What's your oddball mic?

[Greg Curtis]

RCA KU3A.
Aka 10001B

Only 300 made, Hypercardiod ribbon from the 1940s. They used cow hair in the interior labyrinth, so they all sound a little different. World's best trumpet mic.

[vincentvangogo]

STC 4105 for gtr amps. STC 4021 (Ball and Biscuit) for under snare. Funkberater MD30 for toms.

To the OP, have you tried the Lomo 19a19 on a bass amp?

[Hornblower64]

A Tannoy unidirectional ribbon microphone, re-ribboned by Stephen Sank. Sounds very much like an RCA 77. Never seen one exactly like it.


IMG_0914 by David Bernhagen, on Flickr

[Seamus TM]

Electro Voice 619TR

Push to talk mic with built in compressor.
It's fun.

[Rob Coates]

A Turner "Centurian Helmet" style dynamic desktop mic. Killer for bass.

[Ward Pike]

I've got a couple I think are oddball.

Shure 737a crystal mic.


T-Funk D77 stereo dynamic
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/attac...y-img_1099.jpg

Neither hardly ever gets any use... maybe once every 10 years or more.

[nnajar]

Originally Posted by Greg Curtis

RCA KU3A.
Aka 10001B

Only 300 made, Hypercardiod ribbon from the 1940s. They used cow hair in the interior labyrinth, so they all sound a little different. World's best trumpet mic.

Wow that is so hip you have one of those. I used the aea ku4 on my guitar on my last record....

Wes showed me how they build them. They are using a synthetic fiber in pace of the cow hair.

N

[jmikeperkins]

Vintage Neumann U77 and KM74. You don't see these very often. They don't have these at Blackbird in Nashville or Ocean Way. They are T powered mics from the FET 70 series. They DO NOT sound exactly like the common U87 and KM84 which came after them. The T power provides 15 times the current compared to phantom power (6 mA for the T Power vs. .4 mA for the phantom power) and the output of the U77 is 5 mV compared to .8 mV for the U87. The U77 sounds "bigger" than my U87's and clearer. Although closer to the sound of a U67 than a U87, the U77 is really its own animal and had its own distinct sound. The KM74 is a classic mic as good as any KM84. The FET 70's series mics do not have transformers in them and they would change your mind as to what is possible in a transformerless mic. They sound nothing like Neumann's modern transformerless mics.

[shortstory]

Se VR1 VooDoo ribbon-

[raincityrecorder]

I'm in love with my Crown SASS-P stereo pzm. It's a weird one but I love the clear sheen it adds to cymbals when placed behind the kit. Great for some room sound on a vocal. I only use it for ambience. Love it.

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

Besides the standards, you'll notice a couple off oddballs here:



and these are interesting:

[Rascal Audio]

ElectroVoice RE-15. Scored a couple for $10 each a decade ago and have since used them for just about everything. Usable on everything, phenomenal on guitar cabs and acoustics.

Joel

[bremusound]

Sony C36P. Nice vintage side address SDC cardioids. Mellow sound. Have a pair of these. Love them!
Sennheiser MK405. Early HF condenser from the Sixties. Fat sounding with silky highs. Have three of them, waiting for being used on strings.
Oktava MK18. Multipattern LDC in the shape of the MK219. Have to build PSU first, they need 60-70v! Have bought a lot of 3 of them for cheap.

[pan60]

Originally Posted by Rascal Audio

ElectroVoice RE-15. Scored a couple for $10 each a decade ago and have since used them for just about everything. Usable on everything, phenomenal on guitar cabs and acoustics.

Joel

Love those beauties.
they never cease to amaze me: )
wish i have more then what i have of them.

[Peller]

Originally Posted by jmikeperkins

Vintage Neumann U77 and KM74. You don't see these very often. They don't have these at Blackbird in Nashville or Ocean Way. They are T powered mics from the FET 70 series. They DO NOT sound exactly like the common U87 and KM84 which came after them. The T power provides 15 times the current compared to phantom power (6 mA for the T Power vs. .4 mA for the phantom power) and the output of the U77 is 5 mV compared to .8 mV for the U87. The U77 sounds "bigger" than my U87's and clearer. Although closer to the sound of a U67 than a U87, the U77 is really its own animal and had its own distinct sound. The KM74 is a classic mic as good as any KM84. The FET 70's series mics do not have transformers in them and they would change your mind as to what is possible in a transformerless mic. They sound nothing like Neumann's modern transformerless mics.

I'm curious, do you notice a difference then between running your U77 on a phantom-to-T-power converter as opposed to a dedicated mains T-power supply? I use mine with a converter and it sounds fine, but never tried the alternative.

[jmikeperkins]

Peller:

I have never run my U77 on a T power converter. When I bought the U77 the seller had a dedicated T power supply made by Tracy Korby that came with the mic and I have always used that. I have always been told to avoid the T power converter because it does not put out the correct voltage (even if the mic will still operate at the voltage it does put out) and T power mics are said to be sensitive to power supply noise if the supply is not a good one. However, the U77 will operate just fine (for a few hours or so) on a 9 volt battery. I would suggest that you try and run your U77 on a new 9 volt battery and see if it sounds any better than using the T power converter. If the 9 volt battery sounds better, or has less noise, you need to get a dedicated T powerr supply. They are not hard to build and even though Neumann says they don't have any more of these as spare parts, they will give you the proper schematic so you can build one or have one built for you.

I have heard other people claim the T power converter works OK for them too but I have had no reason to try one because I also have a dedicated 2 channel T Power supply for the KM 74's which was custom built for me by Peter Drefahl in Germany. I bought the KM 74's from him.

Mike

[Peller]

Interesting. What makes you say that a T-power converter won't put out the correct voltage? It's simple enough to convert 48v to 12v surely? I'd have thought current draw more likely to be a problem if anything. I haven't noticed any noise or bad sound with the converter. It's a great mic for sure.

[Deuce 225]

I think it's cool you guys are posting these mics, but I'd really like to hear what you use them on the most.

Best,
Tim Cochran

P.S. My oddest ball mic is shown in my avatar, It is a NWDR (North West German Broadcast) pre-serial prototypes of M49, from 1950/1951. It was first fitted with MSC2 tube, a larger diameter tube than the AC701, later exchanged with the AC701 tube.

[vernier]

Don't have an oddball, but my old Lomo is unique ...small size, big sound.
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