Ribbon Microphones and Air transport

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Air travel can be an especially challenging prospect for microphones. Never treat them as if they were just everyday luggage. Microphones should be hand-carried and brought into the aircraft as a carry-on item. Since the cargo-hold areas of aircraft often experience extreme changes in air pressure and wild temperature fluctuations, NO high quality microphones should be there. Although temperature changes do not affect ribbon microphones, they can have disastrous affects on many condenser mikes, particularly “vintage” ones. Further, drastic pressure changes are not good for studio microphones, particularly “vintage” tube condenser mikes, so be forewarned.