Phil O'Keefe Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 I went to a local music store to take a couple of guitars in for setup / repair work, and while I was there, I was looking around, and there in a display case is this funky looking mic that I didn't recognise. Turns out it was an old Shure SM82 condenser... they had it marked for $475. Looks used, but in really good shape. My initial thought was it was a broadcast production / field mic, and now that I've read a bit more about it, that indeed appears to be the case. The guy says it's been there for as long as he's worked there (about 16 years), and so they'd be willing to sell it for $50 OTD, so after plugging it in and making sure it works (it does - and it's REALLY got a hot output) I thought "what the heck" and bought it. My research tells me those mics were built sometime between 1974 and 1989. If you'd like to read more about them, there's a PDF file on them over on the Shure site. Anyone else own one of these things? I don't know that I'll ever actually use it much (if at all), but I like wacky mics, and if the chance to get something a little unusual comes up for a dirt cheap price, I'm usually going to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members daklander Posted August 5, 2005 Members Share Posted August 5, 2005 You dirty dog. I can never find those deals on mics. Guitars now and again, but never a steal deal on a mic yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AudioMaverick Posted August 5, 2005 Members Share Posted August 5, 2005 I used to see them on field news reports, mostly in the late 70s & early 80s. The head is very noticable. Is it usable for anything other than voice? Wow... $50! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members geek_usa Posted August 5, 2005 Members Share Posted August 5, 2005 $50... man, you need a good ass kicking..er...pat on the back! Congradulations! *jealous stare* all in fun... seriously, i'm happy for you! that sounds like an awesome deal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 5, 2005 Author Share Posted August 5, 2005 Thanks guys... but I'm not so sure it was all THAT good of a deal. My guess is that it's maybe worth double what I paid for it - at the outside. Maybe a bit more, but I seriously doubt it could be much more. Certainly nothing like my two old Telefunken 251's - now THAT was a deal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members daklander Posted August 5, 2005 Members Share Posted August 5, 2005 Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe Thanks guys... but I'm not so sure it was all THAT good of a deal. My guess is that it's maybe worth double what I paid for it - at the outside. Maybe a bit more, but I seriously doubt it could be much more. That could very well be Phil, but, jeez, a 50 bone mic? And it works? If you only use it once for some particular sound you want on a recording it's paid for itself. I agree the mic wasn't worth near the original price you listed, and a hundred bucks or a bit more would be a more realistic value, I'd have made that deal in a hearbeat and made some lame excuse to wifey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Richard Farrell Posted August 5, 2005 Members Share Posted August 5, 2005 Hey Phil. I picked one up for around the same price about a year ago. they have a built in preamp, yes built in, so no outboard is needed. this made on site reporting very easy. they also have a built in limiter. they required an internal battery (which are no longer available) or phantom power. I used it twice for recording. i used it as a quasi overhead, snare deal. i also used it for a lead vocal track for a vintage effect. i eventually sold mine, just recently as a matter of fact. its quite a long mic, longest ive ever owned. btw, what did you pay for a pair of original elam's? best regards, Rich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 6, 2005 Author Share Posted August 6, 2005 Originally posted by Richard Farrell Hey Phil. I picked one up for around the same price about a year ago. they have a built in preamp, yes built in, so no outboard is needed. this made on site reporting very easy. they also have a built in limiter. Yeah, I noticed that in the Shure documentation just as soon as I got home and looked it up online - onboard "line level" driver (IOW, a preamp) and a limiter. They required an internal battery (which are no longer available) or phantom power. Mine came with the battery, but I'm sure it's dead - in the store, as soon as we switched off the phantom power on the board, the mic quickly died. The battery hasn't leaked yet, so that's good... but I'm going to pull it out RSN, so that it doesn't leak and damage anything. I used it twice for recording. i used it as a quasi overhead, snare deal. i also used it for a lead vocal track for a vintage effect. i eventually sold mine, just recently as a matter of fact. its quite a long mic, longest ive ever owned. Yeah, the thing's incredibly long - which is what made me think it was probably a field / reporter mic when I saw it in the store. The headshape is kind of unusual too... sort of like a Russian LOMO. Definitely an unusual looking bird. btw, what did you pay for a pair of original elam's? You don't want to know.... I mean you REALLY don't want to know.... If I tell you, you'll probably be VERY sad... Last chance.... if you REALLY don't want to know, don't look any further.... Okay... a client worked on the pastoral staff for a Church, and they had been in storage in the attic there for years. He described them to me one day, and I told him it REALLY sounded like a pair of 251's... the next week, he brought them over. Yes, they were 251 E's. I told them they were worth a lot, and that he should check with X, Y and Z for appraisals on them... and if they decided to sell them, I'd be interested in buying one, and that I'd pay the median price on the three appraisals, but I was only interested in buying one, because there was no way I was going to be able to afford two at the time. Two weeks later (or so), he comes back and tells me that the church appreciated my honesty, and the board decided that *I* should have them both... if I'd be willing to accept them in exchange for the work I was doing for them... which amounted to about $3 - $3.5K. Sometimes it pays to be honest. best regards, Rich. And to you too Rich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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