Sony C37A #4721 (Vintage)

Excellent choice for vocals, electric guitars, toms, overheads, rooms etc. Nice for creating 'smokey' period sounding vocals. Can tame harsh guitars or sibilant sources.

Originally designed to rival the Neumann U47, which was the dominant condenser microphone of the early Fifties, the Sony C37A has become a legend all its own. The early prototypes were used to record the NHK symphony rehearsing in the studio under visiting conductor Herbert von Karajan in 1954. The results were so encouraging that engineers pressed ahead with the designs, and the C37A was soon debuted at a 1958 Hi-Fi Show in Los Angeles.

This large diaphragm tube microphone was the type used extensively by Frank Sinatra and Nat 'King' Cole at Capitol studios. The sound of the mic was considered so good, it was proudly displayed on album jackets. The chief recording engineer for Capitol at the time said "Never before have I seen such a wide frequency band or such a smooth response in the upper range."