A rare Telefunken ELA M 251 E - for sale on eBay ('only' $19,999.00)
By Sophie Andersen · · 9 min read
If you have a classic vintage vacuum tube, chances are you don’t want to sell it. But someone does (for a price)…
The vintage vacuum tube Telefunken ELA M 251 E is a true classic microphone. And if you’re quick, you can get your hands on one for $19,999. That’s assuming you have $19,999 lying around. It may sound like a lot of money, but 20 grand would buy you a merely decent professional violin. It wouldn’t buy you anything approaching the quality expected of a soloist’s instrument. So in that perspective, $19,999 is pretty reasonable for a top-notch microphone. Prices can only go up.
The ELA M 251 shares a lot of its history with the AKG C12. The commonly-told story is that Neumann made U47 microphones for Telefunken (which were Telefunken-badged) until 1958 when, for whatever reason, they decided to stop. Telefunken needed a first-class microphone in their range so they approached AKG (rumor has it that all the best microphones come from either Germany or Austria!). AKG took the capsule from the C12, incorporated the pattern selector into the microphone rather than putting it in a separate box, and hey presto the ELA M 251 was born. The version without the ‘E’ at the end was intended for the state broadcasting systems in Germany and Austria; the E version was the commercial product.
There’s a lot of information available elsewhere on the web, so I won’t go into too much detail here. I will say however that it has been speculated, in the highest echelons of audio, that AKG sent the best of their microphones to the USA. So a US-spec 251 versus a European-spec comparison would be interesting, although of course age would throw confusion into the test.
Back to this particular mic…
The example here is for sale on eBay at the time of writing (April 2, 2013). Record-Producer.com has no association with the seller other than we asked permission to use the photos. Here it is…
Apparently the original owner of this mic considered it too good for everyday use, and he commonly left it in the cupboard and used lesser mics on his projects - it picked up too much HVAC and coke machine. Oh well, that’s great microphones for you!
One interesting point is the diaphragm, which apparently is original. Looking at the photos it has quite a rich patina. There must come a point where this kind of degradation becomes too much. But that’s part and parcel of the vintage microphone experience. If you want something predictable and bland, buy a new mic :-)
The sale can be found here (while it is active). And even after the mic has sold you will find other items at the seller’s store, geartechpro…
The photos…
Publication date: Wednesday April 03, 2013
Author: David Mellor
Join David Mellor’s Audio Masterclass…
When to compress, and why There’s nothing like compression for improving a mix. On the other hand, there’s nothing like compression for ruining a mix. So when should you compress? And, more importantly, why? Read more…
German kindergartens to be made to pay for children to sing Soon, if a kindergarten in Germany wants their little kiddies to sing songs that are in copyright, they will have to pay for a license. Is there no end to the greed of the record companies? (Or is the story slightly different to what it’s made out to be?) Read more…
Why is there a silvery coating inside a vacuum tube? Have you ever wondered why there is a silvery patch inside a vacuum tube? Is it there for a purpose? Does it affect the sound of the tube? Read more…
Silencing a crackly guitar volume control One wouldn’t expect a 50-year old potentiometer to be without a few crackles. But does a guitar used only for recording actually need a volume control? Read more…
Do you get a sore throat when you sing? Sore throat today - maybe a throat infection tomorrow. How to end this painful cycle. Read more…
How to use as many plug-ins as you like You are running tons of plug-ins and your computer is running out of steam. How can you lighten the load AND use as many plug-ins as you like? Read more…
Q: Will the preamp in my interface spoil the great sound of my mic pre? A RecordProducer.com reader has an expensive microphone preamplifier. But he worries that all is lost when he connects it to the preamp of his audio interface. Read more…
Are you special? (Hint - you’re probably not) ”) Have you got what it takes to make it in the music business? Maybe you have. But so have a million other people. Read more…
One song, arranged four ways A good musical arrangement can make all the difference to the presentation of a song. Of course, it helps if it’s a good song in the first place… Read more…
Do you have to understand electronics to be a sound engineer? I feel that I am struggling with electronics. Do I really need to understand this or is it something I can ignore? Read more…
How much would you like to play an amazing keyboard instrument like this? You don’t often see keyboards like this one. A delight to the eye as well as the ear… Read more…
How do you get a good manager? A good manager is hard to find. But why do you need one in the first place? And where are you going to look? Read more…
$8.70 for a single download? How on earth do they get away with those prices? A record label specializing in high quality audio charges $$$ for its tracks. But will you get good value for your money? Read more…
