Elvis mic

D

Daddy-O

New member
Where can I find good working vintage microphones. I already own a shure 59 and an old Turner. Would like to add to my collection. Also, where can I find replacement parts.
 
depends on what you call "old" - the coles 4038s i had for a while were about 20 years old, and right now i have a pair of neumann km140s that are nearly that old. i used an old EV "elvis" mic many years ago in high school - i got it at a pawn shop for $20. oh, yeah, my sm57 is 25 years old. my royers are brand new, my tlm103s are new, my 184s are maybe 6 years old, my little akg c1000s are newish. when i worked at deep south studio back in college, we had all new U87s - they had just come on the market a few years earlier, i guess they are "vintage" now. lately, i have had the opportunity to check out a matched pair of telefunken ELA M-251s, a beautiful akg C12, and a number of other wierd and wonderful mics (u47s, blue bottles?) owned by village studios near el paso, so i have become much more interested in vintage mics. i wouldn't mind finding a good deal on a couple of rca 77s, and i look for them regularly on ebay.
 
jnorman: I guess I should replace old with
antique or vintage. I'm looking for any mics that are big, metal, and look like electric shock hazzards. I would like to find mics from the 1930's, 40's, and fifties.
 
odd-yo - do check out those links, they are all for really vintage stuff. i didn't mean to imply that i have any vintage mics. i was just saying some of my mics are older than some of the people on this forum :-) - and do look on ebay, there are lots of bizzare old mics that come through there. i just saw about 4 reslos go on there for pretty cheap, and there are always several 40's and 50's rca broadcast mics, and the similar old ev's and altec's.
 
I like vintage stuff just on archeological grounds, but: I'm in the market for a nice
mic and I'm not that sentimental.
When you line up all of that vintage stuff, do any of them have the transparent accuracy
claimed by Royer for their mics?
 
I don't know about old mics, but I do have a Turner Dynamic S22D. It used to work if you moved the cord just so, but now it doesn't. Rewiring's all it needs I'm sure.

I also have a gold Astatic 200 S. I haven't used it yet but the guy who gave it to me said he didn't like it cause it picked up the sound of his refrigerator when he was trying to record on his four track.
 
And I would like to add a question or two to drstawl's: do either of you two mic hounds actually *use* the vintage technology, and if so, what does it sound like compared to newer offerings?

I've got nothing against collectibles, but the idea of something real old providing a sound we don't have around anymore gets me all attentive.
 
the old rca 77dx's are noted for a smooth warm bottom end (and who doesn't like those?). my experiences indicate that the coles 4038s (also marketed as the telefunken 4038 back in the 50s) are a more reliable choice if you want that sound. the new royers are a bit more neutral than the coles - bottom end not as fat, high end a bit sweeter, a bit flatter in overall response - and i really like them. tube mics are different, with most users claiming that the vintage tube mics have a much different sound than their newer counterparts (such as the neumann U47 vs the new 147). major studios all over the place beg, borrow, and steal to get their hands on older U47s and akg C12s, and they are typically considered to be the best mics around, though at anywhere from $5000 to $15000 a pop, they are out of reach for most of us. i dont think any of the older dynamic mics are of too much interest - the sennheiser 421 and sm57/58 rule (along with a few other various favorites for specific applications). older U87s are pretty popular, though i dont notice a lot of difference in ones that are 25 years old and the new ones - preamps seem to be the major determinants in the overall sound of large capsule condensers. in one A/B we did, i was not able to tell the difference between a AT4050 and a neumann U87ai when they were both routed through a manley preamp, though the fellow i was with thought he could - but it was certainly pretty damn close. anyway, most of the focus on vintage mics revolves around the old ribbon mics and the old tube mics. if you are into jazz, the old ribbons can be spectacular if they are in great shape (or nicely refurbished - an old ribbon mic can have a new ribbon installed for around $150). if you can afford a vintage tube mic, you are a lucky person, and all you need to do then is get ahold of a manley mic pre and you are about there.
 
How many of the musicians you work with have *any* idea of the mic you put in front of them?
 
maybe a third of the performers have some idea what kind of mic they like (since they have recorded before.) a couple of my flute players know about ribbon mics, as did the fiddle player i just worked with. i worked with one player who, when i mic'ed her up with a pair of neumann tlm103s, was disappointed that i didn't have AT4033s - she was sure the AT's must be better because they had shock mounts! she wasn;t unhappy with the results however. none of the pianists or brass people i've dealt with had any knowledge of mics or techniques. the acoustic guitar guys almost all know what they want, and some have very specific ideas.
 
By the way, I owe you an apology. On another thread in this forum (micing violins, I think), I said something like "jnorman seems to know something about recording orchestral instruments". "Seems to know something", indeed. You know a lot more than just "something". Thanks for the input.
 
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