For over two decades, Oliver Archut has been repairing historic microphones for clients all over the world.  Oliver used this opportunity not only to learn and experiment on these historic microphone designs but he also researched amplifier circuits in industries outside of the sound industry.  Over the years, he has created numerous microphone designs that are being used in studios today.  Along with that knowledge of amplifier circuits, Oliver and AMI have made a significant investment in transformer winding machines and custom lamination and bobbin tooling to build the capability to custom design transformers for a particular circuit design.  AMI has provided OEM work to many companies, current and past, from custom transformers design work to full production of microphones.  Here is a list of those clients that we are able to publicly disclose at this time.

Using our knowledge of transformer design and manufacturing, we have helped a number of companies over the years with microphone design and microphone transformer design and manufacturing.  Our transformers not only improve the clarity of a microphone's image, but can also adjust the frequency response of the microphone for a desired affect.  Additionally, with our custom transformer capabilities, a designer no longer has to use one of the industry standard tubes to base their microphone around.  If you can find a pentode that has high output, low noise and quality construction we can build a high quality tube microphone based around that never before used tube. 

​Cathedral Guitar

​Stephen Bright of Cathedral Guitars has been carrying AMI products since 2010, shortly after he was one of the last customers for Oliver's C12VR mod, which later became the revolutionary CS-1 mic. More recently, Stephen has been involved in bringing about some custom high-end offerings, like the Cathedral Guitars CG•OA-1 -- with an original AKG brass-ring CK12 capsule, optimized by Klaus Heyne of German Masterworks.

Wunder Audio

Wunder Audio makes beautiful microphones that sound great.  Their CM7 microphone uses a BV8 transformer deisgned by Oliver Archut and manufactured by AMI.  Wunder captures the essence of the early versions of the historic U47 that used the larger style transformer allowing the microphone to capture frequencies down to 20 Hz.  Check one out at your local pro audio dealer to hear the quality of sound that Wunder Audio delivers.

Miktek Audio

Founder, Mike Ketchell, is a long time industry veteran in sales, marketing and product development.  We were able to help Miktek Audio with circuit designs and transformers of their CV4 Large Diaphragm Tube Condenser mic, C5 Small Diaphragm Cardiod Pencil Condenser, and their C7 Large Diaphragm Mult-Pattern FET Condenser mics. Miktek Audio won a 2009 Pro Audio Review Excellence Award at that year's AES Show for their CV4 microphone.  Talk to your local delear about getting the opportunity to check out these great microphones.

Wagner Microphones

Gunter Wagner has spent almost 30 years servicing high end tube microphones and launched his own version of the historic U47 microphone from his workshop near Sydney, Australia.  Wagner Microphones makes their own M7 capsule and took great pains that every part of their mic would be compatible as a replacement part for a historic U47.  With that in mind, Gunter chose our BV8R transformer to power their version of the U47 microphone.

Lucas CS Microphones  

In 2008, we launched a project with Terry Manning of Compass Point Studios to make a limited quantity of high quality microphones sold directly to clients.  These microphones have been created under Terry's electronics company, Lucas Engineering, and are designed, built and tested at our AMI factory in Gaylord, Kansas.

 Lucas CS-1

The Lucas CS-1 was a collaboration between Terry Manning and Oliver Archut.  Terry had heard about Oliver's great mic transformers and asked Oliver if he could drop one of his cool transformers into his C-12 VR and make it sound like a historic C-12.  Oliver agreed to "see what he could do".  As it turns out, Oliver took the mic and gutted most everything; the tube, the electronics, the transformer. Oliver rebuilt the mic and sent it to Terry.  Terry and his friends loved the microphone so much he asked if Oliver could modify all of his friend's mics as well.  At that point they decided to make the mics from scratch and the Lucas CS-1 was born.  Using the David Bock/MBHO Haun capsule, a NOS Mullard tube made for the military and custom designed transformers, the CS-1 raises the bar on both modern and vintage microphones.  This unit is officially sold out (300 total units).

 Lucas CS-4

With the success of the Lucas CS-1, Oliver and Terry decided to try their hand at creating a new mic based on another microphone archetype, the historic U47.  While it is another microphone boasting a large diaphragm capsule, conceptually it is very different from the historic C-12.  This mic is famous for adding its own tube harmonics (i.e. distortion) to the signal that it is capturing.  The trick is to keep those tube harmonics at the right level at the right frequencies.  The Lucas CS-4 will use a NOS Telefunken tube, a Thiersch made PVC M-7 capsule that is customized for use in the CS-4 and a transformer designed by Oliver and built by AMI.  One of the nice features is that the mic will have the polarity patterns of both the historic U47 and U48 microphones combined in the same microphone, placed remotely on the power supply in the same manner as the Lucas CS-1.  The Lucas CS-4 is officially sold out (200 units).

Bock Audio

David Bock has been designing high end microphones for a long time.  David was the original founder of Soundelux Microphones and later founded Bock Audio.  Bock Audio has recently introduced a ground breaking new microphone, the 507.  It is a large diaphragm microphone that uses a proprietary and patented capsule conceived by George Cardas and co-developed by George and David.  The concept is that that the capsule is elliptical in shape rather than a circle to reduce resonant frequencies that can occur with circular capsules.  The mic has recieved rave reviews and is powered by a custom transformer designed and manufactured by AMI.

TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik USA

Oliver and AMI have worked extensively with TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik in designing circuits and transformers for many of their microphones.  Oliver designed the circuit for the TEC Award nominated R-F-T M16 Mk II matching it with our custom designed and built BV314 transformer.  TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik modified the design to create the stereo version, the R-F-T M216, also using a pair of AMI BV314's to capture the sound.  Telefunken asked Oliver to design a power supply to handle this stereo microphone and he created the Matrix Power supply.  Using a unique custom designed transformer, the Matrix Power supply is capable of managing the microphone's capsules through X/Y, Mid/Side and Blumlein stereo recording techniques within one microphone.  Oliver also designed the circuit for the TEC Award nominated R-F-T AK47 matching it with our custom designed and built B47 transformer, a smaller version of our famous BV8.  The Telefunken Ela M 260, winner of the 2008 TEC Award for Microphone Technology/Recording, uses another Oliver Archut designed circuit driven by a custom designed and manufactured AMI T60 transformer.  At the 2009 AES Show, TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik had another mic using an AMI designed and manufactured transformer nominated for a TEC Award; the M80 powered by an AMI T80.  As of September, 2009, AMI and TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik ended their exclusive relationship on these transformers and designs and AMI no longer supplies transformers to TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik.

If your company manufactures audio equipment and you're looking for a source of high quality transformers, you can contact us at sales@tab-funkenwerk.com and we will discuss your needs and see if we can meet them for you.