one of a handful of iconic designs by harry olson, the rca 44bx is one of the most recognizable pieces of music technology from the 20th century. it can be easy to forget that the 44 is bi-directional… we associate it with images in our mind of a single vocalist just inches away from one side of the grille. the equal sided figure-8 response combined with the low frequency extension and proximity effect give the 44 a unique tonal quality that is extremely intimate and extremely lifelike in the sense of space and room tone it captures. it’s one of those things in recording that—when it works, it really really works. nothing quite like it and there always seems to be a clever use for it in the context of more “sophisticateD” equipment.