The IRPA MD53 is a truly rare and incredible sounding dual-diaphragm multi-pattern moving coil dynamic microphone from the Soviet Union, produced in very small quantities in the late 60s and early 70s. We only discovered that this microphone even existed about five years ago by finding a photo of one while digging deep on a post from 2006 on an abandoned Ukrainian music forum, and have been hoping to across one ever since.
You might say that it’s the Russian equivalent of an AKG D36, both in form (when it’s windscreen is on) and in function. The microphone originally connected a polar pattern switch box with a multi-pin cable, but this one didn't have the switch box so we wired two separate outputs for each capsule, which can be recorded separately and combined to make any polar pattern when mixing.
The MD53 is a fantastic sounding dynamic microphone and is currently our go-to microphone for bass amps with excellent low frequency response and a meaty midrange that sits perfectly in a mix. We are looking forward to trying it on our next vocal session, I presume it was designed for this task. You can see one of Soviet Russia’s most beloved vocalists, Edyta Pinkha, singing into an MD53 without the windscreen on in the last photo.
Please note that the front and rear capsules of this particular MD-53 sound different. The front capsule sounds exactly like our studio's MD-53s, and the rear capsule is lacking some low end but still sounds quite good and useable and can be used to vary the tone. We sent the mic to Cole Suddarth at Cole Picks Vintage, and he said he was able to get them to match as closely as possible, but they still have different tonality. 99% of the time we use this mic with only its front capsule anyway - so this is a chance to get one hell of a cool and rare mic for a great price.
- The MD-53 uses a proprietary and truly impossible to find multi-pin connector, and this one didn't come with said connector. Thankfully the multi-pin insert used by the connector is both more common (still rare) and also has a very secure friction fit into the mic, so we were able to repurpose another connector with the right insert by removing the outer shell. The connector now fits snugly into the mic and works great, but doesn't have an outer shell to screw onto the body. I know this seems precarious, but it truly is a very secure fit.
