Jeff Wexler Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift on the set of ‘The Misfits’, 1961. How many of you know what microphone is on the boom in this 1961 movie set? Very common mic in use at the time (which was actually before my time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Toline Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 Looks like an RCA 44bx Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted August 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 Nope, not in the 44 series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted August 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 If Eric didn't get it, I don't think anyone else will. I'l give it a moment then I'll name it and tell you a little about it. I actually had one for awhile and used it on a commercial with George Burns. Michael Evje also had one and used it, also on a commercial with George Burns. Strange history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rofin Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 KU-3? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hartley Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 Could be the KU3a. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Toline Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 I do believe it is the RCA KU3a. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted August 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 Bingo! My only confusion is my remembrance of the designation "RCA 10000A" which I have not been able to find searching for that model. So, I think we'll go with the KU-3a. - from web searches: For years the KU-3A was regarded as the “standard of quality comparison in the major motion picture industry” according to the RCA literature. It was also popular with TV broadcasters in live studio programs where boom operation was necessary. Its excellent frequency response and output was very uniform over its frontal pickup angle of 90 degrees. This afforded broader tolerances in microphone handling on booms. It's a beautiful microphone with a truly wonderful sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewest Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 Wow a ribbon mike which must have required a high gain low noise pre-amplifier in those pre-transistor days! Used in a Fisher boom I note! Fascinating mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Toline Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 Wes Dooley at AEA.com offers an upgraded version called the KU4 for $4700. He also has hi gain preamps for it also. Here's a quote that explains the RCA 10000a relationship to the KU3. The Legacy of the RCA KU3A The KU4 celebrates the legendary RCA unidirectional KU3A, a high- sensitivity microphone designed for the Hollywood movie studios. Also known as a M-10001 for its manufacturing number, it was RCA’s most expensive ribbon microphone. Fewer than 600 were ever manufactured. What made the KU3A special? It combined the smooth ribbon sound of a 44 with a unidirectional pattern, a wide sweet spot and less proximity bass boost. It expanded an engineer’s range of placement choices and became a standard at film studios around the world. Although condenser mics became the new standard by the end of the 1960s, ribbon mics are still appreciated today by experienced music recording engineers. However the KU3A is a rare microphone, a collector’s item, and few studios or rental houses own them. Opportunities to work with a good KU3A are limited. AEA is proud to be able to expand your opportunities with the KU4 featuring an RCA ribbon, interchangeable KU3A parts and consistent performance. Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 Wow, that is a beautiful photo, Jeff! I bet the thing weighed a TON! For Fisher/Mole booms only. Here's Wes Dooley's modern reproduction: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Visser Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 I've really been interested in the AEA KU4, expensive though. Might be a good compliment to my U87i and Royers. Not enough jobs for it now though, will have to wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Davies Amps CAS Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 Wow a ribbon mike which must have required a high gain low noise pre-amplifier in those pre-transistor days! Used in a Fisher boom I note! Fascinating mike In the early sixties Mike a U87 was flavour of the month for a studio boom on Coronation Street. Malcolm Davies. A.m.p.s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Smith Posted August 13, 2012 Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 Missed this thread earlier. As noted by Jeff, this is indeed a MI-10001 (or KU-3A, which was the reference used in more commonly in broadcast circles). Still very highly prized on scoring stages, mostly for brass instruments. It's interesting that it looks like they don't have much of a shock-mount on this arrangement. Must be rolling off a lot of bottom end! These mikes were most often used with high-gain vacuum tube preamps, which could overcome issues with the rather low output level. I recently did some work with the MI-10001 feeding an Altec 1567A mixer, which has a rather high turns ratio input transformer. At normal voice levels, the input and master pot settings were at about 1 o'clock, which seemed to be a pretty happy tradeoff between overload and S/N ratio. Not sure I'm ready to put one on the cart though! --S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Flaitz Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 I love these threads . