Here's some info that I saved from a something Stephen posted. I can't remember which forum, but it was one of the popular ones... maybe even from his forum at Rec.org.
"I decided that with the technology I was using, and with the present economic situation, and finally with the sheer quality I wanted, regardless of price, the mike is being built entirely in the US, including the capsule.
The target release is NAMM, we're hauling ass to make that, but it's important to understand that we might even be a bit late. February is the latest that the go button should be pressed on full assembly, including the first run of subassemblies. Try to understand that most mikes are no longer tour de forces in industrial design, as well as styling, etc. This is.
Because I want certain things that have never been fixed, though some designers who truly know their onions have wanted to, couldn't, and those have been fixed here, but some of the technology allowing us to do it has only become available in the last six months.
And we are racing to keep things within cost, reasonable deadlines, and the fact that already there are over one hundred and fifty orders. That's the first run, plus part of the second run already sold out. If the mike is honestly on the street say, by end of March, the second run will be a lot larger, but still small as we ramp up production, get the last bugs out and so on. There is almost no off the shelf stuff in here, from the custom injection molded switches, to the capsule.
The amp alone blew us out of our chairs, using the same head, being moved between our standard 1.5u mod, and the new amp with the same head, and it didn't even have all the little changes we're making in some other places, but the mods that usually go out on an 87 amp, when this amp is used, is an entirely new order of mike.
Frankly I was flabbergasted at the enormous difference just the amp alone made.
That gave us the idea that the capsule had to be made here, because 1) The amp is going to show everything, though the naturalness of it was incredible, and 2) with the amp that good, we just could not get a Chinese capsule that met my spec, and in addition, I really do not want this technology given away like that.
So be patient. You should see it in January, no later than February, and street by end of March. And order as soon as you can, as the first runs are going to be small. But to watch the ten we are making come together finally, is very, very exciting, and I will try and work things out so that there isn't longer than a six week wait for a mike once it's ordered and the line is up and running. Finally things will stabilize and procurement will be easier.
But I'll say this, I think they're beautiful. Just beautiful. And there is no competition at any price, on sound and innovation, not to mention ruggedness.
Target street price is about $1600+
But definitely well under two grand. This is the solid state model with custom FETs I had made, and several other innovations that I won't mention till the mike is on the way. Suffice it to say that to have all this mike has, and the sound too, it is a major value, as it will record almost anything, and be a very versatile mike even for the project studio owner, who needs every mike in their collection to do quadruple duty.
Just to give you an idea, the tolerance on the outer diameter of all the pieces that fit together to make the mike, is alone +-.002". That's just the body main parts.
You have no idea how tight the whole thing is, all the way through, especially the capsule. Believe me, it kills me I can't tell you all the cool shit I put in this thing, but let's just say that ninety percent or so of the things I've wanted to see are there, and I have a pretty active imagination.
The key word: Elegance.
If you love elegance, in both the construction of your stuff as well as in the sound, this should do it. I wanted it to have class.
And that takes time.
You should see what it's done to my notebooks, anechoic facility, and lathe and mill. Not to mention the constant vigilance concerning QC, tolerances, and wabbits. I may get more info out there, but just hafta be verrry careful. The sharks are out there, and they can't wait to see what I did.
That's why we must establish that we absolutely manufactured these innovations first, (and designed them, in some cases) so that in the future there can be zero dispute as to where these things first came from. Little stuff, likr finding ways to keep all wires from the capsule to the amp under an inch long with hygroscopically sealed Hi-Z board and components. Three inches of wire can take your Dead Capacitance up so much that up to or more than three dB of S/N can be lost from the capsule.
The 87, for example, has over five inches of wiring in the pattern control and capsule section, and the C12 has over six inches. It's one reason that C12s are so noisy and need special care to make them quiet. Other features are much more obvious in their functions, but nevertheless are things I've always wanted in even my lower cost LD mikes.
Finally, the pattern switch has no audio in it whatsoever, is a sealed custom made MIL rotary switch with custom molded parts, and seals, and only has lo-Z DC running through it.
And the mike is absolutely quiet when you switch patterns. No loud switching noises, etc. Special care is also taken to keep the converter from getting into the output.
And of course, the same sub-wavelength of light tolerances on the backplates and rings, etc. that have made what we build so well-known. One of our machinists is investing in a new Fanuc machine just to be able to make the capsules to my specs over the long haul. And even though two tenths is what the machine is capable of, the backplates still are lapped to multiple bands of parallel lines, which is flatter than several cycles of roughly 720nm wavelength light.
It's been a real headache to do all this plus the things I can't mention (that aren't cheap) and keep the costs under control here, but I'd rather it cost a tiny bit more (100-200 bucks of target, and we might be right on target) and have the intrinsic value and quality, than save a bit more, make more profit and lose those things."
