A message from studio owner - Eccentric..

I have always been rather sad . ..

Back in the drifts of time – the late 1980s and early 1990’s – I used to wander round the Old Stables at Camden Market when it was a wonder or bric-a-brac and junk stalls. Of course, it’s now the pitz of tourist glitz, but back then it was a bountiful found of marvels – Victorian door furniture, 1950’s furniture and the like – all for the kind of loose change I could just about afford.

For me, microphones have always been small objects of desire, and I let it be known that I’d pay £30 for any – any – mic the stallholders stumbled upon in their travels. Over the course of a few years, I probably bought twenty or thirty until word went round and the price went up to £60. I carried on buying as and when my meagre resources allowed, but I guess either the stallholders got greedy or other collectors appeared, so prices got ridiculous and anyway, by then Funky was steaming ahead and my gear addiction was fed from other directions.

Of course, I was forced to buy some cheap Japanese dross (this was before Chines mic manufacturers appeared on the scene) but by and large I picked up plenty of gems, including an original boxed Coles 4038 (£30 – still in used at SNAP) a mint Coles 4033, some very, very rare early carbon mics, the usual selection of Grampian and Reslos and plenty more, including these three beauties, now reribboned by the wonderful Stewart Taverner and ready to rock up at SNAP.

Royer based their R-121’s on the 1960s B+O ribbons, but I’ve heard tell that some people prefer the B+Os; I’ll be fascinated to see how they measure up. The HMV ribbon is in lovely condition (now with a Taverner impedance matching transformer). Again, I’ve heard good reports of these although they were, I believe, originally supplied with domestic/semi-professional tape recorders.

Recycling? I’ve been doing this with a passion for decades. I never imagined it would grown into a multinational business, though.

Eccentric