_1973

Models covered, with text, specs, and photos, include: Neumann KM 83, KM 84, KM 85, 87, and 88; KMS 85; U87, U47 FET, SM 69 FET, and KMA lav mic.

I have a U87 from this first era, and although it has its share of scars, it never fails to impress.  Expensive but worth it…  these things just WORK.

For our scan of the 1980 Neumann FET 80 catalog, click here…

DOWNLOAD: AKG_2way_mic_1970

As the image above suggests, these operate exactly as you’d expect: there are separate ‘woofer’ and ‘tweeter’ elements, with a crossover at 500hz.  Although the specs are quite good, i’ve never picked these up when I had the chance…  just seems like they’ve gotta sound a little weird?  Anyone?  Anyone still using these?  How do they compare to (x)?

DOWNLOAD: RCA_Starmaker_Mics

Not to be confused with the RCA BK-4 “Starmaker” hand-held ribbon mic of the 1950s, these later Starmakers were cheap prosumer and consumer units.  Models on offer included the Starmaker 96, 97, 98, 101, 99, and 100.  The top-of-the-range 96 has decent specs and useful features; gonna keep an eye out for that one.

DOWNLOAD PART 1: Milab_1981_1

DOWNLOAD PART 2: Milab_1981_2

For the low low price of (no fkkn dollars), you’ll get: The MILAB 1981 catalog, price list, product sheets (some of which are quite extensive) on the DC20, DC21, DC63, DC73, DC96, MSXY-8 ETC., as well as a price list and a very confusing attempt at an explanation of what MIPOW phantom-power is (seems like normal Phantom Power except that pin 1 is +48v rather than pins 2 and 3 being +48v relative to pin 1????).

I’ve never used, seen, or, to my knowledge, heard any of these microphones; frankly, I haven’t even read these documents.  It’s too hot out and i’ve had too much wine.  I would imagine that they are pretty decent tho; been hunting for one on eBay for a year now, no luck yet.  Something odd about Swedish products:  while Swedish culture itself has a reputation in America for sex-i-ness (cemented by this classic film, BTW), Swedish products have quite the opposite affect.

Anyway, here’s some pictures of old microphones.

Inside the cardboard sleeve (which offers frequency-distribution information regarding various musical devices/situations) is a two-piece device.  When pulled/tugged, the device responds by suggesting which A/T offering might best suit your needs.

The rear of this slide-rule goes so far as to then suggest where-to-stick said microphone.

Nice to see that my A/T 813 rates so highly in this competition, garnering numerous “Number-Ones.”

On a more serious note, tho, despite my initial lack of enthusiasm over my $50 eBay-d 813, it seems to be proving its mettle… it gets used weekly for acoustic slide gtr and mandolin in conjunction with my DIY’d REDD47 mic pre…  mainly because it does not require phantom power, true, but it’s hanging tough alongside the much more expensive AKG 451 nonetheless.  Gotta get around to that SDC shoot-out one of these days…