Falling into a maze with a wooden microphone design

We used that one feature when it was used [Frank Olson]Its DIY tape made microphones, it was natural that they were made of wood. But no matter how retro it may seem, and as far as we’ve gotten the comment that its microphones shouldn’t work without metal on ribbon motors, this wooden RCA Model 77 reproduction microphones look and sound great both.

But ironically, there is a critical part to this tribute that is not actually made of wood. The 77’s pickup pattern was cardiovide, creating a directional mic that picks up the best sound from the front, thanks to an acoustic labyrinth that lengthens the path of incoming sound waves. [Frank]Its labyrinth was made from epoxy resin by pouring it into a mold made of heavy paper, forming a cylinder with multiple parallel tunnels. The top and bottom parts of the adjacent tunnels were connected together, creating a sound path one meter long. The ribbon motor, using wood, sits as close to a duplicate of the original as possible, above the output of a labyrinthine block at the bottom of a wooden veneer shell that tries its best to mimic the classic peel-shaped windscreen of the original. The video below, which is of course described using a mic, shows the construction in detail.

You want to check out [Frank]Its other wooden microphones, and you should, check out the beautiful Model 44 replica that looks ready for it [Sinatra]Or microphones like the Bk-5 he whipped for drum kit recording.