Topic

Acoustics

Why the room is an instrument.

57: in audio
9:07: average
520 min: in total
220: across the network

Acoustics across the network →

All briefs57

9:04

Marshall 1960A Cabinet

Marshall

The Marshall 1960A JCM900 is Marshall’s designated main 4x12 cabinet—widely used, widely modified, and widely criticised. Its four Celestion G12T75 speakers deliver 300 watts of aggressive, scooped tone. Birch plywood construction meets an MDF back panel. Rear-panel impedance and stereo switching add flexibility. But air leaks at the seams. Joints feel insecure. Plastic handles flex under load. It excels only where harsh highs and tight lows serve metal—but fails jazz, grunge, and any genre demanding warmth or low-end authority.

9:08

Alembic Series I

Alembic

The Alembic Series I is a 1977 US-made 4-string bass with rabl neck and top, mahogany body, bne key, brass bridge and nut, and 24-fret pearl-inlaid neck. Its electronics include two single-coil pickups, a central dummy hum pickup, stereo 5-pin XLR output, external power supply, dual volume/tone controls, dual 3-position Q-switches, and a 3-position + Off selector. It delivers precise, clear, full-range sound suited to slap, fingerstyle, and pick playing—but is relatively heavy, fragile (headstock prone to breakage), and has non-independent string height adjustment at the bridge.

9:14

Auratone 5C Super Sound Cube

Auratone

The Auratone 5C is a passive monitor requiring an external amplifier. Its extremely flat response and limited frequency range make it useful for quick A/B checks — but its lack of low-end response rules it out for primary mixing. It does one thing well: revealing what a mix loses when stripped of bass and extension.

9:02

AKG C414 B-ULS

AKG

The AKG C414 B-ULS is a large diaphragm condenser microphone. It is one of 13 products in the AKG C414 series. The source material gives no further technical, historical, or functional detail.

8:11

AKG C414 EB

AKG

The AKG C414 EB is a large diaphragm condenser microphone. It is one of 13 products in the AKG C414 series. No technical, historical, or functional detail beyond that is provided in the source material.

9:30

JBL 4310

JBL

The JBL 4310 is an active studio monitor built for truth-telling. Its neutral and linear sound reveals flaws. It needs an external amp. Bruce Swedien preferred it over the 4311—so much that he dismissed the latter as 'pure dog-doo'.

8:26

Millennia HV-3D

Millennia

The Millennia HV-3D is a solid-state mic preamp built for fidelity, not flavour. It gives you three transparent gain stages per channel, 1.5 dB stepped gain, phantom power, no phase flip, and eight channels in two rack units — all on internal power. It excels on strings, voice, and piano. It fails on distorted guitar and bright cymbals. It is not subtle. It is literal.

8:18

Genelec 1031A

Genelec

The Genelec 1031A is a large, active, self-powered studio monitor built for stationary use in professional recording studios. It delivers full-spectrum sound with strong low-end presence and tight high-end response. It plays loudly without colouration and reveals fine audio detail. Its built-in amplification is highly effective. Its size and sonic neutrality make it unsuitable for small rooms or home studios. Users report it excels in medium-to-large spaces and is trusted for critical mixing and tracking.

8:48

Genelec 1032A

Genelec

The Genelec 1032A is a high-end, individually sold, active two-way near-field studio monitor. It uses a 10-inch woofer and 1-inch tweeter. Its frequency response is 36 Hz to 23 kHz. It delivers a clean sound with tight highs and reportedly accurate mids and lows. It requires no external power amplifier. It is sold singly, not in pairs.

8:35

JBL 4311

JBL

The JBL 4311 is an active monitor built for accuracy, not appeal. Its adjustable treble and midrange controls let users tailor response without EQ. It delivers neutral, powerful, precise, and dynamic sound — but only when driven with sufficient gain. Its frequency curve avoids bass saturation and flattery, making it reliable for critical listening across playback systems. Users acquired it in Germany in 1979 and in studio trades by 1983. It belongs in rooms where truth matters more than comfort.

