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Post by rowmat on Oct 31, 2017 16:05:32 GMT -6
Here's the Retro Sta Level I picked up along with the EMT 140. Apart from a few fingerprints it looks perfect. $1900 USD or thereabouts.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 31, 2017 15:34:44 GMT -6
Hey Flea 47 Guys, is it just me or is this thing unbelievably light? My BeesNeez Frank is the heaviest mic I've ever held and feels like a sledgehammer, but this Flea literally feels like I'm holding a flea. What's up with that? I maybe wrong but I think Flea use duralium (or similar) for their microphone bodies. It's a hardened type of aluminum alloy which doesn't dent as easily as normal aluminum but is still lightweight. The alternative is to use steel tube for the mic body which likely accounts for most of the weight difference between the Flea and other mic manufacturers.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 29, 2017 20:15:25 GMT -6
When you put the drive magnet back on, add some washers to center the coil horizontally in addition to the top, bottom and sides of the gap. Good tip thanks Bob. I'm going to order an alignment disc and also some spare clips.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 29, 2017 18:12:52 GMT -6
I removed the drive magnet, loosened the tension on the plate, moved the damper close to the plate and locked it and inserted bubble wrap padding between the plate and the four vertical frame bars. Just removing the two wooden sides knocks about 100lbs off the weight. Prepping the plate for transport A friend of mine offered to give me a hand. I don't quite think he knew what he was letting himself in for! Two of us got it out of the house and onto my trailer. The dolly was essential. We used a pair of ramps and a hand winch to get it onto the trailer. (no pics of that unfortunately) Heading out the door 11 hours after first leaving, 260 miles (400kms) and a lot of huffing and puffing, including a visit to an 'old rocker' and here it is back in the garage awaiting the final move to the studio. I also scored a bonus pair of original EMT shock mounted stands!
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Post by rowmat on Oct 28, 2017 4:08:51 GMT -6
Road trip tomorrow to Newstead (near Castlemaine, Victoria, Aus) collect the EMT and the Retro Sta Level. Trailer, furniture dolly, ramps, hand winch, locking straps, padding and tarps. And we'll drop in on an old 'Dingo' for a cuppa and chew some fat! Any guesses wiz ? Well...you are heading....way out west 8) cheers Wiz Hehe yeah we are actually. Here's 'Big Combo' covering Van Morrison's 'Into the Mystic' back in the 1980's. Video quality is a somewhat crap but hey! Awesome band. I saw them many times.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 28, 2017 3:52:20 GMT -6
Road trip tomorrow to Newstead (near Castlemaine, Victoria, Aus) collect the EMT and the Retro Sta Level. Trailer, furniture dolly, ramps, hand winch, locking straps, padding and tarps. And we'll drop in on an old 'Dingo' for a cuppa and chew some fat! Any guesses wiz ?
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Post by rowmat on Oct 27, 2017 15:05:51 GMT -6
I will say the new Telefunken U47 delivers its promise. It's a real U47, and sounds incredible. But yes, at $9,000, it's an unusual purchase. I don't know who their target customer is for those. the same people that spend 15k on a vintage one. How much were u47's when they came out I wonder? I've seen a Gotham Audio sales brochure from 1960 advertising a new Neumann U47 for somewhere in the $550 US price range.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 27, 2017 14:03:07 GMT -6
Okay I received these instructions for prepping the plate prior to transporting it. It will be loaded onto a trailer and transported about 200kms (120 miles). I'm also taking a couple of piano dollys. If anyone has anything to add feel free to comment. - Remove driver magnet. Place in plastic bag, surround with cushioning material. Do not allow foreign material to find its way into the magnet gap.
- De-tension the springs on corners at one end. One full turn will suffice. You do not want the plate to be tensioned, but you don't want it to be floppy.
- Get some bungee cords, the more the better. Wrap around the plate, vertically.
- Strap the movable damper with rope or whatever is handly so it doesn't move. Some feel the damper plate should not touch the plate. I prefer them locked close together for shipping. If any asbestos tiles are loose, get in touch with your local hazmat folks.
- If you feel better about removing the electronics, do it. Not really necessary.
- On the top, remove the damping plate motor or adjustment wheel if your unit has them.
- Get a pair of appropriately sized pipes for the 4 moving personnel.
- Place all removed parts in a bag, remembering where you put it.
This is pretty much what I’d recommend except in step three I have used gaff tape to tie the plate to the frame taping every say 500mm... lots of tape.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 25, 2017 17:32:36 GMT -6
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Post by rowmat on Oct 25, 2017 14:08:36 GMT -6
I dunno but in the second video clip with the dobro the Ehrlund sounded quite a bit louder than the other mics to my ears.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 25, 2017 6:12:51 GMT -6
1x EMT 140 (Late version with EMT 162 electronics inc. remote) 1x Retro Sta Level (To be collected this weekend pending any unforeseen circumstances) Oh yeah and 6 months living on instant noodles!
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Post by rowmat on Oct 25, 2017 3:18:06 GMT -6
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Post by rowmat on Oct 25, 2017 1:59:06 GMT -6
They're the photos that were sent to me. Yeah looks in excellent condition. From what I can tell the plate is spotless. Well it all looks pretty spotless actually. I believe it has been serviced and the motorised remote is a bonus. I've also put an offer in on a Retro Sta Level which is stretching the budget but I'll see if my offer is accepted. We have a session coming up in a couple of weeks with a singer who would really suit Flea 47 and the Sta Level. Preamp is still to be decided but likely a Neve. I 'll let Wiz guess who the singer is but I'm unable to either confirm or deny.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 24, 2017 22:28:20 GMT -6
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Post by rowmat on Oct 24, 2017 20:00:04 GMT -6
Okay I've said yes to the EMT. Just waiting to hear back whether the Retro compressor that is also up for sale is a Sta Level or a 176. The Retro will need to be priced pretty keenly or I'll let it go and just get the EMT. Looks like I may be living on instant noodles for a while!
