Okay, I guess I'm a little partial to the Astatic T3 chrome mic bodies. They look cool and have just the right heft - not too heavy, not too light. I buy these mics off eBay. I remove the stand, the mounting bracket and the old elements. With just a little work, I add the volume control, 1/4" jack, and wiring to the body. Then I add the element of choice. When the original element gasket won't work for the element I'm adding, I can usually find the right gasket at Jeff Spoor's Harp Mic Gaskets. From the upper left and going clockwise, these mics are:

• MC-151: This mic has my best Astatic MC-151 chrystal element. It's got a great tone to it and is a pretty hot element that's also fairly feedback resistant. This is my favorite mic that I use regularly.
• MC-127: This has an Astatic MC-127 ceramic element that sounds very similar to my MC-151 above. The only difference is that it's not quite as hot as the MC-151. Still, a great mic.
• CM 99A86: This mic is equipped with my favorite Shure controlled magnetic element. It's a 99A86 element and is my most feedback resistant CM. A very good and durable mic.
• MC-101: This mic has a vintage Astatic MC-101 crystal element. It's a nice sounding crystal element but doesn't quite have the cajones of the other mics.

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This mic was an experiment that worked out great. First, I bought of on Chris Reynold's Green Bullet style plastic harp mic shells. I gave it "hammered copper" paint job. I took the element from a mic similar to the mic on the right above. This is a no name mic that was used on quite a few reel-to-reel tape recorders in the 1960's. I believe it's a Hi-Z element and I believe it's a dynamic element. It's a very hot element and sounds very similar to a Shure controlled magnetic element but it's very feedback resistant. It's only about 1" in diameter so I had to fashion a custom mount for it to work in the mic shell. It's a great sounding, very lightweight mic. I like it so much that I've found a few more of these no name mics on eBay that I plan to mount in bullet shells. [Back to Top]

This was another experiment. This time, I used one of Chris Reynold's plastic bullet shells in translucent red. In addition to the typical mods and a Shure controlled magnetic element, I added an LED light wired to the on/off switch of the volume control. It looks pretty cool in the dark. It doesn't add anything to the sound, but it does add Mojo. Come on, it had to be done.... [Back to Top]

This mic is a hybrid between one of Chris Reynold's plastic bullet shells and the metal grill cover from an old Green Bullet shell I had. It has a Shure controlled magnetic 99T556 element. It's a nice looking mic and is not as heavy as a regular Green Bullet but enough heft to hurt someone if you threw across the bar and hit them in the head. It pays to think ahead -- you never know when a bar fight will break out...
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This is my very first bullet mic. It's called the Slap-O-Matic from Scott Berberian, who now manufactures on of the baddest line of harp amps around - the Meteor Harp Amps. (Check out my Meteor amps on my Amp page.)I believe it has a crystal element. It has quite a few miles on it, but it still sounds great! [Back to Top]

Here's an assortment of mics I've collected over the years -- one of Jim McBride's very cool Bottle 'O Blues mics; one of the original style Shaker harp mics; a mic with a wood shell I bought on eBay; and a cool Egg-Static mic that I also bought on eBay for about $20.
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