Category: Tech Topic

This unique project began following a conversation with Mike May, the model maker at Shure. We were discussing the Company’s Centennial; Mike asked if our archive lacked important historical artifacts. I replied, “Only a few. There is one item I have only seen in a photograph. It is a beautiful Art Deco point-of-purchase display from around 1940. My hunch is the desperate need for metal during World War Two made these displays valuable and all were scrapped.” I showed the… -more-

Shure introduced its first ball-shaped mic in 1935 – the Model 74 Spheroid Crystal Microphone. We were one of three companies to offer a ball-shaped mic during that era; Brush Development and Western Electric were the others. Letter to Shure distributors, 1935 Magazine ad for the Model 74 Spheroid, 1936 The Model 74 was $37.50 at introduction, the equivalent of $870 in 2025. The Spheroid mic grille diameter was 2.25“/ 5.7 cm – a tad larger than the SM58 grille. The mic weighed a… -more-

Microphone development engineer Yuri Shulman, now retired, was born in Ukraine. He uncovered an article in Russian about the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] and how CIA agents bugged Russian offices, buildings, and residences during the Cold War. Yuri was taken aback to learn that Shure manufactured the mic element preferred by the CIA. According to the article, a typical wireless bugging device used “a microphone made by American Shure Brothers Company,” operated in the 72–73 MHz band, and could be… -more-

Introduced in 1932, the Model 33N was a carbon microphone developed and manufactured by Shure Brothers Company – “Microphone Headquarters.” Model 33N carbon mic, 1932 From our 1932 catalog: The Model 33N Shure 2 button microphone embodies the acme of refinement and design. Greater improvements in performance, utility, and appearance are incorporated in this new model than in any other two-button microphone. No expense has been spared in making an instrument that will bring the joy of satisfaction to everyone… -more-

April 25th is the 100th anniversary of Shure Incorporated. Few companies reach one hundred years of age. I am exceptionally fortunate to have experienced 48.5% of the Company’s existence. If asked about a personal favorite memory, my answer is immediate…“The Hug.”  Here’s the spontaneous, unanticipated Hug… Mrs. Shure and your author (Michael Pettersen)Photo by Stuart Van Dorn Her words…“Oh Michael, I am so very happy today.” The date…January 31, 2014. Moments before The Hug… Mrs. Shure admires Ben Bauer’s Unidyne… -more-

A significant innovation in recorded music occurred a century ago in New York City. On February 25, 1925, Art Gillham, dubbed “the Whispering Pianist” because of his soft crooning, arrived at the studio of Columbia Phonograph to test a newly installed electrical recording system. Once Mr. Gillham was ready to begin, a recently developed Western Electric condenser recording microphone was positioned in front of his mouth. Pianist Art Gillham In 1925 when phonograph records began going electric, Hollywood movies with… -more-

Each month features an updated reprise of a Tech Tip from ten years ago as many past Tips are well worth review. Also, some will benefit from updating. Enjoy the forty-fifth monthly Tech Tip reprise. April 25, 2015, marks the 90th anniversary of Shure Incorporated. Founded as the Shure Radio Company by S.N. Shure, then only twenty-three years old, his new business opened at 19 South Wells Street in Chicago. S.N. Shure, 19 S. Wells Street, Chicago, 1926 It was… -more-

Quick! List each Shure wireless microphone line that has the letter “L” in the model number. Did you remember all nine of them? Alphabetically, they are…and were:

• BLX Series
• GLX-D Series
• L Series
• LX Series
• QLX-D Series
• SLX Series
• SLX-D Series
• ULX Series
• ULX-D Series

But why the “L” did we choose “L?” Might “L” mean 50 as it does in Roman numerals? Our first wireless mic system, the Vagabond 88, debuted in 1953, so “L” could refer to the… -more-

Consumer demand for private personal listening did not begin with the Smart Phone. Looking in the rearview mirror we see the iPod, the portable CD player, the Walkman portable cassette player, and the transistor radio with a single earphone. There was also the Shure Solo-Phone family of products. Cover of the Solo-Phone 1968 sales flyer In 1966, we introduced the Model SA-1 Solo-Phone amplifier. Priced at $45 U.S. retail ($450 in 2025 currency), the SA-1 was a small, all-transistor preamplifier/amplifier… -more-

Manufactured from 1968 to 1970, the Shure CA20 was a transducer for wind instruments. It contained a ceramic element with an output level of -73 dBV at 94 dB SPL. We supplied the CA20 exclusively to the Innovex division of the Hammond Organ Company to package with its Condor RSM synthesizer. Shure dealers could not buy the CA20 as it was an OEM product. The CA20 attached to the mouthpiece of a wind instrument, such as a clarinet, sax, or… -more-