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Photographers Needed
We have documented a great number of obscure, discontinued microphones. But there are even more left to do.
The hard part is getting decent photographs; this is one of the reasons many mics are not in our database. If you own such a mic, you could help us by shooting some pictures of it.
Quick tips for better mic photos:
- stand the mic up on its XLR jack against a neutral wall (ideally white) — or better yet, stand it on a curved piece of posterboard to create an “infinite background”.
- turn on every light in the room, and open the windowshades. You want as much ambient light as you can get.
- Turn off the camera flash. A single-point flash will more likely than not ruin the photo.
- Turn the camera sideways (portrait mode). Unless you’re shooting a really fat microphone.
- Use a tripod if possible, to avoid camera shake.
Link to the site!
Show your support! Link to the site with one of our mediocre banners. (In my defense, they’re not all ugly.)
Justin
July 30th, 2008 at 12:39 am
In researching some mics for a school project I came across this website. The PR30 and the PR40 just happen to be two of the mics that my school has, and two mics that I have to get the specs on. When trying to find the specs on the PR30, I went to http://www.heilsound.com/pro/products/pr30/pr30.pdf and found the polar pattern for this mic to be Supercardioid. On your website it says that it is a Cardioid polar pattern. Your website has been a huge help with my research.!
Martin
September 25th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Contrary to the information on this site, the NT2-A does not have a battery compartment. Just spotted that little error there
matthew mcglynn
September 25th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Martin – thank you! I’ve fixed the NT2-A profile.
~Jon~
September 30th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
you’re doing a great job here!
1 thing I’ve found so far is on the page for the AT-3035 you’ve got the max SPL at 12dB! 12dB is the self noise, max SPL should be 144
matthew mcglynn
September 30th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Jon, thank you. The AT3035 page has been overhauled. BTW, the AudioGeekZine site looks cool; I’ll be checking it out!
Roger Jelbert
November 28th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Hi..On the page relating to transformerless sm57 you state that it may be prone to damage by phantom power. There are many mics made without transformers and I can’t understand how connecting 48v at high impedance to both sides of the capsule can cause damage. If you know that your statement is true could you add the explanation to it.
matthew mcglynn
December 1st, 2008 at 9:05 am
Roger, the quote to which you refer actually links to a Gearslutz post by Jim Williams, whose opinion on such matters I’m inclined to trust. (See the SM57 profile.) I see you’ve re-opened that old thread on GS, so perhaps we’ll learn something new on the matter.
Jenny Liu
December 28th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Dear Sir,
Good day!
Our company Shanghai Shuaiyin Electronics Co., Ltd is a professional manufacturer for studio microphones including tube microphones, FET condenser microphone and ribbon microphone.
If you are interested in our products, pls check our catalogue that you have or visit our website http://www.shuaiy.com to learn more information.
If you have any enquires for our microphones, pls contact us freely.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Jenny
Tel:86-21-52699506
Fax:86-21-52699507
URL:www.shuaiy.com
r l spartan
January 10th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Gentlemen—My measured dimensions of the CARVIN CM-87s were 123 x 32mm, which would be a ratio of 3.84375 as opposed to your stated dimensions of 70 x 190mm, a ratio of 2.7142857. Anyone with a calibrated
eye can see that this mic is not one third as fat as it is long-I suggest your
publicist may have made a number typo, say, a 2 for a 1. Also, it would be nice if one were able to know the diameter of the diaphragm, and the self-
noise of the microphone, by far the most important parameter in the pro-
studio recording world. If you could supply us with this information, we would
possibly consider buying a few of these microphones. Thanx, Lance
matthew mcglynn
January 11th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Lance, thanks for the comments. You appear to think that we’re selling Carvin microphones here. Try carvinguitars.com instead.
The stated dimensions come from the Carvin spec sheet; they may well be incorrect. We have not been provided with sample mics for testing (yet).
I agree with you about the need for self-noise figures; we’re in the process of adding those to the database.
