Designed by the BBC in the 1950s as the British broadcast standard, the Coles 4038 is one of the most distinctive-looking microphones ever made — rectangular grilles on each side of a small rectangular body. Hand-built in London. ~$1,500.
The 4038 was originally designed by STC for the BBC and has been continuously hand-built ever since. Each one is tuned by ear in the London workshop. The figure-8 pattern means it picks up equally from front and back and rejects the sides — useful for face-to-face interviews where two voices share one mic.
The 4038 has the smoothest, most-rolled-off top end of any ribbon mic. It sounds like 1960s BBC voice work — because it is. Engineers love it on drum overheads in great-sounding rooms, on brass, and as a stereo pair for orchestral work.