Better than a car

Have you ever encountered a new car on the street with a really good design on the front end, but when you looked at the rear, it wasn’t that cool? Well, some vintage microphones are the same way. Either the rear of the mic is the exact same thing as the front, or it’s nothing special. This is not the case of the Turner 33 series. (The 33D was a dynamic version, and the 33X was a crystal version, but on the outside they looked the same). The back is actually almost better looking than the front. It has some beautiful lines that remind me of some of the cars back in those days.

 
Today, it’s referred by many as the Roman Helmet mic. If you look at it sideways, the upper fin reminds us of the upper part of the helmets worn by the Imperial Roman guard.  It was made from the 1940’s until the 70’s, and has a satin chrome finish. The satin chrome was used on many microphones during that time, but now it’s used on just about everything. From doorknobs to water faucets, from lighting equipment to ball point pens. It is a type of dull chrome finish that doesn’t reflect as much as the most common chrome finish known to us today, like the one used on motorcycle parts. The DS rarity scale: 6.8/10
 

My friend Joanatan, jammin' with a Turner 33.