Category: Microphones

Categories
Microphones Publications

AES Journals Circa 1965: Microphones

Our earlier post on Saul Marantz discussed the journal of the Audio Engineering Society in general.  This week we are going to take a closer look at some of these fascinating publications.  We’ll start with a crop of microphones from the 1965 issues.

For a time in the 1960’s, Norelco (the electric-razor people) branded and distributed AKG microphones in the United States.  The AKG C12A was the historical bridge between two icons of pro audio: the legendary 6072-tube driven C12, and the perennial AKG 414.   If you have been following this blog you will recognize the AKG 414 as my ‘reference’ microphone.  I have two 414s – an older 414 XLS and one of the newer 414Bs.  The 414 is, basically, the cheapest (around $1000) widely-used multi-pattern microphone for professional applications.  Most audio-folk are familiar with the 414 sounds, so i feel like it makes for a good sonic reference point.

Unlike the 6072 (aka hi-grade 12AY7) powered C12 or the solid-state (aka transistor-driven) 414, The C12A uses a Nuvistor to provide capsule gain. The Nuvistor is a fascinating device.  They are essentially miniature vacuum tubes which were assembled entirely in vacuum chambers.  If the transistor had ‘never happened,’ Nuvistors might have represented the future of active circuitry.  I don’t know of any current-manufacture audio equipment that uses these odd devices.  Anyone?

Ah.  The Electro-voice 635A.  The ‘Buchanan Hammer.’  These used to be as ubiquitous as Shure SM57s.   Unlike most modern dynamic mics, the 635 is omnidirectional (picks up sound from all sides), so they are not so popular these days for music-studio-recording.  I hope to do a listening-test with the 635 soon, side by side with a 57.   BTW, 55 years later:  EV still makes this product.  Wow.

In an earlier post, I discussed a pair of EV 655s that I came across.  Unlike the EV 635, the much costlier 655 is no longer being manufactured.  The 655 seems to have been replaced by the (also discontinued) RE55 sometime in early 1970s. Expect a listening test of my 655s soon.

Yup, Schoeps mics are great.  Need to get a few…

Has anyone been using Sennhesier 211s?  The 211 is a small omni-directional dynamic mic.  I am very curious to try these out.  A couple of these sold on eBay for $150/ea a few weeks back.  Drop a line if you have an opinion on the 211.

Tomorrow: deeper into the AES c. ’65.

Categories
Microphones

Forgotten Microphone Shoot-out

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I keep some Turner 99 microphones in the mic locker.  The Turner 99 is one of the few 1950’s dynamic mics that I feel compelled to use for studio recording.  Since we had a drum kit setup for recording in a fairly live room, I thought this would be a good time to do a quick ‘obscure microphone shootout’ featuring the Turner 99 plus a couple of other oddities that ‘passed muster’ to the degree that they earned a place in the studio rather than in a large box in the back of my coat closet.

In order to make this a (potentially) useful endeavor, i set up an AKG 414 in omnidirectional mode along side said obscure mics.  Four signals were simultaneously recorded, all at the same level relative to the snare drum.  I used the same mic preamp (the very neutral 4-channel Sytek) for each mic.  I added no processing whatsoever.  If you give a listen to the AKG 414 track,  you will hear  pretty good representation of what you would have experienced had you been standing in front of the kit during the performance.

Here is the AKG 414. Click on the link below to hear the audio stream.

AKG_01

Here is a Turner 99:

Turner U99_01

Here is a Shure 535, which was a mid-level omnidirectional dynamic sold in the 1950s.

Shure 535_01

…And here is an AKG D124E, a rare high-end dynamic mic from the early 1970’s.  I had always felt that this was a very robust, full-sounding microphone, but listening to it relative to the 414 it sounds pretty pathetic.

AKG_D124E_01

Categories
Connecticut Audio History Microphones

CT AUDIO HISTORY: Syncron and Trod Nossel

(web source)

Many musicians in CT are not aware that this state is host to one of the oldest-running recording studios in America.  Trod Nossel of Wallingford, CT (a suburb of New Haven).

I have never been to Trod Nossel, nor do i know anyone who has; and in this era of modern ‘home-recording’ this is probably not all that surprising. Trod Nossel has a fascinating story.  The story of a dentist getting ‘turned-on’ to the sounds of the sixties, becoming a manager of semi-successful garage rock bands, and taking over a microphone-testing facility and creating a studio which hosted some pretty impressive acts over the years.  Crazy.  Trod Nossel Studio actually has a pretty extensive retrospective website where you can hear about this unlikely institution in their own words.

Anyhow, what is this about a microphone testing facility?  To make matters even stranger, it turns out that our dentist-turned-rock-impresario had been an investor in a failed microphone-manufacturing venture.  The headquarters of this company became Trod Nossel studio.  Ever heard of a Syncron Mic?  They were some of the earliest solid-state condensor mics, and if you can get one working, they are apparently excellent.   There is a very thorough and well-researched article on Syncron mics over at Stan Coutant’s excellent microphone data site.  You can read all the details and see pictures here.

