It is clear that they have gone to great lengths to minimize the labor content, and thus, the cost. The key to the microphone’s stellar price point is smart manufacturing. This is far better than disabling the supply’s safety ground connection. The SolidTube uses an output transformer making it is practical to allow the user to separate the power supply ground from the console ground in the case of a ground loop. For safety reasons, the outside enclosure of any electronic device needs to be connected to earth ground. The ground lift switch deserves a bit of discussion. The microphone uses a 6-pin XLR connector for connection to the power supply (a smart choice). The power supply is a conventional solid-state design, with a DC supply for the tube filament, and a separate high-voltage supply for the tube’s plate supply. On the front there is a 100Hz highpass filter switch, and on the rear are the AC mains connector, input and output connector, and a ground-lift switch. The power supply is housed in a sturdy metal box. A slide switch changes the sensitivity of the microphone to accommodate loud sources, and a small red window glows a dull red (from the tube filament) when the microphone is powered. The SolidTube microphone is a single-pattern (cardioid), large-diaphragm condenser microphone. It was surprisingly resistant to shock, even to thumping on the microphone body. Of course, when the box arrived the first thing to do was to connect it to my mixer and just listen. Nobody was more surprised than I when I discovered that the MSRP for the SolidTube was $1500, which includes the microphone, power supply, interconnect cable, anti-shock suspension, and a smart carrying case. Since this was a tube microphone, an AKG Tube microphone, I was prepared for another multi-kilobuck price tag. Looking at some of the preliminary press releases, and spotting an ad for the microphone piqued my interest. I’m the sort who looks at a vintage microphone with the same glint in my eye as an enophile does when looking at a rare Bordeaux. I admit, I have a soft spot for microphones. I got a call a couple of weeks ago from Frank Wells (editor of Audio Media) asking if I was interested in reviewing the new AKG SolidTube microphone. This article was originally published in AudioMedia magazine, American Ed., Jan/Feb 1998. Using the AKG C-24 stereo microphone to capture the sound was not daring at all, but it was a testament to the faith that Sheffield had in the abilities of this legendary microphone.įrom the original brochure:"The C-24 was specially designed for intensity stereo recording techniques in the XY or MS mode.Copyright 1997 by Rick Chinn. Using such a large ensemble to make a truly live record was a daring experiment, a testimony to the faith that Sheffield had in the performers. The results were nothing less than amazing. Nothing else got in the way of the signal path. The signal went from the AKG C-24 stereo mic, through a small mixer, then straight through 600 feet of cable to a cutting lathe in the lab, to make a vinyl pressing master. Setting up the band in a chapel down the road from the lab, the Sheffield team recorded the big band ‘direct to disc’. It was only one of many releases by Sheffield Lab, but it was one of the most unusual. The resulting audiophile LP, "The King James Version", was a throwback to the days when a performer had to cut their music ‘live’, directly to a wax cylinder. In 1976, Sheffield Lab and their founder Doug Sax, (of Mastering Lab fame), made a retro-revolutionary recording of Harry James and his Big Band, using a single AKG C24 stereo tube microphone. Very little else is different between the two iterations of the microphone.įirst appearing in 1959, the AKG C24 is essentially a stereo version of the legendary C12. The essential hallmark of the Mk I version of the mic is the design of the grille, which is in a diamond shaped pattern, as opposed to the wire-mesh style of the later grille.
Digital Adapters & Miscellaneous Cables.
0 kommentar(er)
