Microphones

Ever since the recording studio days, I've had a healthy respect for Neumann microphones. When it came time to select a microphone to use for the ham station the TLM103 was a natural choice because of it's consistent sound. Recently I was able to pick up a nice backup to the 103 in a Neumann M147. It was an Ebay purchase and had a bit of  a problem when it arrived. Fortunately it was as simple as a bad tube and I was able to find a replacement for it on Ebay also! You will note from the photo of the microphones internals that it was a solder in replacement. After it was installed, the microphone sound silky and warm. Click on this link to hear a recording of the TLM103 and the TLM147 and decide for yourself. Click on the pictures below to see them full size.

PB-140

I recently acquired an RCA PB-140 that was in pretty rough shape. Below you will see pictures of the microphone as I received it and then pictures after cleaning and repainting. You can also click on the recordings that I made before and after putting a new ribbon inside.

BEFORE and AFTER

This is my RCA ribbon microphone collection. They were restored to like new condition and the ribbons replaced from materials that were purchased at an arts and crafts store.

Below are some individual pictures that will allow you to see some more detail of each microphone.  If you click on any single picture, you will get a full sized image to view.

In the first row of pictures below you will see what the PB31 looked like when I received it and pictures of the clean up. The second row contains pictures of the RCA 44A being restored and the materials and tools used to make a new ribbon for it and the last picture in the row is the completed microphone.

For more information on RCA ribbon microphones you can visit the following link ... Professor Stan Coutant's page