I've been into recording a while. I used to run a studio (but that's another story).
Recently I acquired a set of old Telefunken mics that had been converted from grosse \ kleine Tuchel to XLR, and I've been trying them out on my 'journalism' Soundcraft Folio notepad.
The one above is a Telefunken TD21. The looks are deceptive - they're frigging tiny, but their tonality with a bit of EQ is superb, better for recording acoustic mids than the modern SM57 I've got (to which I prefer an e845 anyway). Whether they're any good at recording toms and snares remain to be seen, but they have a nice tight cardiod and are built like tanks.
What I really want - and it seems like the zenith of old mics - is a Telefunken MD 42 T. These were built for circus announcers and bus drivers with a double polar pattern - figure 8 up to and including 2,500 Hz, cardiod thereafter.
Okay, so it looks like the staff of Ra, and I'd have to spend £40 on a cable to convert it from Grosse Tuchel to XLR, but goddamn do I want one for miking up a kick drum - it'd be like running an LF gate and another mic for ambience - in one!
*fails to find MD 42T and buys a Shure 91 Beta instead*