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rb1138 Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 Very interesting. Do you think such microphones could be used for production dialogue today? Not worth the trouble? The sound from that era was always very nice & very warm. I've always wondered if it was possible to use those mikes today. - Robbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 " Do you think such microphones could be used for production dialogue today? Not worth the trouble? " yes, yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBoisseau Posted August 24, 2012 Report Share Posted August 24, 2012 Wow a ribbon mike which must have required a high gain low noise pre-amplifier in those pre-transistor days! Used in a Fisher boom I note! Fascinating mike Is that a Fisher boom? Were they around in 1961? I was assuming it was an old Mole Richardson. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Smith Posted August 25, 2012 Report Share Posted August 25, 2012 These mikes can definately be used! (Assuming the ribbon is in good condition). While I don't know that I would use them for regular dialog pickup, I have used them as functioning practical mikes on a few occasions. As noted previously, they do require a good high gain preamp. Very few modern preamps are up to the task. A number of years ago, I rebuilt an old RCA preamp I had from a production console ca. 1940's. Interesting exercise-while I can't say that it had the flattest response or lowest distortion, it did have tons of gain! That is indeed a Fisher boom in the photo. Some of the first Model 2 booms with the Model 3 base were used on the production of "I Love Lucy" in the 1950's. The drawings I have for the base are notated "Desilu Base", which was designed by James Fisher expressly at the request of the studio. These replaced the bulky Mole-Richardson booms they were using since production started in 1951, and allowed much more latitude for the 3 camera setups used on the show. I would have to look at the drawings, but I think the Model 3 base was dated somewhere around 1956 or so, closer to the end of the run of the show. Photo attached is from 1952, showing the Mole-Richardson 103B boom still in use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samsound Posted August 25, 2012 Report Share Posted August 25, 2012 In the early sixties Mike a U87 was flavour of the month for a studio boom on Coronation Street. Malcolm Davies. A.m.p.s. Maybe in the late sixties - as the U87 was introduced in 1967 I believe. I purchased a pair of U87's in 1973 for use on Fisher booms and occasionally on a boompole. I remember using them quite successfully on the stage ( never exterior!) on a couple of movies. Anamorphic lenses meant one could get reasonably close to the talent, but Academy framing was more of a challenge for them.They had a great sound when one could achieve optimum placement, but we also had the advantage of single cameras,proper rehearsals,and quiet disciplined sets! Ah! the Good Old Days......! Mutt n' Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rb1138 Posted September 21, 2012 Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 On 8/25/2012 at 1:03 PM, samsound said: Maybe in the late sixties - as the U87 was introduced in 1967 I believe. I purchased a pair of U87's in 1973 for use on Fisher booms and occasionally on a boompole. I remember using them quite successfully on the stage ( never exterior!) on a couple of movies. Anamorphic lenses meant one could get reasonably close to the talent, but Academy framing was more of a challenge for them.They had a great sound when one could achieve optimum placement, but we also had the advantage of single cameras,proper rehearsals,and quiet disciplined sets! Ah! the Good Old Days......! Mutt n' Jeff I'm very curious. What movies did you use the U87s on? And what exactly is "optimum placement" for them? If Schoeps MK 41 is 1 1/2 ft, which is sometimes difficult to work with, what can we expect from a U87? I assume as with Schoeps, improving room acoustics and reducing ambient noise increases the microphone's apparent "reach"? I think I've read somewhere that the U87's "optimal distance" (at least for VO) is 3 inches. - Robbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alien Posted September 22, 2012 Report Share Posted September 22, 2012 Last I looked there were about twenty 10001's in the store rooms at Pinewood Studios Sound Department. It was the mic of choice there before the D 25. The last person to use one was Vangelis. We let him play with these old Mics when he was there working on The Bounty. The last person I know that knew how to restring them Larry Thompson has long since departed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickcrisp Posted September 23, 2012 Report Share Posted September 23, 2012 Can you ever find one of these or similar with original ribbon in good condition and useable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 " And what exactly is "optimum placement" for them? " where it sounds best. this position will vary... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Smith Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 Drool.....don't suppose they would be willing to part with any of these? --Scott Last I looked there were about twenty 10001's in the store rooms at Pinewood Studios Sound Department. It was the mic of choice there before the D 25. The last person to use one was Vangelis. We let him play with these old Mics when he was there working on The Bounty. The last person I know that knew how to restring them Larry Thompson has long since departed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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