The Condenser Microphone
The condenser microphone, also called the capacitor microphone, is a type of pressure microphone, which is a microphone that responds to sound pressure. The condenser microphone was initially developed in the early 1920s, and is still widely used today in the music recording industry.
These microphones are particularly sensitive to louder noises, and sound distortion can occur when recording very loud sounds. They are often used to record vocals and acoustic instruments, and are known for their ability to capture very "natural" recordings.
Mr. Steele's collection includes condenser microphones from a wide variety of eras, ranging from the early 1920s to the early 1970s. The earliest microphones of this type in his collection are among the first of their kind. The galleries below contain almost all of the condenser microphones in his collection, and are arranged by both polar response type and date of manufacture, if known.
Cardioid Polar Response
The image below contains three of the four Cardioid Condensor Microphones in the collection. The fourth is a lavalier microphone, and can be seen on the Lavalier microphone page of the gallery. These microphones pick up sound primarily from one direction.
Omni-Directional Polar Response
There are only two Omni-directional Condenser Microphones in Mr. Steele's collection. These pick up sound from all directions.
Unknown Polar Responses
The following gallery contains a number of Condenser Microphones which have an unknown polar response.
