Tannoy MR425 Ribbon Microphone (circa1959)

A slightly cool looking, and well thought of British PA mic from the 1950s. It is an updated version (more chrome ,more fins) of the similar looking  model (the Tannoy Type 1) originally made in the 1930s. The MR425 also had a re-designed ribbon motor. This one was rescued from a night club in Birmingham where it had been in regular use until 1976. Sadly not a top draw ribbon mic. Every now and then I try it out on different instruments. it sounds ‘ok’ but some how it never quite makes it to the final mix! N.B. If you find one of these make sure it comes with a connector as they are as rare as hen’s teeth !

Short example of recording with flute.

The AKG C414B-TL (1989) A remarkable microphone!

In 1989 I inherited a sum of money sufficient to buy a pair of high quality condenser mics. For once I had enough money to choose the mics I really wanted and not just the ones I could afford! After many comparison tests and a lot of thought, the choice I made was a matched pair of AKG C414B-TLs. The B-TL model is similar to the original C414 ULS except that it has no transformer on the output which means that it will reproduce right down to the lowest possible frequencies. At the time it was also £100 more than the standard ULS. To my ears the 414B-TL comes very close to microphone heaven! It produces a rich, complex sound, accurately revealing an  extraordinary amount of low level detail and texture. For recording classical music these mics perform superbly in either X-Y or M-S configuration. In a multi track environment the C414B-TL will produce fantastic results for almost any high quality sound that is put in front of it! (vocals, double bass, guitar, brass, piano, woodwind, percussion, drums etc)       If the house was burning down, this pair of 414s would be the ones I would be rushing in to save!