TL M50 and M50 microphones

On the right is an M50, and 1950s-era microphone made by the Neumann company, and on the left is a later version of the same mike, a TL M50 that's about 20 years old. The newer model employs transistors to make sound as high quality as its predecessor, but while the newer model has great sound, Rhodes said it's not quite up to the same standards.