Found My Other Mic: Astatic 959L - Any Experience?

[Wabatuckian]

Last night, I found the mic I previously mentioned I'd misplaced.

It reads "Astatic, 959l, Made in USA". It has a TS jack, and The Radio Museum thinks it was made in c.1978 and has 460 ohms of impedance.

That's all I can find on it.

Is this halfway-decent, or just another karaoke mic?

Thanks!

 

[TalismanRich]

Astatic is primarily a maker of old crystal and dynamic mics for ham radio. They aren't designed for recording purposes. The Bullet mics are sometimes used by harmonica players, much like Shure Green Bullet.

I think the fact that there is virtually no information available, and you can't even find them for sale on Ebay means that it's not going to be a decent recording microphone.

 

[Papanate]

Last night, I found the mic I previously mentioned I'd misplaced.

View attachment 153747

It reads "Astatic, 959l, Made in USA". It has a TS jack, and The Radio Museum thinks it was made in c.1978 and has 460 ohms of impedance.

That's all I can find on it.

Is this halfway-decent, or just another karaoke mic?

it's a Public address Microphone for FastFood Drive Thrus - or when they announced things in a KMart etc...it's not designed for wide ranging response - it's high impedance with a very limited frequency response - you might use it for special effects on guitar amps - doesn't take much to make it distort through - IOWs you have to be careful with sound pressure levels - It's not a microphone I would use very much.

 

[Wabatuckian]

Astatic is primarily a maker of old crystal and dynamic mics for ham radio. They aren't designed for recording purposes. The Bullet mics are sometimes used by harmonica players, much like Shure Green Bullet.

I think the fact that there is virtually no information available, and you can't even find them for sale on Ebay means that it's not going to be a decent recording microphone.

it's a Public address Microphone for FastFood Drive Thrus - or when they announced things in a KMart etc...it's not designed for wide ranging response - it's high impedance with a very limited frequency response - you might use it for special effects on guitar amps - doesn't take much to make it distort through - IOWs you have to be careful with sound pressure levels - It's not a microphone I would use very much.

I appreciate it. I'm somewhat familiar with Astatic through CB radio, so I had hopes.

Better mics are on the purchase list.