8:28

JBL 4312

JBL

The JBL 4312 is a passive three-way studio monitor built for punch, precision, and stereo imaging — not neutrality or refinement.

8:35

JBL 4350

JBL

The JBL 4350 is a passive studio monitor requiring bi-amplification, offering no passive filter adjustments, and demanding extensive room integration and speaker placement. It is physically imposing and highly detailed in sound reproduction. It is not turnkey-ready.

8:19

JBL 4430

JBL

The JBL 4430 is a 2-way active monitor built for studio monitoring. It delivers stable, wide, non-directional dispersion and excellent overall homogeneity. Its horn is more neutral than predecessors like the 4331 and L200 — eliminating long repetitive directional artifacts. It lacks the top-end finesse of the 2405 tweeter. Bi-amplification enables sonic evolution, but mechanical decoupling from the floor is mandatory. It was produced continuously for 20 years with iterative hardware updates: the 1-inch compression driver shifted from aluminum diaphragm and alnico magnets to titanium and ferrite. Each unit supports up to 80 kg.

7:50

JBL 4435

JBL

The JBL 4435 is a passive monitor built for raw output — not finesse. It trades integration for extension.

8:47

Vox AC100

Vox

The Cort AC100 is a nylon string guitar. No technical specifications are provided.

8:46

Shure Beta 52

Shure

The Shure Beta 52 is a dynamic microphone built for kick drum and bass. It has a supercardioid pattern, 20Hz–10kHz response with 4kHz presence boost, strong proximity effect, and handles 174dB SPL. It was replaced by the Beta 52A.

8:09

Dynaudio Acoustics BM15A

Dynaudio Acoustics

The Dynaudio Acoustics BM15A is an active studio monitor designed for nearfield monitoring. It integrates amplification, reproduces down to 45 Hz at 0 dB, and complies with EU and FCC electromagnetic shielding standards. One unit exhibited unintended FM radio reception at 104.1 MHz — isolated to the right channel. Users report no distortion or hum, even at maximum volume. No information is given about music, artists, or recordings made with it.

8:17

AKG C12

AKG

The AKG C12 is a large diaphragm condenser tube microphone designed for studio recording. It requires a dedicated power supply. It captures a wide frequency range. It is exceptionally high-performing but delicate and unsuitable for live use.

7:32

Sony C37A

Sony

The Sony C37A is a large diaphragm condenser tube microphone. It belongs to a narrow class of studio mics defined by harmonic colour rather than flexibility. It has no documented switches, filters or pads. Its alternate names — 'c 37a' and 'c37 a' — appear in official listings but indicate no functional variation.

8:54

AKG C414

AKG

The AKG C414 is a series of large diaphragm condenser microphones. Thirteen variants exist. Two are matched pairs: the XLII and the XLS. All share the same functional category. None are described by frequency response, noise floor, or circuit details in the source.

9:24

AKG C451

AKG

The AKG C451 B is a fixed-cardioid small-diaphragm condenser with -10 dB/-20 dB pads and 75 Hz/150 Hz high-pass filters. Its CK1 capsule cannot be swapped. It delivers precision on acoustic sources but fails under high SPLs due to capsule fragility.

8:41

AKG C452

AKG

The AKG C452 C is a small diaphragm condenser microphone. It has no stated controls, no pattern options, no filters, no pad. Its function is narrow and fixed. Its value lies in consistency, not versatility.

8:44

AKG C460

AKG

The AKG C460B + CK63ULS is a small diaphragm condenser microphone. It delivers accuracy, not attitude. It has no switches, no colour, no compromise — just a fixed cardioid pattern, fixed frequency response, and fixed reliance on external preamp and placement. It excels where definition matters most. It fails where character is required.

