Shout Out from a Legendary Engineer: With all the success Dave Pearlman has had over the last 20 years since launching Pearlman Microphones, nothing has made him feel as proud and accomplished as seeing one of his flagship products (the “CHURCH” microphone) mentioned prominently in the late 20-time GRAMMY-winning engineer Al Schmitt’s 2018 autobiography Al Schmitt on the Record: The Magic Behind the Music. It was among three go-to mics Schmitt used for vocals at Capitol Studios. Pearlman had a diverse history in the music industry when he started his independent company in 2005—including years as a pedal steel guitarist for the likes of Dan Fogelberg, Phil Everly, Pat Boone, and Bobby Womack—opening and running the indie facility Rotund Rascal Studio for 26 years. During the studio era of his career, he was one of the engineers on a GRAMMY-winning project by the Zydeco band Beausoleil. To save money on outside techs, in the early 2000s he began doing modifications on classic mics like the U47, 67, and AKG C12. Creating what was originally a powerful client magnet, Pearlman filled a key niche creating “super high-quality mics at a super low price.”
Key Products: Pearlman’s line of custom-built products began with the TM-1, a high-quality mic made for professional studio use but priced for the home recordist. Based on the U47, it’s built around a tube that doesn’t require the same power supply; each unit is hand-wired, point to point, and voltage tuned for maximum performance. Two other popular items include the aforementioned Pearlman CHURCH microphone and the TM-47. The CHURCH mic is a faithful remake of the Stanley Church MGM mic from the 1950s which stays true to the original schematics, including the use of refurbished vintage K47 and M7 capsules. The TM-47 is a cardioid mic based on the venerable U47 and built in a body reminiscent of the classic look of the ‘50s and ‘60s. The stock TM-47 is made with the Pearlman K47 style capsule, a 6SJ7 or 6AC7 tube, hand-wired, point-to-point circuit with paper-in-oil output capacitor, and the Pearlman BV8 type output transformer.
Looking Ahead: Pearlman will soon introduce the TM12A, his updated version of another classic, the C12A, which was used regularly in studios throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s and was the forerunner to the 412, which became the 414. It offers a unique combination of a nuvistor tube, original circuitry, a special transformer Pearlman custom-made by Cinemag and a CK12 capsule made by Tim Campbell in Denmark. Pearlman says, “The main difference with my mics is that I always use vintage style components, large capacitors, and old- style resistors, whereas a lot of those inexpensive new mics are made with surface mounts. While they may sound good, and I’m certainly not denigrating surface mount mics, there’s that extra five percent quality that comes by crafting a product by hand and using vintage components. I assemble all my capsules by hand and tune them, in addition to repairing Neumann K47 and K67/87 capsules here.”
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