I love Coutant’s site.  It is truly an asset to all of us interested in antique audio.   I don’t want to re-hash any of his work, but i would like to try and add to it, however modestly.  I have dug up the following circa 1966 advertisements for the Syncron mics.    Check ’em out.  The company folded shortly after these ads appeared in AUDIO Magazine.

Anyone ever done any work at Trod Nossel?

Anyone use these Syncron mics?

Categories
History Microphones

Microphone (hand) signals

Picked up this pair of circa 1951 Electro-voice 655A mics for $25 at the flea market yesterday.  These were the top-of-the line in 1951, retailing for today’s equivalent of $982 each.  Wow.  that’s a lot of money.

They had no cabling.  Just some bare wire.  They also came with this great little RCA MI 91-B mic stand.

Anyhow, a quick check with an ohmmeter gave an encouraging result, so i wired them up. And they sound great!  Not at all like what you would expect from 60-year-old mics that are beat to hell.  Very articulate, good level, pretty high-fi.  I own a ton of mics from the 50s and there are not too many American-made dynamic mics that I would actually want to use in a session.  These have real potential.

Anyhow, how about that circa 1951 price though?  I don’t think anyone was using these at home with their wire recorder.  Audio used to be serious business.

E. picked up this book at a library de-accession sale some years ago.  It was published by Hastings House in 1956, and it seems to have been used an a University of Vermont communications class.

———————————————————————- –  Microphone technique and ‘identification’ is a big part of the instruction on offer here.  Most of it is pretty unsurprising, but i found the extreme rigor of ‘Microphone hand signals’ to be really interesting.  I have worked in broadcast production and recording studios for years and I don’t think I have ever been aware of a truly codified system of ‘hand signals’ for producers to use in the studio.  Anyhow, here’s a quick lesson from the past.  Also -check the ‘turntable hand signals’ at the end.  These all need to end up in a hip hop video.  “Open my mic!”

Follow the link for many more awkward-looking gestures.

Continue reading “Microphone (hand) signals”
Categories
History Icons Microphones Technical

ICON: “gimme one of those real old mics…” :::UPDATED:::

When you are creating a set for a musical performance, nothing says ‘old school’ and ‘authentic’ like one of those mics…  those real big old mics with the springs…  what the F are they called?  Turns out that they are called Carbon Microphones, or more specifically, Double Button Carbon Microphones.

And while many a rapper, RnB singer, or songwriter type may favor them for their music video, i can promise you two things:  *)no one would be able to actually hook the mic up and use it, and *)if they did, they probably would not dig the sound.

Carbon mics are the oldest microphone technology still in (albeit limited) use today.  They actually pre-date vacuum tubes.  Wikipedia has a great article on their history and use, so no need for me to retread those waters.  Carbon mics are used in landline telephones, so we all have a basic idea of what they sound like.  midrangey, a little crunchy (distorted), compressed…  hey wait a minute!  that sounds pretty good to me!  Aren’t there like a million expensive DAW plug-ins in order to give you ‘that sound?’ Anyhow, we all know in general what they sound like… but how do those big old music-video props sound?

In order to find out, it turns out that it’s necessary to actually build a power supply.  Carbon mics need a few volts of a DC current moving through them in order to operate.  I found this handy schematic online and put it together.

I added a DC voltmeter so that i could monitor the effect of varying the voltage on the sound (the mic i have seems to like 6 volts).

I used a double-button mic input transformer salvaged from an ancient tube PA head that i had.  To the output of this transformer i added a second transformer to bring the impedance back down to Low-Z mic impedance so that i could use this whole rig with whatever mic preamp i wanted to.  The particular mic i have is a Lifetime Model Six.

I bought it years ago on eBay along with a little tube amp and some shitty speakers (and about a mile of useless rotten old speaker wire) for $150.  Anyhow, i won’t bless you with any vocal performances, but here is an acoustic guitar recording from my living room.  The left channel is the Carbon mic.  The right channel was recorded simultaneously with good equipment (414/omni into an API 512) so you can get a pretty good idea of what i was hearing in the room.  I put a little EQ on the Carbon mic to make it more audible (low pass at 3k, 5 db peak at 1.7K). No other processing was used.  Check it out.

carbonMicTest

Does anyone out there use double-button Carbon mics for audio production work these days?  Music recording? Sound design work?

I heard recently (maybe Tape Op mag?) that someone was making new-production ‘professional’ carbon mics.  Has anyone used these?  thoughts?

UPDATE: I recently had the chance to use this Lifetime Model Six Carbon Mic in a modern-recording context.  We tracked the following cut at Gold Coast Recorders, using the Lifetime for the vocals.  It sounds pretty outstanding…  I feel like you could get 90% of the way to this vocal sound with an SM57 and a fuzz pedal, but that extra 10%…  it’s a game of inches, ain’t it.   This is ATLANTIC CITY, my studio project with T.W.   Take a listen:  Ten Past Midnight