8:37

Telefunken ELA M 250

Telefunken

The Telefunken ELA M 250 is a large diaphragm condenser tube microphone made by Telefunken Elektroakustik. That is all the source confirms. No specifications, no use cases, no sonic characterisation, no historical context — just category, type, and maker.

8:50

Mackie HR824

Mackie

The Mackie HR824 is a discontinued, self-powered near-field monitor. Each unit has its own amplifier and power cord. It delivers uncoloured, accurate sound for critical mixing—and mixes made on it translate well elsewhere.

9:08

Neumann KM 184

Neumann

The KM 184 is a fixed-cardioid small-diaphragm condenser microphone built for clarity, durability, and extreme SPL handling — not for shaping or adapting.

9:09

Neumann KM 56

Neumann

The Neumann KM 56 is a small diaphragm condenser microphone in the KM series. It belongs to the category of small diaphragm condenser microphones. It is also referred to as ‘km 56’ or ‘km56’. No technical specifications are provided.

9:37

Neumann KM 84

Neumann

The Neumann KM 84 is a studio-only small diaphragm condenser microphone. It delivers clean, crisp, accurate recordings of acoustic instruments—no low-end filtering needed. Its presence peak adds clarity; its rapid top-end roll-off removes air. Proximity effect forces tight mic placement. Phantom power is required. It is fragile and unsuited for live or field work.

7:54

Leslie Leslie 122

Leslie

The Leslie 122 is a rotating speaker cabinet designed for organs—not a preamp, not an effects unit, not a standalone amplifier. Its entire function depends on connection to a compatible organ like the Hammond M3. It offers no user controls. Its effect is purely mechanical: rotation creates tremolo and vibrato through air displacement. It cannot be used without modification for guitar or other instruments. It belongs only where an organ lives—and nowhere else.

9:14

Yamaha NS-10M

Yamaha

The Yamaha NS-10M is a two-way passive near-field monitor. It delivers clear mid and high frequencies but lacks deep low-end extension. Engineers use it to verify mix translation and to A/B compare with other speakers. Its non-neutral response demands experience. It is not a full-range solution.

8:05

Roland PR-100

Roland

The Epiphone PR-100 is a Chinese-made, US-designed dreadnought acoustic guitar with 22 frets, a mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, and plastic bridge. It has no electronics or controls. It is built for unamplified play only.

8:33

Royer R-121

Royer

The Royer R-121 is a studio-only ribbon microphone. It delivers fast, flat, high-SPL capture — but offers zero user controls, zero ruggedness, and zero tolerance for phantom power. It belongs where the environment is controlled and the source is loud.

8:54

Tannoy Reveal

Tannoy

The Tannoy Reveal is a discontinued passive monitor. It delivers dynamic, clear sound with surprising output for its size — but trades neutrality for listenability. Its low end fades before 65 Hz. Its stereo image depends on precise tweeter alignment. Magnetic shielding works flawlessly near screens. Users call it hi-fi, not monitoring — loudness-coloured, not flat.

9:34

Rhodes piano

Fender Rhodes

The Rhodes piano is an electromechanical electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes. It uses hammers to strike metal tines whose vibrations are captured by electromagnetic pickups. It outputs an electrical signal requiring external amplification for full fidelity. It makes audible sound unplugged — quieter and thinner — and features a vocal-range frequency gap that supports singing without masking.

7:12

Neumann TLM 103

Neumann

The Neumann TLM 103 is a fixed cardioid condenser microphone. It delivers a full 20 Hz–20 kHz frequency response. It has no low-cut filter or pad. It does not include a shock mount. It ships in a wooden, padded box. Its output impedance is 50 ohms.

11:02

Neumann TLM 170

Neumann

The Neumann TLM 170 is a discontinued large-diaphragm condenser microphone built solely for studio recording. It offers five polar patterns, a -10 dB pad, and a low-cut switch. It ships with a swivel mount and supports U87-style suspension. It fails in live performance. No recordings, artists or sessions are documented in the source material.

