Telefunken / Siemens 251

The Telefunken 251 is a high quality tube condenser microphone and is one that many consider to be one of the best mics of its kind.  It comes with its own special cables and power supply, both of which are very heavy duty.  I have only used the Telefunken 251 for recording and this is the only application that this should be used for as it is an extremely expensive and fragile microphone.

OVERALL OPINION

I recently had the pleasure of using the Telefunken 251 for the first time after hearing myths and stories about its great sound quality and I have to say that even with all of the hype, this microphone still sounds absolutely amazing.  I have only used it for recording lead vocals and for this application it works perfectly.  The sound quality comes in crystal clear while maintaining a warmth and fullness that is unparallel.  It is definitely one of if not the best microphone that I have used and since the night that I was able to use it I have only wanted to use it more!  You know that it is an extremely expensive microphone when it costs more to rent for a day than a lot of microphone cost to buy!  I had to say that it was worth it as I’ve never heard my vocals come in so clear.  It is basically a fool proof microphone as all you have to do it plug it in properly and let it do its thing.  While a lot of people will claim that a certain microphone is the best, there are so many great microphones out there that work great for different situations and applications, and the Telefunken 251 is one of them.  While I won’t say that its necessarily the best microphone ever made, it is definitely one of them and all serious engineers should have a go with this microphone at least once (if not multiple times!) in their career.  While I can’t say I would recommend buying this microphone unless you are made of money, it is definitely worth renting or seeking out a studio that as one as you can really get some great tones with this mic.