Trey
February 15th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I have two comments:
1. In the CAD Equitek E70 entry, you noted three other similar mics but neglected to include in that set a mic that it is *exactly* like: the Astatic CTM-1000A. Astatic is CAD’s parent company. They mics are identical except that the CAD has a gold-plated capsule screen, while the Astatic has a stainless steel capsule screen.
2. You should consider publishing frequency response curve data for these mics, where possible. It would be immensely helpful. For the Astatic mic from my first comment, the published response is: http://www.astaticinstalled.com/files/CTM-1000A/ctm-1000a.response_cardioid.gif
matthew mcglynn
February 15th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Trey, we’ll be adding frequency graphs soon. We have the data, but have not integrated it into the website yet.
Thanks for the feedback!
Update: We added frequency graphs on Feb 20.
Seth
May 12th, 2009 at 6:52 am
Hi. Just wanted to point out a minor error in your U87 page. But first, thank you for creating such a great database! Very fine. You should be proud of the work that went into this. Ok, technically your page is correct, the AI version was presented in the 80s, but the changes were actually fairly minor, and the U87 microphone itself was introduced in 1967. Cheers!
Julian McBrowne
June 2nd, 2009 at 6:06 am
Great site. Deeply great. All the info in ONE PLACE!
Anyway, the original Studio Projects C1 has no -10db pad, and no roll off. At least mine doesn’t. Keep up the good work.
matthew mcglynn
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:51 am
Seth – we’re still trying to work out whether it makes sense to catalog the U87 separately from the Ai. We’ll explain the dates correctly in either case.
Julian – That is news to me regarding the C1. I’ll amend the description.
Thanks to all for the nice comments and feedback.
Tom
June 8th, 2009 at 12:18 am
Your site says the Shure Beta 57a is also know as Beta 57. Beta 57 is a different microphone. http://www.skokiemusic.com/dynamic/slides/Shure%20Beta%2057-1.jpg
matthew mcglynn
June 8th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Tom, you’re right. We’ve updated the profile to make this more clear. But because the original "Beta 57" hasn’t been produced since about 1989, that name has become a lazy shorthand for the 57A.
Andreas Gilgenberg
July 1st, 2009 at 1:39 pm
The link to get information about the removing the EM/RF circuitry for the MTG UM 92.1S does not bring the required information because you can not download the required circuitprint.
Does anybody know how this works?
matthew mcglynn
July 1st, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Andreas, it looks like the PSW forum lost both those circuit diagrams. I’ve emailed the author (Oliver Archut) — if he can supply the diagrams, I’ll host them here.
Update: Ernie Black of PSW is our hero for the day. He recovered both circuit diagrams. See the UM 92.1 profile page for details.
Alan Southwick
July 2nd, 2009 at 11:52 am
I find it a bit curious that some of the acknowledged best microphone manufacturers aren’t among your listings. I’m referring to DPA and Schoeps.
DPA continued manufacturing Bruel & Kjaer calibration microphones for audio after B&K had financial difficulties in the 1990’s. Schoeps has been making superb and very sought after condenser microphones since the early 1950’s.
I wound up on your site after seeking information about Bob Speiden, who passed away on 15 May 2009 at 87. As noted on your website, Bob took the original B&O ribbon coincident ribbon microphone design (a marvel in it’s own right at the time!), improved upon it as his SF-12, and eventually licensed it to Dave Royer, who further improved upon it’s design, eventually adding electronics to bring it’s output levels up to par with many condenser microphones.
Speaking of ribbon microphones, I didn’t notice AEA on your site either. Wes Dooley has a broad line of ribbons, some of which are based on improved versions of the Harry Olsen legendary RCA 44 monster! Mr. Olsen developed one of the most robust ribbon designs for high quality voice and music in the early 1930’s, that are still sought after today. The huge size was due to the enormous alnico horseshoe magnet that provided the field for the ribbon element to provide reasonably healthy output levels! Thanks to modern neodymium (SP?) magnets, this problem has been largely overcome for both ribbons and dynamics, but the RCA 44 and 77 series ribbons are still sought for their wonderful warm sound and figure-8 pickup pattern. Just ask Larry King (he uses a 77 for his “Larry King Live” CNN broadcasts).
