Seattle Musical Recording Company

Aside: “Steampunk Willie” as a recasting of Steamboat Willie.

An RCA 77-DX microphone on a stand with a round pop filter in front of it

Not necessarily the tool most would reach for these days for #voiceover, but for today’s task it worked great. #RCA #ribbonmic

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I recently had the privilege of recording a recital by the very talented Stacey Mastrian (staceymastrian.com) in Seattle. Here’s a sample! drive.proton.me/urls/DVMC0DX...

I love that you’re creating these parts. I don’t need any of them right now but it sure is nice to know that they exist!

Nice! Are the upper left thingies mounts for Varacoustics?

“Before” picture of an RCA 77-DX ribbon microphone. The case shows a lot of surface corrosion, and the grill cloth is brown and tattered. The RCA label is also missing. For all the cosmetic defects, this mic actually worked fine—just needed a cable.

“After” picture of the same RCA 77-DX. I cleaned off all of the surface corrosion, replaced the grill cloths, installed a new cable, and added a reproduction of the RCA label.

The mic in my profile pic is an #RCA #77-DX; the diamond-shaped plate is the pattern selector. Inside, when you turn the selector, you rotate a metal shutter that variably exposes a slot behind the ribbon, much like on the #Varacoustic. This mic came to me as a cosmetic basket case. Cleaned up well!

Front view of an RCA “Varacoustic” ribbon microphone from the 1940s. It has a very Art Deco appearance.

Rear view of an RCA “Varacoustic” ribbon microphone from the 1940s. You can see the pattern adjustment slider.

Interior front view of an RCA “Varacoustic” ribbon microphone from the 1940s, showing the ribbon motor assembly.

Interior rear view of an RCA “Varacoustic” ribbon microphone from the 1940s. Visible is the polar pattern selector slider on the back of the ribbon motor.

The pattern is adjusted via a slider that variably exposes a slot at the back of the ribbon. It’s quite effective. A similar method was used on the famous #77-DX, which shares the same ribbon motor with the Varacoustic. Bonus on the Varacoustic is you don’t need a screwdriver to adjust it.

It sounds pretty great—only issue is that it is prone to a bit of RF hum. This is common with old #ribbonmics and can be mitigated somewhat by placement. And on a source that isn’t particularly quiet, it’s a non-issue. These mics are fun because of the selectable polar pattern.

Latest #microphone rehab: an #RCA Varacoustic. This dates to the 1940s, most likely—an early example of the model. Only needed a good cleaning, a cable, and new grill cloths. Everything else is original, including, I think, the ribbon. It must have been used gently and stored well.

Also tried #Oktava Mk 012s in the same position. They were similar to the Shures—both of those pairs gave an impression I would compare to halftone color photos: accurate in their way, but a less rich image.

It may be an entry-level #microphone, but I like the #Neumann TLM102 for classical recording. I put up a stereo pair of 102s and a pair of #Shure KSM141s in similar positions for a soprano + piano recording. The 102s gave that “headphones become transparent” experience; 141s were more “gray” somehow

I've begun to get some recording gigs - mostly student recitals or semi-pro chamber groups. It's rewarding and frustrating and enlightening - all the emotions that come with learning and honing a new craft. But I'm getting better at it and it's exciting to progress!

And I've become a voracious consumer of educational materials about audio. Books, podcasts, videos, you name it - there's a lot out there, much of it excellent. I love learning. I love actually applying things I've heard famous recordists or engineers describe in a podcast or video or book.

And part of what's always been interesting to me in this is that I love vintage technology. So along with the modern stuff, I began to acquire vintage gear as well, especially microphones. I found it quite fun to be able to marry up a 70+ year old mic with state of the art digital audio tools.

At the same time, I also started working more with audio production in my day job - I'm on a cybersecurity podcast and I used to do all the production stuff for that. Between my musical and professional interests, I decided it was time to dive into audio engineering. I began to acquire gear -yikes!

Through my years as a gigging musician, sometimes I've been in front of the microphone. But I always wondered what it would be like to be on the other side of the mic. At rehearsals or after concerts I'd sometimes chat with the recording engineers.

A bit about SMRCO: my background is as a nearly lifelong classical percussionist (freelance, not full time). But since childhood I've had a fascination with recording, broadcast, and all the technologies that make those things happen.

@workingclassaudio.bsky.social Matt, big fan of the pod here, new to Bluesky. I know you’re a very busy dude, but would love to see more of your posts here—not just for your content but because it would almost certainly help build up the audio community on this platform!

Very true—it’s a different vibe. That said, I’d settle for LED that incorporates something of the same level of artistry and originality that a lot of the old neon had.

I miss the golden age of neon (maybe should say missED it since I was born after it), but there was still a lot more of it when I was a kid. Nice shots!

Can just we get a couple more levels? Almost got it.

Hello, World!

Enjoying some R&R in one of my favorite places - Victoria, BC.