South Windsor, CT (September 23, 2010)–Telefunken Elektroakustik is holding a contest to name a new microphone that will debut at AES 2010 in San Francisco.
The unnamed mic is the company’s newest large diaphragm condenser microphone. In development for 18 months, the newest product in the company’s R-F-T line was designed by the company’s in-house engineering team, with outside consultation from amplifier designers.
The microphone will be based around a circuit that features a New Old Stock (NOS) Telefunken vacuum tube, custom audio transformer and a fixed cardioid large diaphragm capsule. Sonically, the microphone is said to carry similar characteristics found in its R-F-T line counterparts, the AR-51 and the AK-47 MkII.
“We always like to be responsive to our friends and supporters,” explained company founder Toni Fishman. “So for this very cool new mic design, we thought we’d reach out to our fans and have a contest to name the new microphone.”
Traditionally, the microphones in Telefunken’s R-F-T line have been based on famous powerful munitions, such as the AK-47 and the M16. “But we’re not limited in that respect,” added Fishman. “I thought of the ‘Bolt,’ which refers to the company’s lightning bolt logo. Let’s see what the public comes up with.”
Featuring a custom antique copper finish, the new microphone is aimed for vocals, byt the company has tested it on other signal sources including acoustic guitars, amps and percussion.
Starting September 23, participants will be able to submit suggested names for the new microphone via the Telefunken website. Then, on October 11th the top ten names will be chosen and posted on an online voting pole. The contest ends at 18:00 (EDT) October 21. The winning name will be announced at Noon (EDT) on October 22nd. The person who suggested the winning name will be rewarded with a pair of the R-F-T mics in a custom flight case. The 2nd and 3rd place names will win an M80 Dynamic microphone.
Telefunken
www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com