Alan Southwick
July 2nd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Oops! My bad! AEA IS included in your listings! My apologies!
But Sony isn’t! They have a limited line of very high end (read: expensive), large diaphragm, professional condenser microphones. I have a pair of 1960’s vintage, now slightly modified, C-37 FET’s (the capsule power converters ultimately died and have been updated with a more robust dc-dc upconverter), along with +48 volt phantom power conversion. A recent look on eBay noted their 6AU6 tube based, C800 condenser microphone, is selling, new, for nearly $8,000!
J. Sabin
July 15th, 2009 at 12:51 am
The Lauten Audio LT-381 uses a seven pin conection to the power supply and a s3 pin xlr out.
LT Foong
July 25th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Regarding the MXL Gold 35, you stated during your reveiw that it was of limited edition of just 100 being produced. I have read that at the Summer NAMM 2009, MXL launched several new microphones including the Gold 35. So it’s no longer a limited edition item?
matthew mcglynn
July 25th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
LT, if the mic is selling well, I’m sure MXL will make more of them.
Günther Neckritz
July 27th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Your site about the Oktava MK-220 states that this Mic was introduced in 2009. I was able to purchase one of these in Moscow in late 2005, but the passport (or the specsheet) of the microphone indicates that it was produced in July 2003. It has SN 0143063. Greetz fronm Germany, Günther
Nico H.C.J. Veth (pa0nhc)
October 11th, 2009 at 4:30 am
For modification description on MCA SP1 and MXL990 in English language see my pages :
http://www.xs4all.nl/~nhcjv/nvrecording/AudioTechniek/MXL990_MCA_SP-1_mods/MXL990_MCA_SP-1_modsEN.htm
BIG improvement to maxSPL and low frequency range. Mic output now capable to OVERDRIVE micinput of mixer. LF range of electronics now from 70Hz to below 10Hz for -3dB. NB: the FET al;ready is the BEST available in repsct to noise/impedance. Do NOT chnge the FET !! AND FAR BETTER balancing effect (suppression of induced hum and noises on mic kable OVER 40dB) ! This is a superb mic for very low price now.
73’s, Nico
Nico H.C.J. Veth (pa0nhc)
October 11th, 2009 at 4:41 am
Question: i read that the ringmount around te capsulle of the MCA SP-1 and the MXL990 influences the F/B ratio of the capsule. What should happen if the extra diameter (thin rim) of the capsule housing should be removed using a lathe?
I understood that the best F/B should be acheived when the distance between front side and rear side of the capsule is short. So the extra included distance around maybe causing a change from cardioid to hyper cardioid directivity?
Nico, The Netherlands. NB: see also my recording demo’s on http://www.nvrecording.nl
Klaus Heyne
November 13th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Just a small correction on the Bock 50 page: Neumann’s M50 never came with nickel diaphragm capsules. The tension required for these pressure omis at 60 V. polarization voltage would have torn the 0.9 µ skins off in no time flat.
Best,
KH
matthew mcglynn
November 15th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Nico, thanks for the links. I’ve added a note to the MXL 990 and MCA SP-1 profiles, linking to your mods.
Klaus, thank you for your help in clarifying the history of the M50! I’ve updated the profiles as you suggest.
LAMAR WARNER
December 13th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
I have an Oktava 2500 It is Russian with a sn. It has a PSU made in the UK.
I am not near it at the moment but will let you know the model #, maker etc. if anyone is interested
Merry CHRISTMAS
.LAMAR
psilas
December 28th, 2009 at 6:36 am
OKTAVA 219 was NOT released in 1989 as said here.