9:04

Neumann U 89

Neumann

The Neumann U 89 is a 1980 large-diaphragm condenser microphone built for versatility: five polar patterns via rotary switch, two fixed low-cut filters (80 Hz and 160 Hz), an attenuator, 140 dB SPL handling, and a neutral, less vivid tonal character than the U 87. It excels at distance capture and fits where bulkier mics cannot. It does not offer colouration, warmth or extended sub-bass response. No recordings or users are named in the source material.

9:08

RCA Type 44

RCA

The RCA Type 44 is a bi-directional ribbon microphone introduced in 1931. Its thin corrugated metal ribbon generates voltage when vibrating in a magnetic field. It hears only front and back. It breaks under wind, phantom power, and loud transients. It flatters voice and acoustic instruments with smooth mids and gentle highs. It belongs in a vintage studio chain—not on a podcast desk or a stage.

9:41

Shure 55SH

Shure

The Shure 55SH is a 1939 cardioid dynamic microphone built for public address. It delivers vocal clarity under load, resists feedback, and shrugs off physical stress. It does not offer studio-grade fidelity or flexibility. It belongs on podiums—not in overdub booths.

9:43

Beyerdynamic M 160

Beyerdynamic · 1957

The Beyerdynamic M 160 is a hypercardioid ribbon microphone introduced in 1957. It uses dual 15-mm aluminum ribbons suspended between alnico magnets (later neodymium), rotated 90 degrees to achieve end-address operation and a highly directional pickup pattern. It softens harsh characteristics of strident sound sources. It has been used in broadcasting, live concerts, and studio recordings — notably by Eddie Kramer on Jimi Hendrix and Andy Johns on John Bonham’s drums for 'When the Levee Breaks'. It remains in production over six decades later.

10:06

Neumann M 49

Neumann

The Neumann M 49 is a large-diaphragm condenser microphone developed at the NWDR’s Central Laboratory in Hamburg. It entered German broadcasting studios in 1952. It was the world’s first microphone with a remotely switchable polar pattern. Its pressure-gradient capsule causes proximity effect even in omnidirectional mode.

8:27

LS3/5A

BBC

The LS3/5A is a compact BBC-designed studio monitor built for broadcast consistency, not domestic indulgence. Its revisions track component supply — not artistic evolution. It excels in transparency but fails at bass, volume, and modern amplifier compatibility.

8:04

Coles 4038

Coles

The Coles 4038 is a BBC-designed ribbon microphone from 1953. It uses a bi-directional polar pattern and has a flat frequency response from ~30–15,000 Hz. High-frequency attenuation reduces sibilance but also reduces detail. Its technical specifications have remained unchanged since its design in the 1950s.

8:24

RCA Type 77-DX microphone

RCA

The RCA Type 77-DX is a 1954 poly-directional ribbon microphone with mechanical pattern control, low-tension 2.5-micron ribbon, and user-selectable impedance and low-frequency rolloff.

10:11

Shure Beta 58A

Shure

A live vocal mic defined by rejection, presence, and deliberate low-end roll-off.

9:38

Epiphone Casino

Epiphone

A true hollow-body electric guitar built for resonance, not resistance. Lightweight. Loud unplugged. Feedback-prone. P-90-driven. 16th-fret neck joint. Used by The Beatles and generations of players who value immediacy over isolation.

10:48

Yamaha CP-70

Yamaha

The CP-70 is a mechanically faithful grand piano stripped of its soundboard and fitted with piezo pickups for touring. It delivers unmatched keybed realism and feedback resistance—but at the cost of acoustic presence, convenience, and tonal flexibility.

9:56

Gibson ES-335

Gibson · 1958

The ES-335 is a semi-hollow body semi-acoustic guitar introduced in 1958 as a compromise between hollow-body warmth and solid-body feedback resistance, featuring a solid maple center block with hollow upper bouts and f-holes. It achieved commercial success and continuous production due to its tonal flexibility across blues, jazz, and rock.

