Late night show mics

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CJWalker

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I think everyone knows what Im talkin about here....

Jay Leno - Shure KSM32
Conan O'brien - AT4050, AKG 414
David Letterman - RCA 77dx
Rosie Odonnel - Gold Plated AT4033,
AKG C414

Anyone know anymore??

[This message has been edited by CJWalker (edited 06-20-2000).]
 
I have the same mic as Rosie!! I'll just have to have mine gold plated too :-)

Paul Schaffer uses the new Neumann stage vocal mic, KMS150 I think is the model #...
I thought Dave's desk mic was just a prop and that he really used a lapel?

-Evan "Who gets excited when he sees an AT4033 on stage!"
 
I couldn't find a source for all the mics being used on Late Night Television... so here's a list.


LATE NIGHT SHOW DESK MICROPHONES (MICS)


JIMMY FALLON
- Audio Technica AT4050 (2009-2014)
- Audio Technica AT4050LE Limited Edition Silver (2014-present)
- AT8430 Stand Clamp
- AT8601 Desk Stand


SETH MEYERS
- SE Electronics SE 4400A (2014-present)
- AT8601 Desk Stand


CONAN O'BRIEN
- Audio Technica AT4050 (1993-2010 @NBC)
- AT8601 Desk Stand
- AKG C414 with custom red grill (2010-present @TBS)


DAVID LETTERMAN
- AKG C414 (1982-1983)
- RCA 77dx (1983-2005)
- Neumann M147 (2005-2015)


JOHNNY CARSON
- RCA 77dx (1962-1970)
- Shure SM33 Ribbon Mic (1970-1981)
- AKG C414 (1981-1993)


JAY LENO
- AKG C414 (1993-1998)
- Shure KSM44A [custom color black] (1998-2003)
- Neumann TLM 170 R (2003-2009)
- NO MIC (2009 Primetime Show)
- Shure KSM313 [custom color gray] (2010-2014)
 
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Letterman just announced that he will retire soon. Could be as late as next year though.
 
TimOBrien said:
Those mics are just stage props, guys....
Click to expand...
Ooo this is a big necro isn't it? But I must.

Back when Dave was still on CBS I had the pleasure to get a tour of the studio during the show's off hours and I spoke to the sound effects man. Dave's Neumann was indeed not a true Neumann but it was a functional mic. Its insides were gutted and replaced with a noise cancelling mic. The same was for the RCA he used before that.

However, you can hear in the early days of Late Night with David Letterman that the C414 EB (the silver one) was used as a mic and not just a prop and it is doubtful that it was nothing more than an actual 414. You can hear the mechanical noise (booming) when he would touch or hit the desk. And there is a picture where you can see the 150hz roll off engaged. In some pics you can see the outline of the capsule as well.

There have been other times when I've seen Conan grab his desk mic and speak right on top of it and you can hear that was a functional mic.

So with that knowledge it would be likely that all of their mics were in use even if we weren't hearing them all the time.

Now the question that I'm most interested in is, was Johnny's 414 a silver EB that was painted black or an EB P48? Some earlier pics show it as a black mic with a silver front grill, just like a stock EB P48. But later pics show both back and front grills painted black. The EB P48 was released in 1980. Johnny started using one in 81 but Dave had a silver EB starting in 82.

We may never know.
 
ILuvFudge said:
Now the question that I'm most interested in is, was Johnny's 414 a silver EB that was painted black or an EB P48? Some earlier pics show it as a black mic with a silver front grill, just like a stock EB P48. But later pics show both back and front grills painted black. The EB P48 was released in 1980. Johnny started using one in 81 but Dave had a silver EB starting in 82.

We may never know.
Click to expand...
Somebody alive today knows the answer to this.
 
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