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ACOS
Made a range of mics in the late 50's and into the 70’s, these were fairly cheap and were thus often seen in amateur studios in the UK, more info on 2 common models to be found here. Most ACOS made or branded microphones are communication quality products that utilise cheap dynamic or crystal inserts that are of a limited interest today, one possible exception is the Lustraphone VR64 ribbon microphone, this model has a figure of eight pattern that unlike most modern units is fixed rather than switchable so the VR64 is only usable for certain recording applications unless you acoustically shield the back side. It was at the time of introduction more of a semi-professional unit and as such has a fixed cable that terminates in a balanced XLR male connector rather than a connector at the body itself, the wire used is cheap and if you acquire one of these you might want to look at upgrading the cable. The VR64 is sought after by certain vintage ribbon mic aficionados as a good sounding unit but as with all vintage equipment your mileage might vary, some of these old ribbon mics are overrated.
Cadenza
Ribbon mics from the 50's, desktop standing units that were originally intended for voice applications, but have a characteristic "sound" that may suit other material.
Curtis Technology
The company introduced the AL-1 in 1995, it is a valve based condenser microphone built around a 12AU7 valve that has some unusual characteristics. It was originally designed as a high end mic specifically intended for the recording of drum overheads and utilises an uncommon polar pattern that the company described as an elongated cardioid. It was sold not just to drum recordists but also marketed as a generic ambience microphone or for any application that did not require close miking.
Although the AL-1 was supposedly available as a single microphone it was invariably sold as a stereo kit with 2 microphones and a power supply and in 1999 the company introduced the AL-2 which for all intents and purposes appears to be simply a stereo pair of AL-1’s and shares the exact same specifications, the AL-1 was discontinued in 2001.
Manufacturers specifications :
Diaphragm : Gold free condenser 3.2cm (2.2cm exposed)
Nominal impedance: 600 Ohms.
Frequency response : 20hz - 30khz.
Maximum SPL : 125dB.
Output: Balanced, transformer coupled. (Transformer-less unbalanced version available via a special order).
RRP : USD 2495 in 1997, USD 2995 in 1999 (AL-1 Stereo system). USD 3495 in 2004 (AL-2 Stereo system)
Fi-Cord
The FC1200 are quite a bit sought after here in the UK, they were actually made by Calrec.
Nakamichi
Had a range of recording microphones primarily intended for the bobbyist and semi-pro markets, especially interesting are the omni models from the latter half of the 70's that have some B&K like characteristics, this page here has some further info.
Peavey Electronics
The company has from time to time offered microphones, in the mid eighties it had a line of hand held mics called the Celebrity series that were for all intents and purposes run of the mill with the possible exception of the CD-30 and HD-40 that featured better than usual screening and hum rejection.
Youxing
Had a large range of dynamic microphones if you are looking at these second hand note that they are more designed with sound reinforcement than recording in mind, was also a manufacturer of dynamic inserts etc...
Budget pencil type cardioid electret microphone sold by Bose Corp, introduced alongside the company's Bose AW-1 Music system/portable PA system in 1986 and frequently sold bundled with it. Since AW-1 did not feature microphone inputs the PM-1 does unusually enough output line level signals rather than microphone level and the microphone is terminated with 2x male cinch plugs to plug into the aux output of the AW-1 or the line level of any amplifier or music system.
Note that despite the presence of 2 cinch outputs the microphone is a monophonic model and not stereo, it is simply put into both channels since the system it is intended for did not feature a mono button. Otherwise this is a fairly run of the mill pencil electret with a switchable roll-off filter and an on/off switch and it came with a Neoprene foam windshield and a simple desktop stand. Note that the company called it a Power Microphone or Acoustic Wave power microphone.
Quite literally the only thing interesting about this microphone is its built in amplifier that allows it to be used with any system that had line level inputs and while there are similar products available they are by no means as common a find as the PM-1 was, otherwise it is just an overpriced but bog standard pencil electret.
The PM-1 went out of production in 2004 but Bose was still selling old stocks as late as 2006.
Resources : User manual on Bose homepage
Manufacturers specifications :
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Directional Characteristics: Cardioid
Frequency Range: 80~15,000 Hz +/-5dB
Impedance: 10k Ohms (@ 1,000 Hz)
Equivalent noise level: Less than 40dBA SPL
Sensitivity: 94dB @ 1 kHz produce 80mV
Max SPL before clipping: 105dB
Rolloff: Switchable 6dB below 200Hz
Power requirements: 2x AA batteries
Estimated battery life, 600 hours minimum
Plugs: 2x cinch (RCA)
Mic Dimensions L×D: 250 × 30 mm
Weight Including Cable: 240g
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The microphone itself was made in Japan, Sony did at the time do OEM microphone manufacturing for Tandy Radio Shack so it is possible that the company made this mic, but it is also possible that another sub-contractor made the unit using Sony electronics. The original model was replaced with the Realistic 33-1090A at some point in the mid 80's, it is identical to the original model except that the extrusion/housing that holds the cable assembly and microphone on top of the plate is smaller than on the original model, but there were complaints that the unit performed better facing "down" than up, i.e. that the original housing interfered too much with sound coming from below.
The mic was upgraded again in late 1992 with the last model the Realistic 33-1090B that was sold until late 1997, this time 2 really simple mods were done to it, it has a hole on the plate to simplify fastening it to a wall or such and a black foam pad was placed around the mic at the request of those that used the unit outdoors, most people used the unit indoors fastened to a wall and removed the foam pad altogether. Note that the actual catalogue number remained the same even though the product number got an A or a B added to its end, this is the norm for Radio Shack, they often switch the actual products in behind each catalogue number.
RRP : 33-1090 USD 39.95 in 1984, 33-1090A USD 44.95 in 1988, USD 49.95 in 1990, 33-1090B 59.99 in 1997.
Resources : User experiences and mods by Toivo Maki
Some mods by Christopher Hicks
Manufacturers technical specifications :
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Freqency response: 20 - 18,000 Hz
Impedance: 600 ohms
Sensitivity: -74 dB (ref.: 0 dB=1v/mbar, 1k)
Signal to noise ratio: >40dB @ 1 kHz
Pattern: Hemispherical
Battery Type: AA DC 1.5V Dry Cell
Battery life: Approx 2000 hours
Current consumption: 500mA Max.
Output: 6.3mm (1/4") jack terminating a 550 cm cable (18 feet).
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