Custom Built C-12 clone : Large Diaphragm Multipattern Tube Condenser Microphone

You have stumbled across one of the greatest valued services in the audio engineering realm. Imagine changing the tires, exhaust and motor on a Ford Focus and all of a sudden it drives and handles and performs identically to a Bughatti Veyron; that’s our totally unique C-12 clone. We gut a Avantone CV-12 right down to the frame rails and use exactly 0% of the circuitry or capsule to make our own custom C-12. We literally use just the frame rails and mesh head basket. That’s it.

As dozens of our customers can attest (including Berkley college professor Yuki Kanesaka who has used a pair I built him on dozens of commercial successes and featured them in a recent magazine as shown in the images above), this custom built C12 clone performs just as well as an original $20,000 AKG C12. The truth is that no other C12 clone comes anywhere near the sound and tone of this mic. Trust me I’ve owned them all and have pulled them all apart. It’s a no contest TKO, from overall tone, to proximity effect, features and topology design.

I gut the donor Avantone CV-12 down to the frame rails and everything else is trashed (well, parted out for future projects and spare parts). We use our own custom parts in addition to vintage out of stock components to create a very close replica of the elam251/c12. It starts with an available circuit which we modify with our own sourced old stock components, boasts an entirely new Elam 251 PCB circuit system, new wiring, new transformer, new hand selected mic grade tube, NOS foil capacitors, Hardwired Haufe transformer clone, our own PSU modifications and brand new brass capsule swap.

We also add a new high pass filter switch internally for further usefulness (you get to decide the frequency cut). You also get to decide if you want the low rumble 80hz high pass or a more aggressive -3db 180hz filter installed for the new switch. It also has a pad and bass roll off switch on the front. You can even have your mic custom painted to your own specs (hammertone gold as shown was my last order in March 2023). 2 week turnaround. Color choices have been red, hammertone silver or gold (my to favorite choices), green, blue, white, black or vintage grey.

*** Listing includes metal case, C12 clone microphone, power supply, shock mount, PSU, IEC cable, 9 pin mic cable and an extra elastic shockmount band. 
***

DETAILS:



We start with gutting the entire Chinese circuit and emptying the frame completely. That’s literally the only thing I use from the donor body (as shown). We then populate an Elam251 circuit by hand, using Kester leaded solder and hand wire the entire circuit board from scratch, using the highest quality components and NOS original parts used in the original AKG C12. We then swap the harsh 32mm vented K67 capsule for a brand new C12 1:1 brass capsule clone we have custom built in the USA (best on the market). Next, we swap the overbuilt metal saddle for a thermoresin “supersaddle” we 3d print with better shock absorption and add a new mic-grade, low noise tube, hand selected by us. We then heavily modify the power supply to yield a better voltage output to the mic (much quieter noise floor). This provides our customers the greatest large diaphragm condenser tube microphone ever made under $10-15k.

We use only the highest end components money can buy and trim the leads as short as possible to maintain optimal SNR. This unique mic buries all the other clones in the grave instantly ie: Peluso, BeesNeez, Golden Age, etc. Even Upton, Bock, Thielle and the new Telefunkens cannot stand up against this mic. I’m yet to have a customer say anything other than, “I’m absolutely blown away.” I’ve sold dozens of these and not one client hasn’t had their expectation wildly exceeded.

I even recently traded a bunch of high end items for a vintage AKG C24 and one of the items I gave him was one of these C12 clone mics I built (so he had been living with the real deal for years) and he was completely astonished how well it performs. He couldn’t believe how good this clone sounded compared to the real thing and it is now his go to mic for vocals. In fact, as I wrote this he’s having me build him another for stereo pair.

HOW THIS CREATION CAME TO BE :

This whole journey started when I was an assistant engineer at Electric Lady studios in 2009 on a Bjork session. The engineer was using an original C12 and I mentioned I had an upgraded CV-12 (after hearing Taylor Swift had been using one). He asked me to bring it in so the next day I brought it in for a blind A-B test and everyone in the control room was floored. These men, who were all world class engineers and producers, could not tell the difference or voted blindly for my microphone over the C12. We were all enamored and everyone in the room came back to work the next day and said they had bought one on the internet that night. It’s one of those mics that the second you hear it, you're sold. When you think about it, it really is the same parts as the worlds greatest mics once I'm done; its just capacitors, resistors and wiring, just like an AKG C12. That's the thing about these "world class" microphones... they all cost pretty much the same to manufacturer and maintain. You’re paying for topology & pcb design. When you buy a new Neumann or Bock you are buying brilliant engineering, master craftsmanship and a metal badge that says Neumann. Organic creativity and a unique schematic is what you’re actually paying for. This one doesn't tout the badge of a holy grail mic which means you can actually afford the same quality and components for a fraction of the price. A no-brainer for someone who cares most about what something sounds like at the end of the day, rather than a brand name. 



Expect a 2-3 week turnaround on the build, with a 3 week maximum build time. However I’m usually closer to 1-2 weeks. While I have most of the parts in bulk, some need to be sourced for each individual build. I’ve done quite a few of them now and build time can often be shorter than 2 weeks if I get lucky. Tubes are becoming a very difficult item to procure now that Russia no longer makes tubes and they are in extremely high demand. Fortunately, I have a few very close personal contacts with the highest quality tube providers in the United States and can still get pretty much anything I want. I’m primarily building these with 12AT7’s these days (slightly more gain, more "punch" and a tad warmer than the 6072A, which I have in stock if you prefer). To offer perspective, a NOS GE Jan halo is now over $200 for a single tube (!) and a NOS Telefunken is around 200 as well, with used specimens going around $100-135. Even the cheaper NOS Mullards are $100+ now. However, my price for this custom build remains the same.



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