10 Most Legendary Studio Mics of All Time

The list of famous recording artists who have never used a 12-style microphone is likely shorter than the list of those who have. Some of the most notable artists to create music with the C12 include The Beatles, Lupe Fiasco, Tom Petty, Michael Jackson, Alanis Morissette, and My Bloody Valentine, just to name a few. With a limited original production run of only 2500 mics, the original AKG C12 was produced in Austria from 1953 - 1963 and is the definitive version of the 12-style mic featuring the CK12 Capsule. These originals are highly lauded for their natural sound and coveted for their ability to capture the natural beauty of vocal performances, room sounds, and other far miking techniques. This is the sound profile of a few generations of iconic music. While these are no longer in production and the cost of the originals is generally out of reach, this legendary sound is one that is still in high-demand.

• *Price Of The Original: $15,000 +

• Faithful Recreation: WA-CX12, $999

• *Prices based on sold listings from Reverb.com & Vintage King

How do you follow one of the greatest studio microphones of all time? By completely re-thinking what a great studio mic can be. This is the origin story of the original U67 condenser microphone. Particularly “magical” on vocals, the vintage mics have recorded countless #1 hits from Bob Dylan, Nirvana, John Mayer, Jack White, The Weeknd and many more. Not only a vocal mic, the U67 may have been one of the first high-end “all-rounder” condensers, with many engineers noting they use it on a variety of sources with excellent results. Pairing vintage tube tone for warmth and balance with a more modern capsule for pristine high end, the U67 mixes the best aspects of vintage and modern sound for a unique tonal profile. There’s a reason that U67s are the most visible microphones around the studio setting during Disney’s “Get Back” Beatles documentary - they sound great on everything. Because of this “magic” touch, vintage ’67’s became one of the most sought-after and widely-used studio microphones, recording a massive collection of some of the most memorable songs of the last 50 years.

• *Price Of The Original: $10,000 - $15,000

• Faithful Recreation: WA-67, $899

• *Prices based on sold listings from Reverb.com & Vintage King

Vintage Telefunken ELA-M 251s bring a smooth and mellow tone with natural sound reproduction to just about any source. These qualities are likely behind the massive popularity of the microphone for artists like Ariana Grande, Norah Jones, Jason Mraz, Fiona Apple, and Tom Petty. The original Telefunken ELA-M 251 started development in 1958 as a way for Telefunken to bet on themselves due to lost business from a newly-discontinued metal tube that they manufactured for Neumann. Take this history, mix in a little collaboration with AKG, add some new components, and what do you get? A legendary tube microphone and the decades of timeless music that comes with it.

• *Price Of The Original: $20,000 +

• Faithful Recreation: WA-251, $849

• *Prices based on sold listings from Reverb.com & Vintage King

If there’s one “modern classic” on this list, it’s the Royer R-121 Ribbon microphone launched in 1998. Along with another mic on this list, the 121 is the definitive guitar cabinet microphone of the last 20 years. Unlike the classic 44 and 77 RCA ribbons known for sultry vocal sound reproduction, the Royer R-121 is forever-tied to recording electric guitar amplifiers as the ribbon can handle high SPLs and reproduce natural sound with more clarity and slightly more bass response than your typical dynamic mic. The frequency response of the R-121 is very consistent even when changing the mic’s distance to the recording source.

• *Price Of The Original: $1,300

• *Based on advertised prices from authorized dealers

Known as a high-SPL, low-noise classic celebrated as a 'secret weapon' across world-class studios, the original Neumann U47 FET was released in 1969 as a modern answer to the discontinued U47 valve mic. Taking the sound of the 47 tube mic and swapping the valve for solid-state technology, the 47 FET gained massive popularity inside recording studios for its ability to handle fast transients with exceptional detail. From classic vocal recordings by Bon Scott and David Lee Roth, to holy-grail kick drum sounds of Dave Grohl and Daft Punk - the vintage units are versatile studio tools that can add instant vibe to a track. As another successor of the U47 tube mic, the U47 FET has earned its legendary reputation inside elite recording studios.

• *Price Of The Original: $7,000 +

• Faithful Recreation: WA-47F, $799

• *Prices based on sold listings from Reverb.com & Vintage King

Before German and Austrian-made condenser microphones became popular in America, there was a homegrown King of studio and broadcast vocal applications - the RCA 44 Ribbon mic. Artists spanning decades have found the 44 mic to be a great fit for silky smooth vocals. Nat King Cole, Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Josh Homme to name a few. Like many on the list, the 44 is more than just a vocal mic. Engineers have long-praised the RCA 44 on upright bass, acoustic guitar, drum overheads / rooms and many other sources. If your song or sessions demand the ultimate in vintage vibe and natural sound reproduction, a 44 just might do the trick.

• *Price Of The Original: $3,000 +

• Faithful Recreation: WA-44, $999

• *Prices based on sold listings from Reverb.com & Vintage King