Michael Jolly has a silver 219 which he states was released in 1986.
I pressume Jolly’s has the date on it so that leaves the question…..When exactly was the 219 released in Russia because it wasn’t 1989?
dave
January 24th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Just wanted ti let you know I purshased the advantone CV12 from sweeteater,and was disappointed because it does not come with extra tubes if you buy from them.
Sweeval
April 13th, 2010 at 5:08 pm
In your description for the Apex 471 tube pencil condenser you mentioned that “We don’t have specifics on the original make or model yet”.
The 471 appears to be a re-badged Alctron T50B, which makes sense when you consider how many Apex mics are made by them. The Alctron is also available as the T50P and comes with a funky little pop shield that attaches to the specially designed mic clip.
If the Alctron site specs are correct, the T50 is based on the T40B. Aside from the addition of the attenuator and HPF, the electronics have been revised and the 18mm capsule has been replaced with a 22mm one. Maybe someone out there could confirm this.
Keep up the good work
Albert
August 11th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Excellent site I use to choose a affordable stereo matched pair SDC, along with some merchant places you link to.
I came to Cascade M39, CAD GLX1200 (to-day at a very low price, but not available as a matched pair) and Sontronics STC-1S. The main criterium is the self-noise level and the availability of different capsules. Price also matters! CAD GXL1200 vs Sontronics STC-1S ?
CAD and Cascade seem to be the same microphone (excepted for the switches), but I think there is a mistake on your site (as in Cascade’s) as to the sensitivity of the M39: 1.5 mV/Pa is VERY low for a condenser ! It it seems like somebody somewhere read and wrote -56 dB instead of -36 dB…
Thanks for your very useful site.
Albert.
Albert
August 16th, 2010 at 12:17 am
CAD e70 looks very much like the Superlux S241/U3 in spite of what is in your presentation.
Cf. http://www.superlux.us/images/S241_datasheet.pdf,
http://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_s241.htm.
Superlux S241/U3’s self-noise is 16 dBA vs 23 for the CAD e70.
Which one is the original? …
Ashton
February 3rd, 2011 at 7:53 pm
I have an AKG Solidtube. Basically new. Would love to add it to the database.
Stephen
February 8th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
on the Mojave MA-300 …. Multiple patterns, continuously variable from omni to figure-8 … Thanks for this database, it’s amazing!
Eric Drummond
February 27th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Alctron HST-11A seems similar to Eagletone CM90.
http://en.woodbrass.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=cm90
Seems to be a shop’s own-brand name.
Weird bundle pricing – looks like an error, but they sent me the lot at the cheapest price.
Initially unimpressed – a kazoo-like resonance. Will try dessicant and increasing room temperature from 15 to 20 deg celsius !
Dan Phillips
March 16th, 2011 at 8:04 am
Thanks for this great resource! Notes on the MXL 604 might include the different frequency response claimed by MXL in comparison to the 603s, including a reduction in the 8kHz peak and extended LF response. Drum overhead demos of the two mics on MXL’s YouTube channel sound different as well, although they don’t note whether or not they’re using the 604’s low cut filter. Listen to the hats, for instance.
http://www.youtube.com/user/mxlmics#p/u/35/U9WccBcFo0I
http://www.mxlmics.com/manuals/Studio_Mic_Manuals/604_Manual.pdf
http://www.mxlmics.com/manuals/Studio_Mic_Manuals/603_Manual.pdf
Drew Alexander
March 29th, 2011 at 9:43 am
I was looking through the Blue Kickball manual, and noticed that the information presented there is slightly different than what is on your profile for it. In the manual, it says that the three settings (+, -, and 0) provide +5 dB @ 70 Hz, -5 dB @ 70 Hz, and +/- 0 dB @ 70 Hz. The neutral position (0) has a bump of 5 dB @ 70 Hz, and the – setting reduces this bump. Stated in the profile on this website is that the settings are +10, +5, and +/-0, when they are actually +5, -5, and +/-0.