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Post by rowmat on Oct 24, 2017 18:51:23 GMT -6
Isn't the Flea F7 Mylar anyway? Anyway, I have one. Stunning mic. I would just get the F47 if you like it on your voice. It's not like your voice is prone to sibilance. Yes mylar. PVC was the original M7 diaprahgm material but it deteriorates over time. I can't see that using mylar is an issue except maybe for the purists or those who dig the sound of a deteriorating PVC capsule!
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Post by rowmat on Oct 24, 2017 18:28:42 GMT -6
A different beast obviously but I don't find our Flea 47 with the M7 dark. I think however the different head basket designs between the 47 and 49 do make some differences regardless of the other components. The parallel sides of the 47 head basket will affect the frequencies that correspond in wavelength to the distance between the capsule face and the mesh and to a lesser degree the distance between the opposite sides of the head basket. This may be subtle but no doubt will colour the sound. The angled head basket of the 49 should (theoretically) have less effect and I would expect it to be somewhat smoother in the mid range region than a 47 which is characterised by its midrange presence. Yeah, jtc111 's FLEA 47 has the F7. I don't feel it's overly dark either. At least VK will exchange it within 30 days if I buy the F7 version and decide to exchange it for the F47. I should have been clearer but the F7 (which my Flea 47 is fitted with) is supposed to be Flea's take on the M7. QUOTE: From Flea website... "Actually this mic is an exact replica of the U47. It is equipped with F7 capsule – our exact replica of M7 capsule."
Maybe others who have more insight to Flea's capsules and the original Neumann versions could chime in?
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Post by rowmat on Oct 24, 2017 17:24:17 GMT -6
A different beast obviously but I don't find our Flea 47 with the M7 dark. I think however the different head basket designs between the 47 and 49 do make some differences regardless of the other components. The parallel sides of the 47 head basket will affect the frequencies that correspond in wavelength to the distance between the capsule face and the mesh and to a lesser degree the distance between the opposite sides of the head basket. This may be subtle but no doubt will colour the sound. The angled head basket of the 49 should (theoretically) have less effect and I would expect it to be somewhat smoother in the mid range region than a 47 which is characterised by its midrange presence. Hey rowmat where did you get your flea from? is it the Next version? How much did it sting you? cheers Wiz It's the 'Vintage' version (Cardioid, Omni) and I bought it from Awave in November, 2015 for $5390 AUD which translated to the same as US pricing ($4075 USD) at the time based on the conversion rate. So it would have cost me about $800 more to import it from the US with freight, GST and customs duty and I would not have had any local warranty. As it turned out there was a problem with my Flea 47 (it crackled with the slightest vibration - maybe a loose tube?) and Awave swapped it for another Flea 47 within the week.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 24, 2017 16:25:29 GMT -6
Chances are I'm going to go with the FLEA 49. I love the vintage style look. My big debate now is do I go with the K47 style capsule or the M7 style capsule. I worry about the M7 being a bit dark. Trying to get in front of one. The one I demoed had the K47, and sounded great on me. A different beast obviously but I don't find our Flea 47 with the M7 dark. I think however the different head basket designs between the 47 and 49 do make some differences regardless of the other components. The parallel sides of the 47 head basket will affect the frequencies that correspond in wavelength to the distance between the capsule face and the mesh and to a lesser degree the distance between the opposite sides of the head basket. This may be subtle but no doubt will colour the sound. The angled head basket of the 49 should (theoretically) have less effect and I would expect it to be somewhat smoother in the mid range region than a 47 which is characterised by its midrange presence.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 24, 2017 12:33:22 GMT -6
Bock produce a mic with an elliptical capsule. aaaaaaaand it's only $7,500 bucks... compared to around $1,650 for the Ehrlund M which isn't a tube mic but hey, maybe it has its own magic and I can get tube vibe with my tube preamp? That's probably why I didn't buy it a bought a used Bock 251 instead.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 24, 2017 11:41:28 GMT -6
I wonder if that's the grease I've seen on some. Inox MX3 is a spray lubricant but unlike most spray lubricants such as WD40 etc. it doesn't dry out and will leave a residual protective film although it's not a grease. However Inox does manufacture an lanolin based anti-corrosion grease called Lanox MX4G which is designed for protecting surfaces in extreme high humidity and corrosive environments. i.e. Marine conditions. www.inoxmx.com/inox/mx4-grease/You could use it on a plate but it would undoubtably dampen the plate's high frequency respsonse if it was applied too heavily. I found this reference on the Inox website... "The N.A.T.O Code No Z5594/5 for INOX was at request on behalf of the Royal Australian Navy"
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Post by rowmat on Oct 24, 2017 3:39:49 GMT -6
Bock produce a mic with an elliptical capsule.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 23, 2017 23:16:45 GMT -6
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Post by rowmat on Oct 23, 2017 11:40:40 GMT -6
I've never heard a DIY or commercial knock off that could touch a real one. They stopped manufacturing them because they ran out of the steel and couldn't match the sound. That's what I understood and is a definite consideration in buying a genuine EMT. A rust free plate is also a plus along with a functioning remote... "Emt 140 stereo plate reverb w/remote. V/good condition, no rust. $3,000" (AUD)
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Post by rowmat on Oct 23, 2017 4:37:37 GMT -6
Be very careful while transporting the plate with it under tension. Those screws can be easy to snap. Also helps to have a tech that knows them to get it tensioned correctly. It won’t sound right if that part isn’t handled first. I'll be removing the driver magnet assembly and am also being sent instructions on how to prepare the rest of the plate for transportation.
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