Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Unsolved mystery



















About a month ago I bought this unkown microphone on Ebay. On the listing, the seller stated it looked like a "Trix" mic, but the photo of the "Trix" that he had uploaded looked more like a Grampian that anything else. But I didn't worry too much about not knowing who made the mic. Since it came at a good price, I thought it had the potential to be a good project.

The microphone's element and magnet.
When it arrived, I took a good look at the design and the materials used to make it. I'd have to guess it's European. Maybe made in the UK. Inside, it has a huge magnet, which makes the whole mic weigh about 1,55kg (3.4 lbs). On the back of the magnet there's a clue that one day might help identify the microphone. It has "LS" (or "SL") engraved on it. I don't think they are initials of a past owner, since taking out the magnet was a bit difficult. Besides, people would usually engrave on the outside body of the mic.


























Like I said in an earlier post, I usually don't like to mess around with the color or chroming of vintage mics. It's like taking its soul away from it. But since it came in such bad shape, I decided to chrome it. I had a hard time sanding it down to take out most of the imperfections, but I think came out alright. Although, after it was finished, I did question myself if it would look better if I had painted the back part of the mic black, so it would resemble the original thing.





























If you know anything about this microphone, please feel free to share your information. By the way, the one special thing about it, is that it still works! The DS rarity scale: 10/10.
 

9 comments:

  1. That logo looks like TSL to me :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It does look a bit like a "T" as well, Artypie! But I think if it was a T, there would probably be a serif like on the bottom of the "L" and on the "S". :)

      Delete
  2. TSL standing for Trix Sound Labs? A wild guess.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have a mic with same logo, and a friend turned one up too. Nit solved mystery yet though

    ReplyDelete
  4. john hogg mr1macuk@yahoo.co.u kJune 13, 2017 at 5:15 AM

    Ok, bit further. SL/LS doesn't look like the Mic manufacturer. We have identified mine as a BSR dynamic mic and the other one a friend has is a different British make. So I suggest you have a British mic here if that helps narrow it a little. Our thinking is now the SL or LS is possibly the manufacturer of the Magnet or Magnet unit which a number of manufacturers sourced from.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comments, John! I certainly agree with you! It must be British. Or at least, European. Especially with a magnet as big as that.

      Delete
  5. Hi there - I acquired a mic with the exact same head as this, although mine also sits on a brass stand. I found it in middle of nowhere in Suffolk, U.K. - did you ever find out anything about this?

    Michael

    ReplyDelete