Keep up the great work, this site is a wonderful, wonderful resource.
Bill Price
March 29th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Does the AKG Perception line of mics use the standard Chinese K47 capsule? The graph looks like it does!
Great resource you have here.Please keep up the great work you do.
Thank you
Bill
matthew mcglynn
March 29th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
@Bill Price, there is no “standard Chinese K47 capsule” as far as we have seen.
The common Chinese LDC capsule is a K67 type, which is distinguished from the K47 in that it has a HF peak that is both higher in frequency (8-12kHz) and higher in amplitude (over 8-10dB above the 1kHz point) than is typical for a K47-style capsule.
We have not seen a Perception LDC with its capsule exposed, but would welcome such a photo.
That said, visual identification of K67-style capsules is not a certain thing. There is a Chinese-made LDC capsule that appears to use a K67-style backplate, but produces a fairly flat frequency response.
Richard
June 24th, 2011 at 3:20 pm
I noticed there weren’t any Sterling microphones or Unidyne
Jesse Gimbel
July 14th, 2011 at 11:57 pm
One thing I noticed on the Advanced Audio Microphones CM-47 page that’s incorrect – there are two versions of the mic offered. The one listed in the article (that is upgraded with the Peluso capsule (“a k47 type capsule” Dave said when I spoke with him). The standard microphone does not have an upgraded capsule, and I believe the only thing modified by the company is the power supply. Dave actually recommended the stock version to me over the upgraded for my situation (he said the stock version is preferred in smaller rooms, while the upgraded version, called the CM-47SE, works better in larger rooms). Dave is a great guy and has been very helpful in my emails with him, and I’m very much looking forward to my CM-47 arriving once they’re back in stock and all burned in in early August.
Jesse Gimbel
September 21st, 2011 at 12:10 am
On the Pearlman TM-1 page (http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Pearlman/TM-1) there are freq. ranges posted for both cardioid and omni, In the first line it says it’s a cardioid condenser. However I can’t find anywhere if the mic actually just has a cardioid pattern or if it’s also got omni, but whichever it is should be consistent!
Stephen Bright
October 30th, 2011 at 11:33 am
The Neumann U87i does not come up in BATTERY POWERED search mics, even though it may be the best battery powered mic of all time. Best, Stephen
gildas LOINTIER
November 7th, 2011 at 3:58 am
hi oliver,
thank you for the great ressource microphones website…
just a little thing, about the Neumann U47 Fet, Pad is -6dB ( not -10dB)
Thank you so much,
kind regards,
gildas
Sacha M.
November 12th, 2011 at 7:40 pm
The new Brauner Phantom Classic entry has conflicting literature on its polar pattern. The intro states “The Phantom Classic is a large diaphragm FET condenser with [a] wide cardioid polar pattern.”, but in the rest of the profile the mic is listed as Cardioid.
Jordan Mills
December 21st, 2011 at 6:25 am
great site! i use it quite frequently and couldn’t be more humbled by your godlike mic knowledge. keep up the good work.
my dad just found a busted old Sennheiser MD416 U laying around.
it looks cosmetically perfect but i wondered if i should take the time to get in there and patch it up.
well, i noticed you don’t have it up, so here’s another piece to throw on the heap.
more info at: http://www.coutant.org/md416u/index.html
thanks!
Mike McGonegal
January 19th, 2012 at 10:46 am
Matt,
After coming to your site via Paul Strikwerda’s blog (a Gefell? I’m jealous!), I figured I’d take a look to see what you had to say about my mic – the Studio Projects C3. As someone who owns a post-2006 model (I purchased mine in ‘09), I can confirm that it does, in fact, have separate pad and roll-off switches. The pad is a 3-position switch with ‘none, -10, and -20dB’ as options; and the roll-off is ‘none, 75, and 150Hz.