9:41

Gibson L-5

Gibson

The Gibson L-5 is a hollow body guitar introduced in 1923. It was one of the first guitars with F-holes. Its construction uses carving, bracing, and tap-tuning like a cello. It amplifies string vibration through carved and tuned woods using F-holes as projection points. The lower bout width increased from 16" to 17" in 1934 and has remained 17" since. It was originally offered as an acoustic instrument. In 1951, the 17" L-5 was outfitted with a pair of P-90 pickups. Starting in 1958, the P-90 pickups were replaced by humbuckers.

9:43

Beyerdynamic M 160

Beyerdynamic · 1957

The Beyerdynamic M 160 is a hypercardioid ribbon microphone introduced in 1957. It uses dual 15-mm aluminum ribbons suspended between alnico magnets, rotated 90° to achieve end-address directionality. It softens strident sound sources without dulling transients. It was used by Eddie Kramer on Jimi Hendrix’s vocals and amplifier and by Andy Johns on John Bonham’s drums for 'When the Levee Breaks.' It remains in production after over six decades.

9:18

Sennheiser MD 421

Sennheiser · 1960

The MD 421 is a 1960 cardioid dynamic mic with a 27 mm diaphragm, 30–17,000 Hz ± 3 dB response, portless closed housing, and hum-compensation coil. Still in production. Over 500,000 units sold.

9:39

Sennheiser MD 441

Sennheiser

A purpose-built dynamic mic from 1971 that prioritises rejection, bass control, and electromagnetic immunity over sonic versatility or modern convenience.

9:32

Electro-Voice RE20

Electro-Voice

The Electro-Voice RE20 is a professional cardioid dynamic microphone introduced in 1968 for broadcasting applications. It employs Variable-D technology—a single transducer element with internal porting—to eliminate proximity effect and maintain stable frequency response regardless of source distance. It features a switch to attenuate frequencies below 400 Hz, a humbucking coil for EMI rejection, and a deeply mounted element to handle high SPLs. It delivers excellent fidelity despite its large size and weight. It continues to be used in recording studios and on the concert stage.

11:04

Epiphone Texan

Epiphone

The Epiphone Texan is a jumbo acoustic flattop guitar introduced in 1961 as a continuation of the FT-79. It was built for songwriting and studio use — not for high-volume amplification or tonal experimentation. Its defining features are its jumbo body, midrange-forward voice, and (from 1962) an adjustable bridge. Later reissues added a lightweight internal pickup, but the original was acoustic-only. Paul McCartney used a 1964 model to write 'Yesterday'. It is generally equivalent to the Gibson J-45, differing only in scale-length. Production shifted from the US to Japan and back; discontinuations and reissues reflect corporate ownership changes, not design evolution.

13:34

Neumann U 87

Neumann · 1967

The Neumann U 87 is a large-diaphragm condenser microphone introduced in 1967 as the solid-state successor to the U 67. It features a 25.4 mm diaphragm and three selectable polar patterns — cardioid, omnidirectional, and figure-8. It can be powered by 48V phantom power or two internal 22.5V batteries. The original used the K 87 capsule, a modified version of the K 67. The 1986 U 87A reverted to the standard K 67 capsule and eliminated the dual-battery requirement.

9:22

Fender Coronado

Fender

The Fender Coronado is a true hollow-body electric guitar with no central block, designed in 1965 by Roger Rossmeisl to capitalise on the rising popularity of semi-acoustic guitars. It delivers natural resonance and a bright-and-deep tone, but feeds back at high volumes and failed to win over jazz guitarists due to its bolt-on neck. It found belated favour for what it does sonically—not what it was meant to be.

10:14

Höfner 500/1

Höfner

A lightweight, hollow-body electric bass built for resonance and left-handed play—not for gain staging or precision.