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Author Topic: Painted C12 ?  (Read 10169 times)

turtlerock

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Painted C12 ?
« on: March 18, 2015, 09:35:02 AM »

Many years ago I had a c12 that was painted green .. a kind of light army grey /green but NOT grey  ( and not as light as an elam 251 green)  it looked factory finish to me , the paint was in terrible  worn shape and i could see it was blasted nickel underneath  the paint and i don't know what i was thinking but i stripped the paint off and had a shiny  silver mic which made me feel like it was normal ..like the ones i had seen.

i sold that mic 15 years ago ,  i have had a few conversations with other mic collectors over the years saying it was green , but nobody seems to think they factory painted them..  at all .. little lone green .. I am looking another one painted one finally after all these years ( on the web ) and its painted  green as well 

Of coarse  we all know akg reissued the c12 years ago in that horrible dark green  ( but why green ? ) , I see that telefunken usa are now doing there clones in paint  of various colours  it looks kinda grey like the siemens versions ..
Klaus can you spill some light on original c12 finishes you have personally seen ( if any ) or  what was factory and what wasn't ..?
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Rick O'Neil
turtlerockmastering.com

turtlerock

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Re: Painted C12 ?
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2015, 09:37:06 AM »

back of green mic
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Rick O'Neil
turtlerockmastering.com

klaus

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Re: Painted C12 ?
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2015, 02:47:52 PM »

Hello Rick,

This much I know: What you show is a stock-original AKG color which I have seen on ca. 20-25% of all C12s I ever encountered.

I am going to contact a former AKG insider who can maybe shed more light on the provenance of these green-gray* painted C12s. (I currently have a mid-1950s Siemens-ORF SM204/23 broadcast version of the C12 here, painted in exactly the same hue).

* This may be cultural bias, but as a German who had been exposed to many shades of gray on post WWII machinery (seems to have been a favorite hue among engineers in the 1950s), I'd interpret this not as 'green' but as a particular shade of 'gray'.
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Klaus Heyne
German Masterworks®
www.GermanMasterworks.com

turtlerock

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Re: Painted C12 ?
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2015, 07:02:40 PM »

thanks Klaus,
I understand i  am working on an old memory of a colour i had before i stripped it
however for various reasons i seemed to be blessed or cursed with 100% colour recognition and retention and I have syneshesia  .

So bare with me on my colour description .

 The colour I had was not the same as the seimens grey  which i have since seen and held in my hands ,  mine was surely  into the green army  side of things .

 I had however thought in the following years as I learn more about mics and paints perhaps the finish was a grey lacquer paint with a clear top coat over grey that could certainly yellow over time .. making grey green .  bit like 1950s gibsons age yellowish
 etc or some pultecs stray from blue to green

but i was not even sure akg branded c12s where ever factory painted so its great to know there were surely factory painted ones you have had

I had  not seen another akg branded painted one till this week , my  old mike and the one i show I believe to be original Australian delivered  microphones  , there where few (less then 10)  c12 mics sold at all  in Australia (the local distributers AWA figures given to me years ago and no records of colours )

there were no c12s  in circulation locally when I owned mine .. so its been a mystery to me .
 the few c12 mikes that are here now  in australia now certainly came in after the 1990s  .

I might have to take a road trip to hunt down and hold the one I show  see if its oxidised grey or factory green  and report back  !
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Rick O'Neil
turtlerockmastering.com

klaus

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Re: Painted C12 ?
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2015, 08:14:53 PM »

Here are some pictures of a pair of C12 with painted housing tubes that looks stock to me (though notice the high serial numbers which is mystifying to me):
http://ebays.com.ua/catalog/show/110912008029/

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Klaus Heyne
German Masterworks®
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turtlerock

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Re: Painted C12 ?
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2015, 08:29:41 PM »

well they certainly look grey !..

what do you make of the polar pattern on the  power supply boxes have you seen that actual mod before  down low and with a professional plate ?
is it factory ? the add claims it was done in newyork , but that would not explain how mine got that way

 mine had the exact same setup with   the polar plate ( and i mean exact )


 but the providence of mine was from the original owner to me  here in sydney  he said it was always like that?  but he was very old and has since passed away .. the serial number on mine was also  high 1500+  i'll will have to see if i have it somewhere .
 
 until today i have never seen that mod again ..  (which was another thing in collecters backroom  dispute beside the green / grey ? ).. intriguing  thanks !
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Rick O'Neil
turtlerockmastering.com

klaus

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Re: Painted C12 ?
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2015, 08:38:39 PM »

I have not encountered DC output components on the same side and right next to the AC input side on tube mic power supplies before. It's unsafe, and was even back then.

If the pattern control was added after the power supply left the AKG factory, at least its pattern symbols look very professional, and AKG-like... Looks like the odd AC plug was also added on a sub-plate after the fact.
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Klaus Heyne
German Masterworks®
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turtlerock

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Re: Painted C12 ?
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2015, 08:48:42 PM »

mine had the standard ac socket not the one modded one shown , the c12 that  I started this thread has the standard remote box  but is also a high number mic .
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Rick O'Neil
turtlerockmastering.com

turtlerock

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Re: Painted C12 ?
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2015, 08:51:54 PM »

from your link for clarity
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Rick O'Neil
turtlerockmastering.com

Mal

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Re: Painted C12 ?
« Reply #9 on: March 24, 2015, 09:02:16 PM »

I use an old C12 (silver) here in Melbourne..I distinctly recall though a couple of C12s from our Sydney branch used on a session..one of which was green...shall see if I can confirm

Mal Stanley
ABC Radio
Melbourne
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klaus

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Re: Painted C12 ?
« Reply #10 on: March 25, 2015, 12:19:58 PM »

The verdict from Vienna is in: A person who was centrally involved in the development of the C12 (quite a senior feat!) notes the following:

* The standard-issue for C12 housing tubes was galvanized nickel (the common silver surface encountered on most C12).

* For special customers, like radio stations which placed C12 in orchestras during public performances and wished them invisible, and upon special request (often granted by AKG for "special" customers), AKG would deliver C12 with lacquered housing tubes in various shades of gray. As the lacquering technology had not been yet perfected in the 1950s, various compounds and brands were used for experimentation with various shades and colors as a result.
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Klaus Heyne
German Masterworks®
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turtlerock

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Re: Painted C12 ?
« Reply #11 on: April 09, 2015, 04:59:09 AM »

thanks klaus  that certainly clears that up
 for what its worth as a curiousity here is another shade of grey / green  heading into elam territory ...  akg /EMT c28 !
 
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Rick O'Neil
turtlerockmastering.com
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