Around the Shop

Earlier this week, Vintage King listed two sets of vintage preamp/EQs that share a connection to the Trident A-Range design lineage. The A-Range preamp/EQs numbered #VK01452/#VK01453 were repainted gray from their original eggplant finish upon arriving in America in the mid-1970s. The other modules were built here to match, painted silver, and feature some subtle EQ differences. But what made the A-Range console so special in the first place? There’s a fascinating story behind how the desk came to be, who designed and built it, and the legendary albums made on the original A-Ranges. Let’s get into it. Continue reading →

In the early 1950s, RCA began developing a uniaxial ribbon microphone design that would be smaller and more compact than its predecessors. Built with a unidirectional polar pattern specifically for radio and television broadcasts, the BK-5A quickly became a trusted mic. The model was used for speeches by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as radio performances from Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Perry Como. Continue reading →

The Neumann U 67 is a legendary large diaphragm condenser microphone, introduced in 1960 as the successor to the U 47. There were several technological advancements made with the U 67, including a new glass vacuum tube, a dual-diaphragm capsule with Mylar membrane, and a switchable high-pass filter and pad. The mic also departed from the U 47's tubular body and cylindrical grille, adopting a slender, tapered body and an angled grille. Continue reading →

Lang Electronics was a New York-based audio component designer and manufacturer that made replacement parts for broadcast and recording studio gear. Eventually, the manufacturer began producing its own equipment, including a number of playback amplifiers, mixers, a tape machine, and, most importantly, EQs. The pinnacle of Lang's run in the 1950s and 1960s is the PEQ-2. This solid-state equalizer is often associated with the Pultec EQP-1A, as both feature a similar passive two-band design. In truth, both EQs are actually influenced by the same Western Electric design patent. The Lang stands out for having more selectable frequency points and an extra powerful low end. Continue reading →

Neumann’s run of microphones from the 1940s to the 1960s is nothing short of legendary. In less than two decades, the brand introduced a string of iconic mics that remain studio staples and continue to inspire modern pro audio designs. We're talking about the U 47 (1949), M 49 (1951), M 50 (1951), KM 54 (1954), KM 56 (1955), U 48 (1957), U 67 (1960), and U 87 (1967). Much of Neumann's success can be attributed to constant innovation, and perhaps there's no better example of that than the U 87. The U 47, U 48, and U 67 established the brand as the preeminent tube mic manufacturer, but advances in solid-state technology opened a new space to explore. The result was a FET version of the U 67 dubbed the U 87. Continue reading →

ITI, Sontec, and GML are all familiar names when it comes to equalizers, especially in the mastering world. At ITI, George Massenburg and Burgess Macneal would set a sonic blueprint for a new type of EQ, and eventually the two would refine their designs into the GML 8200, Sontec MES-430/432 Series, and more. Continue reading →

Walking through the Vintage King Tech Shop, you see a lot of legendary gear. But when a GML 8200 Parametric Equalizer arrives on the bench, it still stops people in their tracks. This isn’t just another EQ. This is the parametric EQ, from the man who invented the idea itself. For nearly forty years, the 8200 has been the gold standard that all other stereo bus EQs are measured against. With five overlapping frequency bands ranging from 15 Hz all the way up to 26 kHz, the 8200 is known for its powerful lows, brilliant highs, and smooth midrange.  Continue reading →

In the lineage of Neve's legendary preamps, the 31102 module holds a special place. Designed for the brand’s iconic 80 Series consoles, the 31102 helped define the sound of countless sessions in the 1970s, and remains a benchmark for Class A console tone today. So when a pair of vintage Neve 31102 preamp/EQ modules landed on the benches at the Vintage King Tech Shop, we knew we had to document the occasion. Continue reading →

When you work on vintage microphones long enough, you start to think you've seen it all. We’ve restored rare prototypes, factory-sealed legends, and microphones with decades of stories to tell. But this week, the shop welcomed a piece so immaculate that even our veteran technicians were stunned: a vintage Telefunken ELA M 251 E in near-perfect condition. “This is the cleanest 251 I have ever seen,” says Vintage King Microphone Technician Tim “Timmo” Johnson. “I’ve been working on mics here at Vintage King for 28 years, and I’ve never seen anything this nice. It’s definitely what I could consider ‘museum quality.’ I don’t think there’s anything like this mic in the world.”  Continue reading →

Another day at the Vintage King Tech Shop, another historic microphone in need of expert repair. Actually, in this case, it’s two microphones; a matched pair of vintage Neumann U 67s, to be exact. Each U 67 tells a story—one that begins in the early 1960s when Neumann set out to create a successor to the iconic U 47. The VF14 steel tube used in the U 47 had been discontinued, forcing Neumann’s engineers to create a new design based around the smaller EF86 tube.  The result became one of the most iconic microphones ever made. Just ask Bryan Reilly, professional audio engineer and producer, proprietor of Scramble Shack Studios in Ferndale, Michigan, and proud new Neumann U 67 owner.  Continue reading →