Topic: Schoeps MK41 Hypercardioid revised in mid '70s to Supercardioid. More details?

[JasonR]

Hey... I noticed that the Schoeps MK41 cap used to be referred to as a Hypercardioid capsule, and more recently as a Supercardioid.  I did some searching and found the following from David Satz:

Schoeps revised the MK 41 capsule in the mid-1970s to flatten and
extend its response at both ends of the frequency range. Its pattern
was also adjusted slightly--it used to be more hypercardioid than
supercardioid, but now it's the other way around, and is listed
accordingly.

Since that time I don't believe that its characteristics have changed
other than in the most minute and gradual of ways, as happens with all
manufacturers.

So... does anyone know how to determine which cap is which?  Perhaps by serial number since this seems to be an age-related issue?  I've got a couple MK41s coming my way shortly from different sources and vastly different ages, so I'm curious to see if they may be a good match... or at least if it's a possibility.

Thanks,
Jason

[DSatz]

Jason, I've joined this board since you posted your original message. The shift in the Schoeps MK 41's characteristics took place shortly after the CMC ("Colette") microphone series was introduced. Thus the vast majority of MK 41 capsules of the older type (with a pattern somewhat closer to hypercardioid) were from older microphone series (CMT and M 221), while nearly all Colette MK 41 capsules are of the present-day type (with a pattern that is more toward supercardioid).

If and when a capsule is rebuilt at Schoeps, in general it gets updated to some extent. My CMT-series MK 41 capsules from 1973, for example, were overhauled two years ago are now behaving and sounding much more like Colette MK 41 capsules than they used to. The point is, you can't tell very much from the serial number of a capsule unless you also know its factory service record.

The pattern of this capsule was always somewhere between hypercardioid and supercardioid from the start; it was never a pure hypercardioid (such beasts are in fact quite rare). The changes in the mid-1970s happened to bring it across the midline between the two patterns, and the U.S. distributor at the time (Jerry Bruck of Posthorn Recordings) made a note of this fact. He started describing the capsule as "supercardioid" in his price lists some time before Schoeps in Germany eventually decided to adopt this description as well.

--best regards