“Show Us Your Mic Collection” is a new Radio World feature in which intrepid broadcasters and readers show off their microphones. Have a submission? Email us at [email protected].
Many broadcasters collect mementoes of their time in radio or TV. Microphones are often one of the collectibles.
We caught up with John Schneider, who started on the air in 1966 at WAGN in Michigan and had a career in engineering and broadcast equipment before retiring about 10 years ago. You might know him from his work at Sparta, McMartin, RF Specialties, Broadcast Electronics and iBiquity. Or you might have seen his articles in Radio World, his two books or his popular radio history calendars. John is also an Extra Class ham, W9FGH.
“I started acquiring vintage microphones in the 1980s, when the prices were still reasonable,” he told us.
“Back then, you could buy an RCA 44BX for a few hundred dollars. Since then, my collection has grown to over 80 microphones. I have most of the iconic broadcast models and lots of public address mics. Most of the broadcast mics still work, while many of the PA mics are just for display.”
John’s favorite acquisition is an RCA 4-A box condenser mic from the early 1930s.
“It was the top-of-the-line broadcast microphone before the development of the ribbon mic. This one came from KHQ and KGA in Spokane, Wash., and has the call signs of both stations painted on the side. I bought it for a nominal sum years ago from an older friend who had worked at the station. He said he once took the mic out for a remote pickup of FDR’s dedication of the Grand Coulee Dam. It’s unfortunately missing the three-tube preamp that was originally contained inside the enclosure.
“My RCA ribbon mics undoubtedly have the best sound quality, if the goal is solid lower- and mid-range frequencies rather than crisp highs, but I don’ know if they can compete with modern condenser mics, which are lighter and not as fragile.”
