Ear Trumpet Labs announced Josephine, the newest addition to their product line of microphones handcrafted in Portland, OR. Coming May 2016, this medium-large diaphragm (26mm) cardioid condenser microphone, Josephine, is designed for live vocal and ensemble use, with an avant-garde styling evocative of 1930s and 40s classic microphones.
Josephine is optimized for use by singers or acoustic ensembles from 6” to 48” away. The design, form-factor, and sound are ideal for period swing or jazz vocalists or single-mic techniques with bluegrass or traditional musicians, with significantly better feedback rejection than the large diaphragm condenser’s typically used in these applications.
Founder of Ear Trumpet Labs, Philip Graham notes, “The original Josephine was actually the first model that I designed, and the first affirmation of the sound quality that was achievable with this capsule and circuit design. We’ve learned a lot over the last two years about improving feedback rejection and usability onstage. I’ve always loved Josephine’s bold geometry and wanted to revisit it with a design that is extremely practical for live stage use. I love that she’s sleek, eye-catching, and incorporates all we’ve learned about building the best mics for live acoustic music.”
Josephine’s design features a spherical stainless steel mesh headbasket spring-suspended in a six-inch diameter copper ring. The head basket incorporates a very effective silk and foam pop filter as well as Sorbothane shock and vibration damping to minimize handling noise, and internal rubber baffles to shape the sound of the mic.
The capsule is a Chinese-made electret condenser with additional acoustic damping. Capsules are individually tested and selected – roughly 30% of capsules are rejected for not meeting design criteria. The circuit is a transformerless FET with fully balanced output and EMI noise suppression. Other electrical components in the signal path are highest quality metal film resistors, polypropylene and polystyrene capacitors, and individually tested, hand-matched and biased transistors and JFETs.
The circuit includes moderate bass rolloff to compensate for proximity effect, and high frequency EQ to avoid harshness and help control feedback. The cardioid polar pattern, headbasket design, and tuned electronics all work together to make a very stable live mic with an extremely natural sound and good feedback rejection.
www.EarTrumpetLabs.com
