Telefunken ELA M 260 Tube Condenser Microphone Tri-Mono Set

The Telefunken ELA M 260 Tube Condenser Microphone Tri-Mono Set consists of three ELA M 260 microphones, a 3-channel power supply capable of powering all three microphones, three elastic shock mounts, and a set of three 10-meter AccuSound TX-7 tube mic cables with right angle XLR connectors. In order to foster an element of creativity, all three capsule systems (TK60 cardioid, TK61 omnidirectional, and TK62 hypercardioid) are included in the package, along with a set of three 50 mm and a set of three 30 mm diffuse field spheres.

Engineers who recorded classical music for Decca Records pioneered the Decca Tree microphone placement technique in the early 1950s when they wanted a strong sense of stereo image and balanced coverage of an orchestra, as the conductor might have heard while he led the orchestra.

The technique features three omnidirectional microphones placed in a reverse "T" configuration, roughly above the head of the conductor. The "left" and "right" are positioned behind the conductor while the "center" microphone hangs in front of the conductor.

In addition to orchestral recording applications, the Decca Tree configuration can be an invaluable component to more contemporary recordings for drum applications and to gain an overall "band in a room" kind of atmosphere to your recording process.

The most common Decca Tree setup employs three 1-meter bars from which the microphones hang in a triangle configuration; though larger and smaller bar sets can be used.

The microphone most commonly employed for this technique is the Neumann M-50, though other microphones like the Neumann KM-53's and Schoeps M-221b microphones have been successfully employed.

One of the problems often associated with the Decca Tree technique is a loss of high frequency content due to the physics of how sound travels. The capsule assembly of the Neumann M-50 featured a 40mm acrylic sphere which was actually a "diffuse field sphere" built into the M-50's capsule assembly. In order to obtain a best of both worlds scenario, TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik has created diffuse field spheres as an accessory for the ELA M 260 Tri-Mono Recording Set.

Every ELA M 260 Stereo Set ships with three microphone amplifiers, three TK60 cardioid capsules, three TK61 omnidirectional capsules, three TK62 hyper-cardioid capsules, an American-built dual-channel M963 power supply, three M801 tube mic cables, three M761 shock mounts, and three WB60 wooden boxes in a FC60T locking combination flight case.