ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Two-button carbon microphone

Model 33N microphone

Shure · 1933

Evidence status · documented

Identity and core specifications are documented; some historical fields remain unavailable.

The Shure Model 33N was a two-button carbon microphone listed in Shure's 1933 catalogue for public-address systems, studios and remote broadcasts. Its two buttons gave a nominal 400-ohm total resistance and ran best on 6–10 mA per button.

Introduced
1933
Category
Two-button carbon microphone
Intended use
Public address, broadcast studios and remote pickups
Production
Shure Brothers Company, Chicago

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    It typifies the carbon-microphone era of US public address, when carbon elements gave high output without a dedicated preamplifier.

  2. 02

    Shure's catalogue business built the reputation that led to the [[shure-55-unidyne|Unidyne]] later in the decade.

Engineering record

Type
Two-button carbon microphone, 400 ohms total (200 ohms per button)[1]
Operating current
Best at 6–10 mA per button; guarantee limit 15 mA per button[1]

Original pricing

$50.00 list (nickel finish) (1933)

2026 equivalent

≈ $1,290

Period US list or retail price reported by the cited source.[1]

Estimated in 2026 US dollars using the BLS CPI-U annual average for 1933 (13.0) and 334.980 for 2026, rounded to the nearest $10.[2]

Use in the field

Recommended by Shure for indoor and outdoor PA, factories, salesrooms and advertising trucks[1]

Manuals & original documents

Sources

  1. 1Shure Brothers Company 1933 Microphone CatalogShure Brothers Company · brochure · 1933
  2. 2CPI Inflation Calculator methodology and CPI-U dataU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · reference · 2026

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