As a music engineer starting out in the record business in the mid 60’s, I had the pleasure of working with not only a lot of big name artists and on my share of gold and platinum records but the best equipment as well.  German and Austrian tube microphones like the U-47/48 & 67 and AKG C-12 were “state of the art” stuff.  Telefunken, Neumann, AKG, Shoeps, Sennheiser etc were, and of course still are, all well respected and expected names in the studio. I often re-engineered or built from scratch much of my own  mixing and recording equipment but never considered building a microphone. With mics like those readily available and, at the time, reasonably priced, there was no need.

    In the mid 70‘s, after moving to the “other side of the glass” as a voice talent, I’ve worked in a lot great studios in the states, the UK and Europe and on many, many great mics but always, as many around the world still do, really appreciate the “sound” and “feel” of those old classics. Now, with a son in the VO biz  and the studio biz as well, he shares that enthusiasm and appreciation for the vintage technology and sound from “back in the day”.

    With both professional and home all digital studios the norm, there’s great demand from engineers, producers, VO talent, singers and musicians not only to obtain that sound at a reasonable price but also to have replacement tubes and other parts readily available that don’t cost an inheritance or your kids college tuition. This is what led us to seek out and assemble the best components for a tube condenser mic that’s vintage in sound and feel but still affordably priced. We use a familiar shell and circuit design and the “important” parts (hand made, large diaphragm, double sided capsules, 6072A tube, caps and output transformer) are assembled and tested to re-create that “vintage” sound as closely as possible. The result is a natural, warm mid range presence you don’t have to work right on top of to achieve with a smooth top end and stout output. They really shine on voice, vocals and acoustic instruments.

    The model shown above we call the “Pearl”. It features an American,  hand made “U-47” retro capsule and sound that is so much in demand. We also make the “Ruby” (deep burgundy colored sleeve and power supply not shown here) with an American, hand made “C-12” retro capsule and sound. We also now offer a model featuring a German, hand made “M7” clone capsule we call the "Mocha". All three models are priced at a little over twelve hundred dollars each and include a 9 pattern/dual voltage power supply, very sturdy, suspension style, adjustable shock mount, a well padded, aluminum clad road case, all cables and 1 year warranty on parts and labor. We build each mic one at a time and each is throughly tested and burned-in for several days prior to shipping.

    As you might expect with a “cottage” business and one off, hand built product, we don’t have a lot of units sitting in a warehouse ready to ship over night or a bank of operators standing by to take your call, so, if you’re interested in hearing one of the models, please email chris@christurbiville.com for info. We’re happy to discuss a demo and building one for you.