Sony C-38

According to Recording Hacks, the current version of the Sony C38B was released in 2003, with earlier iterations of the design going back to 1965.

MoMics View

I am a big fan of the C38b and for the past 20 years have almost always used one for recording on my own guitar amplifier, often alongside a Shure 57 or whatever else is free after setting up for the rest of the band. The Achilles' heel of this design is that the mechanism can become difficult to turn, and many the C37 and C38 microphones are stuck in the cardioid position. For many users that is not a problem if the cardioid pattern is preferred.

From the Sony C38 Manual

Battery: 9 V battery size "OO6P" or equiv. (IEC designation 6F22)

Power Supply: Standard operating voltage: 9 V Minimum operating voltage: approx. 7,5 V; Current drain: less than 2 mA (with battery); less than 5 mA (with external power supply)

Continuous battery duration: more than 200 hours with a 006P dry battery

Accepts external power supply of 24 - 54 V dc Uni-directional and omni-directional

Output Impedance: 250 ohms ± 20% (balanced)

Directivity: Cardioid and Omnidirectional.

Frequency Response: 30 Hz - 16,000 Hz

Output Level:

* Deviation ‡ 2 dB; *0 dBm = 1 mW/10 ubar, 1,000 Hz

Information about the C38B at Recording Hacks

Barry Rudolf reviews the C38B for Mix Magazine

The Sony C38 at Vintage Microphone World