Lustraphone VR53

The Lustraphone VR53 was produced in large quantities from 1953onwards, mainly to the booming home recording and amateur radio markets. The last appearance of the Lustraphone VR53 in Hi-Fi Yearbook was in 1967, by which point it had been completely superseded by the VR64. Lustraphone traded until around 1973.

This mic was available in at least three different impedances, and I have come across 30, 200, and high impedance models. Unfortunately the badge often falls off so you don't always know what you are getting! Many of the models I have seen are finished in a bronze hammetone colour, although there some have gorgeous brushed stainless steel finish. Despite the different badges and finishes, the mics are exactly the same on the inside (transformer aside).

One of the ribbon clamps sits on a spring-tensioned screw thread, which allows fine adjustment of the ribbon tension. This makes tuning the ribbon very straight-forward, and allows the owner a little bit of grace if the ribbon becomes a little stretched over time. The magnetic field is supplied by a pair of horseshoe magnets (which unfortunately sometimes age with time, losing their strength).

Connection to the rest of the world is made by a proprietary balanced three-pin plug, which are hard to come by now. The middle pin is ground, with the audio on the outer two pins. It is possible to modify an XLR plug to work as a replacement.

The long ribbon and motor design gives these mics a full bottom end and a pronounced proximity effect. However, they can sound rather dark and lack top end detail.

The Lustraphone VR53 was also sold under the Grundig brand as model number GBM125, alongside their reel to reel tape recorders, as well as with MIMCO and Pamphonic badges.

Lustraphone Studio VR 53. (from Hi-Fi Yearbook 1966) 

Ribbon velocity. Response substantially flat to 14,000 Hz. Source imp. low, line and high. Built-in transformer. 3-pin moulded mic. plug. 6 ft. cable. Stand as required. Price : £11. 11s.

Grundig GBM125 (from Hi-Fi Yearbook 1966)

• Ribbon. Response 50 Hz - 15 KHz ± 2 dB.
• Sensitivity: 0.1 mV/microbar and 3 mV/microbar.
• Impedance: 200 ohms and 200K ohms.
• Table stand with standard thread. Price £24. 3s.

A post at the Xaudia blog about the VR53

Another post about upgrading the magnets in a VR53 to improve the output level and signal to noise.

The BBC wrote a technical report about the VR53. Their verdict was as follows...

"There does not seem to be any use for this microphone in the BBC at present, since in every attribute except size it is inferior to the AXBT. For close working on crooners and in public address speech, a bass cut would be very necessary. However, in an emergency, with suitable correction, an acceptable broadcast quality, at least for speech, should be possible."

MoMics note: This seems a little churlish considering that the Lustraphone was a relatively cheap, mass produced microphone designed for the home recording market, whereas the AXBT was the BBC's flagship model, built without compromise and with no expense spared. This seems a little like saying in a posh Received Pronunciation accent 'we don't need a Morris Minor because we have a Bentley already. Judging by the quantities that we see, the VR53 was very popular and well regarded.