ASTATIC CRYSTAL AND CERAMIC ELEMENTS

In response to a series of recent questions dealing with choosing replacement mic elements, this MIC MORSEL is an effort toward clarifying the SONIC difference between CRYSTAL and CERAMIC microphone elements -specifically the better known ASTATIC MC-151 crystal and the ASTATIC MC-127 ceramic. They look the same, they're constructed with the same outer shell materials. The big difference is in the piezoelectric materials inside that actually turns sound pressure into voltage -so your amp can then turn that signal back into sound.
The crystal element is known for its "ripping sheet metal" tone, high output level, and its frailty.
The ceramic element is known for its comparative durability and dependability. The ceramic has a sonic signature that's as close to crystal as you can get. Makes sense as they work using the same principals.
What do you sacrifice with the ceramic? Look at the spec sheet. Typically there's a one or two dB drop in overall output and the high frequency level runs a thousand cycles less than the crystal. This is why I describe the ceramic response as "darker" than the crystal.
Life is full of choices...