Personally, I like it for my voice – I did a side-by-side last year with a 103 in a local studio and aside from the C3 being a little more sensitive in the ‘mouth noise range’, they’re virtually identical tonally.
Of course, now that the 930’s out and Paul’s reviewing it, I may have to look into making the step up…
Thanks for all the work you’ve put into the site!
-Mike
Gregory Galfo - Producer / Engineer Anvil Records
January 26th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Hi, I love your website and refer to it often ! Congrats !
Just wanted to point out that ADK’s Thor mic has not been released as of this date. (Jan.26, 2012)… you have it as being released in 2010.
Thanks for a super website ! Much appreciated. PS…. your “mic graph” is outstanding !! Bravo !!
Joe
February 17th, 2012 at 2:38 pm
Are the GLS Audio products added to the database? If I am overlooking them, I apologize.
Great site, helps with school tons.
rick winking
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:31 am
On the page where you have listed recent price drops, sub MAP pricing, etc. you had the Blue Dragonfly listed at $399. needless to say, I was excited and about to buy a pair of them, so I clicked on the mic and the cheapest price I could find was $599. Any idea where the $399 price came from? I would love to get a pair for acoustic guitars!
John
April 19th, 2012 at 10:40 am
Why no audio samples for the RØDE Broadcaster & Kel Audio HM-2D ?
Same for M-Audio Luna II & M-Audio Sputnik…
I’m looking for a great broadcast (radio) microphone.
Shure SM7b is great but need a high end preamp (too much background noise because of that).
I like the sound of the Electro-Voice Models RE20 & RE320 and the Variable D design to control the microphone’s proximity effect.
But then found that the RØDE Broadcaster & Sennheiser MD-421 II might be better… (less amplification needed and sound great for broadcasters).
John
April 19th, 2012 at 10:41 am
What about the Shure Beta58a for broadcasting??
John
April 19th, 2012 at 11:03 am
Please post audio (male & female voice) samples of both Kel Audio HM-1x & Kel HM-2D.
Thank you!
Chris Lilley
June 12th, 2012 at 11:36 am
sE4 page states that the product photo shows only a single pad position. (i agree, that photo does, so your caution is warranted).
As an sE4 owner I can confirm that the product photo must be old/pre-production. On mine there is a three position switch with -10 (left) 0 (middle) and -20dB – as the spec sheet says.
matthew mcglynn
June 12th, 2012 at 10:05 pm
@Chris, fixed. Thanks.
@John – we hope to include Rode and Kel samples in the future. Regarding the SM7B, we’re getting ready to launch a shootout of affordable preamp/interface boxes that work well with the SM7B.
Chris Lilley
June 19th, 2012 at 2:33 am
The frequency response plots for the omni and cardiod capsules on the MXL V67N page are blank. (The Oktava capsule one works though).
The three frequency resonse plots for the sE4 all look the same. The ones on the manufacturer website look different, in particular the hypercardioid has a small presence dip (as noted in the TapeOp review, below).
http://www.seelectronics.com/se4-mic
For the sE4, it may be worth noting the EIN of 14 dB(A) which is pretty good for an SDC (although with a 19mm capsule, it is more of a MDC) and there are two relevant reviews, TapeOp and SoS
http://www.tapeop.com/reviews/68/se4-small-diaphragm-condenser-mic/
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar09/articles/seelectronicsse4.htm
Chris Lilley
July 18th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
I suspect that the t.bone SC1200 is the same as the Ningbo Alctron Electronics Co., Ltd. BC400 based on the shape, position and labelling of the three switches, and the shockmount.
http://www.thomann.de/intl/the_tbone_sc1200.htm
Chris Lilley
October 12th, 2012 at 5:11 am
The error on the sE4 polar plots, which i reported in June, is still there. Could this be fixed, please?
Antonio Jordan
April 20th, 2013 at 10:13 am
Just wanted to let you know that the CAD M9 has now been discontinued also.