We chat with Plymouth alumnus and current Manchester technician Dan Dutt to learn about his recent experiments creating microphones from vintage telephones and seeing students follow in his footsteps.
Before joining the technical team at dBs Manchester, Dan spent three years studying Music Production & Sound Engineering course at dBs Plymouth. A passionate musician, sound engineer and tape enthusiast, Dan was a keen user of the Neve Genesys mixing console and has become one of the resident experts on Manchester's Neve Genesys Black.
We caught up with Dan to find out how he's been getting on since joining the tech team, the inspiration behind his vintage telephone experiments and seeing the students run with his ideas on their own projects.
What’s it been like joining the team at dBs Manchester as a technician, especially after studying as a student at our Plymouth campus?
The team at dBs Manchester were incredibly welcoming from the start, and I will always be grateful for the trust they put in me. I was the only technician on site during my first month of work, which was a big responsibility, and I am very proud of how I handled it.
Being a technician here has shown me that I’d learned more on the course than I'd even realised. It wasn’t just about using consoles or placing microphones; I learned how to troubleshoot efficiently, identify problems, and come up with creative solutions when the standard approach doesn’t work. I find those parts of the job incredibly fun and rewarding.
It is also really nice to be able to help students and support them in the same way as the technicians down in Plymouth did for me. It has made me appreciate how much actually goes on behind the scenes to make the best possible experience for students.
Tell us about your vintage telephone mic - what was the initial spark behind the project?
One of my favourite lessons during my degree was when Stu Welsh brought in a telephone mic he had made. It felt like that session really brought the whole class to work together, and the mic’s low fidelity sound opened my eyes to a whole new world of musical possibilities that I hadn’t thought of before.
What was the creation process like? Did it require lots of iterations or was it quite a simple thing to create?
Making a telephone mic is one of the easiest projects you can do! I like using the coiled cable that already comes out of the handset, as it feels more like you are using an actual phone. The easiest way to do it is to check what coloured wires are going to the telephones speaker, and then soldering them into a jack or XLR connector on the other end of the cable.
The first telephone mic. The microphone and speaker capsules are interchangeable, but the speaker had more of the classic telephone sound
The second telephone mic, made as a demonstration in front of the students. Being a newer phone (70s), it sounded a lot cleaner than the other one!
A phone put together by a student after the demonstration. This phone was a modern one, so it sounded even cleaner than the other two, making it a lot more usable. The student has now used it to record his own song here at dBs!
It is a really fun project, because you can make it as simple or complex as you want. For example, you could add a power supply for the carbon microphone. That will probably be my next step! I would also like to build in some effects into the actual body of the telephone.
Is this the first project of its kind or have you delved into electronics / microphone creation before?
I’ve done little bits before, but I had never done something like this. I make a lot of the cables that we use here in Manchester, as well as fixing little bits from my synths and tape machines, but I am really excited to make more!
Since making the telephone microphones, I’ve also put together a few “plate” reverbs out of things I’ve found around the Technical Resources office.
Is this going to be a new addition to the Manchester mic cupboard or more for your personal projects?
The first telephone microphone I made was a personal project which I’ll be taking home, but we now have three more here in the mic cupboard. Students have already started using them, which is really exciting to see.
Any other vintage items you’re looking at modifying in the near future?
I am not looking at modifying any other vintage items at the moment, but this project has left me really inspired to build more. After experimenting with the smaller DIY plate reverbs, my next plan is to hopefully build a full sized plate reverb!
But more importantly, I want to actually start incorporating these projects into my music!
Fascinated by the art of recording music and audio? Find out more about our BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering degree available at our Bristol, Manchester and Plymouth campuses.
