The LOMO 19a18 is a Soviet LDC tube mic from the early 60’s through the mid-70’s. It’s a unique end-address design, using a 34mm single-sided M7 style center-terminated cardioid capsule housed in a Soviet space-aged capsule enclosure. Some earlier versions have shorter bodies with the end of the body fitting flush against the back of the capsule, whereas the later and more common examples (like the one pictured here) have a tapered screw-on adapter between the body and the capsule. My guess is that the tapered end allows more air and sound to the back of the capsule, possibly creating a tighter cardioid polar pattern and more even frequency response. The microphone uses the Soviet 6S6B subminiature tube, which is also used in the 19a4, 19a10, 19a13, and 19a14. The output transformer is located in the body, and the mic is powered by the LOMO 20B81 unregulated PSU.
The 19a18 stands out from most of the other LOMO tube mics in that it has a more substantial (yet musical) presence peak, making it especially flattering on acoustic instruments and darker sources, or when you want something to stand out in a mix. Unfortunately, due to the shape of the housing and the fact that the mic uses a silver washer against the gold diaphragm, the 19a18 capsule is especially prone to corrosion, which causes loss of low end and a harsh upper mid-range. Of the two dozen or so 19a18s that we’ve had come through the studio, I’ve only heard one or two with original diaphragms that sound the way the should. The mic pictured here is our perfect original example, and it is used as a benchmark whens sending other 19a18 capsules to John Peluso for reskinning. Despite their somewhat complicated backplate tuning system, he’s able to match them precisely every time.
You can listen to a pair of reskinned 19a18’s used on two different recordings at the link in our bio. These songs were done before we came up with our “ proprietary microphone jingle”, but still recorded unprocessed, and include individual files and a lightly processed stereo mix for each song.
