ADK Z-49

ADK Custom Shop “Black Beauty” Z-Mod-49

The ADK Custom Shop Z-Mod-49 is more of a vintage 50’s vibe taken from the “7” capsule. Very smooth, almost dark top with a full mid and round bottom. Great for vocal, strings, and trumpet. Seriously, if you’ve ever felt like every other tube microphone is still too bright for you on top, but you like the responsiveness of a tube powered condenser capsule, then THIS is the choice for you!

American-Built ADK Z-Mod Custom Mics – ADK’s top-of-the-line Custom Microphone.

The ADK Z-Mod Tube Microphones are Class A (Discrete) 9 Polar-Pattern Tube (Valve) Condenser Microphones hand-built as “One-Offs” using a custom Belgium-Designed PC Board built with Hi-Fi methods and materials, using a “No-Corners-Cut” approach. Features Hand-Selected Valve, Top-of-the-Line Components (like a Swedish Lundahl Transformer) with ADK Designed Capsules from the Custom Shop “Capsule-Bank”.

Based on Ray Charles Favorite ADK’s Area 51 TT chassis, this is a totally Customized Product can be custom-built “One-Off” for each client based on one’s preference for Historical, Vintage Curves -Microphone Response Characteristics. So, if you want a specific color for your capsule choice, then we can do that!

• How we Selected Optimal Transformers for each of the Z-Mods: It took our design-team five years to put the “DNA” of each Classic Valve Mic into the capsule tonality. We took an additional two years beta-testing Transformer Combinations for each of the five Capsules. We enlisted the help of the most respected ‘bat-ears’ in the recording industry, including the late, great Mike Shipley, Chuck Ainlay, and Ronny Brookshire, etc.
We ended up selecting an American, a Swedish, an English and a German Transformer builder.

• Jensen USA Transformer: The Jensen adds a bit of a “smiley face” character to the response of the microphone. Translated, that means a lifted top and bottom. It’s like having a built in sweetening curve on top of the capsule’s response. Our Golden-Ear Engineers all preferred the Jensen in the Z-Mod-251.

• Lundahl Transformer: Lundahl transformers are known for their flat-frequency-response. So, nothing is hyped here. Our Beta-Testers again were all agreed the Z67 and Z-49 were best when paired with the Lundahl. The Lundahl keeps the top smooth and the perception of the mid-range is that it is increased. The lows stay well behaved – not bloomy. But certainly not a boring choice of transformer! Lundahl is a truly hi-fi tranny.

• Sowter Transformer: There is just something “magical” that happens with the Sowter and our testers all preferred the Sowter Transformer in Z-Mod-12 or in the Z-Mod-47. The mid-range comes alive in a special fashion!

• Lehle Transformer: The Lehle is a Custom Transformer with what is considered the most Audiophile Characteristics of all our Transformer Options. The Lehle when combined with the ADK-251 Capsule that adds even more sheen, creating a modern sound that closely emulates the rising top-end of a more modern “800” Series Mic.