If King Midas had a microphone...

…this would be it.

Good BBC-Marconi Type-A ribbon microphones are scarce, and perhaps one reason is that too many were decommissioned, mounted and given away as gifts or ornaments, for retirement, achievement and occasionally as trophies.

Here's a good example. This one was gold plated and became a trophy for the winner of the 'Radio One Production Saloon Car Championship', which ran in 1975 and 1976. They may look great on a mantlepiece, but they are even better in a studio!

Luckily in this instance the internal parts are present and in good condition, so it just needed a very thorough cleaning and new ribbon to become a working microphone once more.

As for gold plated microphones - the jury is still out. It would perhaps look great in a certain genre of pop video, but for my tastes, the classic bronze finish has more class and style.