National WM-706

Matsushita aka National aka Panasonic

Japan is perhaps less well known for ribbon microphones as the USA, UK and Germany, but many excellent Japanese ribbon microphones were made in the post-WW2 era from the late 1940s through to the 1970s.

The company that is now known as Panasonic was founded by Konosuke Matsushita, who was born on November 27, 1894 in Wasamura, Japan. He founded that Matshishita Electrical Company in 1917, making electrical sockets and bicycle lights. From 1923 onwards Matsushita traded under the brand 'National', and began manufacturing radio equipment in 1931. The Panasonic brand name appeared on some Matsushita products intended for export from 1955. Today most of their products are sold under the Panasonic brand. Several ribbon microphones appeared under the Matsushita and National brands, including the VM1 and WM series. Many of these mics are quirky with unusual aesthetic and technical features.

For our museum, we have grouped all of these together under the 'National' brand, even if they have a Matsushita badge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panasonic

Translation of Original Manual (Accessible in further reading):

National WM-706:

Premium Unidirectional Ribbon Microphone
(Panasonic / National, Japan)

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing a National microphone. Please read this instruction manual carefully to ensure correct handling and long service life of your microphone.

Names of Parts

• Sound hole
• Head grille (Case A)
• Central housing (Case B)
• Base housing (Case C)
• Microphone socket
• Swivel yoke (Angle)
• Mounting screws

1. Output Connection

The output of this microphone is balanced, 600 Ω.

When connecting to an amplifier, follow the wiring instructions in Figure 2.

If using the microphone in an unbalanced configuration, follow the instructions in Figure 3.

Note: The terminal numbers shown in the figure correspond to the pin numbers on a 3-pin connector (JIS C6502 standard) attached to the end of the microphone cable.

2. Microphone Plug

This microphone is supplied without a connector. Please fit an appropriate connector to match your amplifier input.

Balanced connection (example):

• Single-head duplex jack ←→ No. 110 plug
• JIS C6502 3P connector (e.g. 21R 3A ↔ 21P 3B, or 16R 3A ↔ 16P 3B)
• BTS 4104

Unbalanced connection:

• Single-head plug jack ←→ single-head plug

(Detailed connector component diagrams are shown in the original manual.)

3. Mounting to a Microphone Stand

Two types of stand threads are provided, allowing the microphone to be mounted on either a tabletop or floor stand.

Use the appropriate screw for your stand:

• (A) PS 1/2 × 14 parallel pipe thread (JIS B0203) — Ø 20.8 mm
• (B) W 3/8 × 16 screw thread (JIS B0206) — Ø 9.5 mm

Figure 6 — Stand Mounting

Captions (left to right, top to bottom):

Stand adapter / Left / Right / Stand screw / Stand inner tube / Fixing screw / Stand outer tube

1. For parallel pipe thread stands: attach by turning the stand adapter counter-clockwise.
2. For screw thread stands: loosen the stand fixing screw and rotate the stand centre tube clockwise.

Usage Notes

1. Do not use this microphone outdoors in strong wind, rain, or locations exposed to water. Do not blow strongly into the microphone.
2. Maintain a distance of at least 30 cm from the sound source. Avoid placing the mouth closer than 5 cm. The ribbon assembly is delicate.
3. The ribbon assembly is delicate. Do not drop the microphone or subject it to impact.
4. This microphone is unidirectional, but if a loudspeaker faces the microphone it may cause feedback. Position the microphone well away from the speakers.
5. The balanced 600 Ω output allows for relatively long cable runs. However, excessive cable lengths can introduce noise and degrade high-frequency response. Keep cable lengths within 100 m where possible.
6. Do not disassemble the microphone. Re-adjusting the acoustic characteristics is difficult once disturbed.

Specifications:

Finish and Materials

Panasonic Communication Industrial Co., Ltd., Acoustic Business Division, 880 Tsunashimacho, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Japan, TEL: (45) 1231 (main)

Original manual in Japanese