Hitler Didn’t Start WWII, Sound Guys Did!

If you were to boil all the events and things that took place from 1920 to the start of World War II down into an espresso sized answer of what started the war your answer would vary depending on your viewpoint. But looking at the economic, international, historical, and social reasons still doesn’t really explain how Mr. Hitler got to be top dog. Sure he rubbed the competition hard but so does every other politician. So how did he do it? Well, to answer that question you need to talk to a sound guy because what Mr. Hitler had that no one else had was the microphone.

Actually that’s an understatement because he had three. After 1936, everywhere he went he always had a row of Neumann CMV microphones set up feeding loudspeakers. Every speech you see Hitler delivering whether it is the opening ceremony of the 1936 Olympics or the rallies at Nuremburg he had a row of these microphones. Many other would-be politicians were also promising massive change and a turn-around from the economic depression that fell on Germany after WW1. But while all the politicians were shouting the same thing, Hitler was able to shout louder. This use of modern technology allowed Hitler to literally project his voice into the heads and hearts of millions of Germans, and as a result, he won the seat as Chancellor in only 1933.

To us in our modern age of linear-phase line arrays, DSP digital algorithms and the silicon microprocessor the thought of public address is so simple but back in the 1920s the only speakers were crackly little things in your radio desktop. The very first car radio didn’t appear until 1922 on a model T but that was an optional extra and it only worked when the vehicle was stopped. No one had ever seen or heard a public address loudspeaker so when all of the sudden Mr. Hitler showed up with a massive system and loads of microphones, people had to stop and hear what all the commotion was going on. It was Hitler’s use of this modern technology that got the attention of the people. While everyone else was shouting into a cardboard megaphone, he was shouting into many microphones. And believe it or not the image has stuck in modern leaders.

There is not one Prime Minister, President, King or major leader who uses only one lectern microphone. It’s not because of redundancy issues. The dual SM57 setup has been THE lectern microphone setup for US Presidents since Nixon. The reason is not redundancy, it’s because two is better than one. Two looks more official, because if you just had one, why not hide a lapel mic on his tie clip and join the technology of the 90s? It’s because it’s psychological. The same is true with talk show hosts. Larry King doesn’t use that RCA77 that sits on his desk, it’s a prop to make him look official because if he had some Chinese microphone sitting there he’d look like an idiot with thick glasses.

The CMV ‘bottle microphone’ is one of those devices that has changed the world and joined the ranks of other noted inventions like the transistor, the laser, the diving bell… This microphone has been cloned by various companies such as Blue and Peluso Labs. And it’s not just Mr. Hitler that made the Neumann microphones famous. Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and The Beatles have all used these microphones not as a political statement but because they sound that good. And they start wars.