"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Iain Churches wrote:

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Iain Churches wrote:
I'll bet they were in the early days. The BBC certainly used them
for a
while.

Interesting, Do you know what did they use them for?

Err, broadcasting? I'm surprised you've never heard of the GEC Peel
Conner. Or Marconi Reisz. Etc. Carbon mics were used into the '30s.

But in what application? Speech only?
Surely not for music?

Not having been around then my guess is they were used for everything and
anything. They didn't have the selection we have today. ;-) Certainly
early pics show it being used for singists.

Gosh! I wonder what that sounded like?

I once worked on a Pasadena Roof Orch type job
where the singer used a megaphone into an STC4038.
On another session, the original singer of The Temperance
Seven, whose name escapes me, is said to have sung
a chorus with his head in a galvanised bucket!

We had a number of 4038s at Decca. I have
never come across them since.

I'm surprised. It's the sort of mic most people have at least one of.

Not outide the UK

Since it was one of the finest general purpose mics of all time. But very
pricey.

It would be interesting to compare it with my long term favourite
the original vintage U-47.

It works just fine for any type of music. Being extremely dead on the
sides has uses in a multi-mic setup too.

In many instances, hyper-cardiod ís not the best choice.
One can use omni and Fo8 pattern to great advantage.
I was taught to mic French horns with a Fo8 and take
use the surrounding acoustic which plays such a large
role in their sound. You need to set the studio up
properly and ensure there is no-one sitting behind
them blowing into their mics.

Regards
Iain