Adding warmth with control and consistency Do your recordings have warmth? Yes? But does the amount of warmth vary with the signal level? Wouldn’t you like it to be more consistent… Read more…
Do vintage musical styles benefit from modern mastering techniques? Take some music in 1970s style, then apply mastering processes from the 21st century. Will it work? Or will the two eras clash horribly? Read more…
Q: How can I make my drums and my bass guitar sound heavy? My drums and bass guitar sound loud and heavy when I play them, but they don’t sound heavy enough when I make a recording. How can I make them heavier? Read more…
“Welcome to My World” by Kevin Michael Kappler Kevin Michael Kappler was born on August 23rd, 1974. He has painstakingly worked hard to succeed in music and not let those who doubt or hate him drag him off coarse… Read more…
Q: Can I tell at a glance if my preamp is tube or transistor? Can you recognize by a glance what kind of amplifier you have in front of you without reading the specifications? Do they have special visual features? For instance, could I recognize a vacuum tube from a transistor one? Read more…
Q: Will phase kill my recordings? I have heard that phase is a big problem in recording. What should I look out for and how can I prevent any problems? Read more…
Driving your headphones from a power amplifier - will it burst your brains out? Believe it or not, one of the best ways to drive studio headphones is from a power amplifier. Amazingly, you are not going to blow anything, and your studio will be all the more efficient for it. Read more…
- A rare Telefunken ELA M 251 E - for sale on eBay (‘only’ $19,999.00) ”) If you have a classic vintage vacuum tube, chances are you don’t want to sell it. But someone does (for a price)…
- A rare Neumann U48 - for sale on eBay It isn’t often that a Neumann U47 or U48 comes up for sale. But you can grab one now if you’re quick…
- Can you record a drum kit entirely with Shure SM57 mics? Barry Rudolph can. If you record an entire drum kit with SM57 mics, the total cost of the mics is around $300. That’s pretty cheap, but is the sound cheap too?
- A Neve mixing console with built-in turntable If you’re in the mood to add some vinyl scratches to your track, what could be better than having a turntable right there in your console?
- Another amazing bargain keyboard instrument What kind of keyboard instrument can you buy for £20? You would be amazed…
- How to connect a turntable to a mixing console An RP reader has a turntable and a mixing console. But they are not sounding good together…
- The sE Electronics Reflexion Filter in a noisy environment Is your computer noisy? Do you think the sE Electronics Reflexion Filter will help? Think again. (With audio)
- This woman nearly gave ‘Yesterday’ an electronic backing! We know very well the most-covered song of all time, with its lush string quartet backing. But it was nearly given the electronic treatment.
- Avid and Abbey Road fall victim to surprisingly bad web audio Avid’s recent webinar about Abbey Road’s upgrade to Pro Tools HDX featured the worst audio I have heard for a long time. Who is to blame?
- Will.i.am is giving up music to learn computer programming Many aspiring producers admire Will.i.am for his musical success. He admires Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.
- Can a $1599 microphone match up to an undisputed classic? Hear it for yourself… For many engineers, the Neumann U47 is the undisputed champion of microphones. Here you can judge it against the $1599 Lauten Audio Atlantis. You might be in for a surprise.
- How to edit out pops in speech or singing Microphone pops are an unpleasant side effect of recording. It’s best to avoid them in the first place, but what if someone sends you a poppy vocal recording to fix?
- An interesting phase problem in drum overheads Using microphones in a stereo pair always raises a good question - are you SURE they sound right?
- Does microphone preamplifier gain increase the proximity effect? A interesting question asked by an Audio Masterclass student. Well does it??
- To impress a client, your work needs to be IMPRESSIVE One of the fundamental principles of Audio Masterclass is that if you want to get work in the audio industry, you have to be able to impress potential clients. If your audio or music is not impressive, then the work will go to someone else whose audio or music is impressive.
- Universal Audio Twin Finity combined tube/transistor mic preamp Is this dual tube/transistor preamp the ultimate in preamp flexibility? Or does it completely miss what could have been its finest trick?
- Can you now use nearfields to completely replace your main monitors? Any pro studio would have both main monitors and nearfields. But now you can have both in one package.
- Do plug-ins sound like the analog equipment they emulate? Everyone would like an 1176 or LA-2A compressor in their studio. But the originals cost so much that plug-in emulations are usually the only viable alternative. But do they sound the same?
- How to compress a bass guitar that varies in level It’s a rare bass guitar recording that doesn’t vary in level to some extent. In most cases, this adds nothing to the musicality of the recording and just makes the track harder to mix.
- Why your studio door should not have a latch How do you keep your studio door closed? If it uses a latch then you may be slowing down your sessions.