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Post by msamper on Jul 28, 2020 10:18:30 GMT -6
Last week I was able to buy an old Melodium 42B ribbon microphone from a guy in town who had absolutely no clue what it was.
It was in good condition, I have cleaned it and added an XLR output to it. Ribbon seems ok, but I might send it to a guy in UK to have it replaced if I notice any problems. I also bought a 50:600 Ohm step up transformer which gives you a better impedance when connecting it to modern preamp and also a few dBs extra gain without added noise.
It is a beautiful mic, very strong proximity effect with the bass cut switch disengaged. I haven't found much about it on the internet, but today I saw that there is a new company with the same name, manufacturing the exact same microphone:
Anybody else using this mic (the old or new one)?
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Post by hadaja on Jul 28, 2020 11:13:01 GMT -6
Yes it was considered frances version to the rca 44bx. I enjoyed mine when i had it and if you are sending it to Steeart then he is the number 1 man to send it to for all things Melodium.
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Post by drumsound on Jul 28, 2020 12:53:24 GMT -6
Its purdy!
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Post by Guitar on Jul 28, 2020 12:56:57 GMT -6
What a find! Post some clips if you want forum angels to smile on you.
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ericn
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Balance Engineer
Posts: 14,936 
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Post by ericn on Jul 28, 2020 13:35:31 GMT -6
Very cool ! Love it, always fun when someone goes off the well beaten path!
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Post by msamper on Jul 28, 2020 15:09:04 GMT -6
Yes it was considered frances version to the rca 44bx. I enjoyed mine when i had it and if you are sending it to Steeart then he is the number 1 man to send it to for all things Melodium.
Yes, I think I'm going to send it to Stewart. He was super nice and already gave me all information that I needed to retro-fit the XLR connector on my own. I'm not completely sure if the ribbon itself is in 100% working condition. I saw that it can move without touching the magnets but it seems to be a little bit warped.
I have drum recordings next week, I will use the Melodium for sure ! Already wish I had a second one 
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Post by hadaja on Jul 28, 2020 18:02:17 GMT -6
The melodium is a great example of ribbon mics. It has that awesome girth to the low end but it rounds out exceptionally well when the sources is a little bit further away. Some of those older mics can have decades worth of metal filings and crap attached to the magnets. It is a good move to send it off and get it serviced. You will notice an improvement in sound.
Those wires connected to the transformer and xlr jack are very old and brittle. Out of all the ribbon mics i have owned the Melodium was the worst for breaking whilst in transit. So pack the mic well and you should be fine.
Stewart does sell a specific impedence matcher for these if you have not already bought one.
That Melodium site you saw is just a nod to the old mics . He gets the originals and gets them refurbed . No new mics being made there just restored.
Hope this all helps for you.
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Post by peterhess on Jul 28, 2020 19:41:32 GMT -6
These sound extraordinary on trombones.
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Post by bluegrassdan on Jul 29, 2020 8:27:56 GMT -6
Never used one before. Looks cool. Can’t wait to hear it.
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Post by ulriggribbons on Jul 29, 2020 11:58:14 GMT -6
That is a great find! I've repaired a few over the years, they are a great ribbon mic, sound awesome when working well! Here's a shot of one that had a WTF done to it. (yes, that's a dynamic capsule put in front of the ribbon, and wired up to the XLR)  No idea why someone would do that, but it was fairly easy to undo, and install a new ribbon. Regards Jon |
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Post by msamper on Jul 29, 2020 12:04:48 GMT -6
That is weird. But I think AEA is selling an empty RCA44 housing where you can put in other microphones yourself |
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Post by EmRR on Jul 29, 2020 13:07:17 GMT -6
That is weird. Bit I think AEA is selling an empty RCA44 housing where you can put in other microphones yourself yep and Big DMC sells a 77-DX shell too |
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Post by keymod on Jul 29, 2020 14:27:31 GMT -6
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Post by msamper on Jul 29, 2020 14:52:04 GMT -6
Holy... Are those gold plated or is this just the bare brass the housingd are made of? |
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Post by plainofjars on Jul 31, 2020 18:33:24 GMT -6
Holy... Are those gold plated or is this just the bare brass the housingd are made of? Just the bare brass I think? They're also insanely heavy. Attachments:IMG_9369.HEIC (1.56 MB)
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Post by hadaja on Jul 31, 2020 19:07:37 GMT -6
Whats a .HEIC file?
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Post by plainofjars on Jul 31, 2020 20:05:33 GMT -6
.HEIC is the current default file format for pics taken on the iPhone. Smaller file size. But nothing recognizes them yet, including this forum lol. Here’s a jpeg.  |
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Post by stormymondays on Feb 4, 2021 16:28:50 GMT -6
I might be able to score one of these and send it to Stewart. It’s been displayed as decoration at a bar, so who knows what shape it’s in.
What kind of connector did they come with? If it’s XLR I could at least test it before I buy.
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Post by hadaja on Feb 4, 2021 16:34:15 GMT -6
They dont come with xlr. 1/4 jack only
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Post by javamad on Feb 4, 2021 17:27:08 GMT -6
So, I saw the new company a couple of weeks back and thought it looked interesting. Does anyone have info on this? €2,500 seems a lot for a preorder with an unknown company??
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Post by hadaja on Feb 5, 2021 3:54:14 GMT -6
So, I saw the new company a couple of weeks back and thought it looked interesting. Does anyone have info on this? €2,500 seems a lot for a preorder with an unknown company?? Yeah i think there 42n is actually a restored vintage 42b but the motor assembly would be made out of the modern Neo- dymium magnets instead of the older Alnico magnets. The magnetic field or the gauss factor of those older alnico magnets can get low over time. But i have never found a neo-dymuim magnet to sound the same as an alnico magnet ribbon. Something about the relationship between the motor assembly, magnets, and alloy length and thickness (or should i say thin-ness) that really make some of these older ribbon mics stand out from the newer ones. Wish the company well because those original serviced 42b’s are indeed special sounding. |
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Post by johneppstein on Feb 5, 2021 16:11:40 GMT -6
So, I saw the new company a couple of weeks back and thought it looked interesting. Does anyone have info on this? €2,500 seems a lot for a preorder with an unknown company?? Yeah i think there 42n is actually a restored vintage 42b but the motor assembly would be made out of the modern Neo- dymium magnets instead of the older Alnico magnets. The magnetic field or the gauss factor of those older alnico magnets can get low over time. But i have never found a neo-dymuim magnet to sound the same as an alnico magnet ribbon. Something about the relationship between the motor assembly, magnets, and alloy length and thickness (or should i say thin-ness) that really make some of these older ribbon mics stand out from the newer ones. Wish the company well because those original serviced 42b’s are indeed special sounding. I don't know why, but neodymium sounds bad in nearly all transducers I've heard it in. I say "nearly" because there werre a few early EV neodymium mics that did sound pretty good - but they moved production of the entire line to China and slightly altered the model numbers. They don't sound as good anymore, but cost about 1/2 to 1/3 the price of the originals.
My guess - and that's all it is - would be that there's something about neodymium that requires a complete reworking of the magnet design/geometry.
I don't like neo speakers, either.
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