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Post by tonycamphd on Aug 2, 2015 19:00:16 GMT -6
This is what happens when you store your 40 year old vintage Sure SM81's properly in their cases!  The foam apparently completely broke down and dissolved into an oily gooey mess, and completely destroyed the mics! Worse yet, when i opened the case, whats left of the greenish blue foam crumbled out onto my carpet and permanently stained it!.. bummer! Anyway, no use crying over greenblue oil milk, the truth is i've never thought of them as anything better than just OK sounding, so I figured i'd take lemons and make some fine Tennessee moonshine out of them, i know this guy who's a freak with taking any mic he touches to a completely different level of existence, so they are heading to Nashville this week so he can do his thing, I'm hoping they will end up in the neighborhood of the venerable KM84!?! If anyone can pull that off, it'd be our resident mad scientist... Shannoman!! He told me to send them as is...., i'm really not sure i want to do that to him, these things are a sticky, disgusting mess. Shannon   |
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Post by mulmany on Aug 2, 2015 19:06:15 GMT -6
That's awful Tony! Makes you take Shannon 's advice about storing mics in a plastic bag to another level.
I always liked the sm81. Just found it consistent at capture, not perfect for vibe, but always usable.
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Post by tonycamphd on Aug 2, 2015 19:22:10 GMT -6
That's awful Tony! Makes you take Shannon 's advice about storing mics in a plastic bag to another level. I always liked the sm81. Just found it consistent at capture, not perfect for vibe, but always usable. no doubt, i collected a bunch of those little silicone anti moisture packs, and they go into the cases and the plastic bags with the mics without fail. This happened a bit ago, disgusted, i just left them until now. |
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Post by winetree on Aug 2, 2015 19:29:15 GMT -6
I found the same thing happening to some of my mike cases.
Lucky I caught it when the foam had just started to get sticky and just pulled it out.
It was still messy. The plastic bags is is a good idea. Let us know how the mics turn out.
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Post by Randge on Aug 2, 2015 19:29:57 GMT -6
That happened to my 414 boxes. I am glad I had them out on stands and it never touched the mics. That bit of misfortune is gonna be one of the biggest blessings you've ever had, Tony. You might think about chilling the boxes in a freezer for a few minutes so you can keep the boxes and re-foam them with better quality foam.
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Post by gouge on Aug 2, 2015 19:37:15 GMT -6
fortunately ksm137's go for $150 on the used market all day long. :-)
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Post by ericn on Aug 2, 2015 19:40:10 GMT -6
That sucks ! But I'll taken if they are headed to the dumpster I think I still know a couple of guys At Shures Service Dept!
If you Buy Silica packs buy the ones that change color when the go bad! I replace zip-lock bags and Silica every 10-12 months.
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Post by Guitar on Aug 2, 2015 19:45:35 GMT -6
I will second the KSM137 as a serious mic/deal.
What's worse is if the foam inside your mic goes bad, like an RE20. I don't think electrovoice has any business putting foam inside microphones, but they do it all the time. I guess it's good for a few years.
I just hate foam but I guess it's a necessary evil for stopping pops or other things.
I'm sure shannon can do some wizardry on these poor chaps.
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Post by ericn on Aug 2, 2015 19:52:24 GMT -6
Every Mic here lives in a Seahorse Case with diced foam Zip loc and silica ! Some day I would like to glue Velvet over the foam, but I have found using Generic Spray Adhesive all over the foam seams to keep break down at Bay!
Using the Same case size for all mice sure makes storage easier and after a hurricane love the security of my Mics all in Water/ air tight cases.
I use Seahorse SE710 and SE720s same foot print different depths,
The First 5 I bought off a guy who bought a bunch for custom cycle panniers. I also have 2 or 3 Pawn shop Pelicans for Cables and and consumables.
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Post by tonycamphd on Aug 2, 2015 20:07:57 GMT -6
That sucks ! But I'll taken if they are headed to the dumpster I think I still know a couple of guys At Shures Service Dept! If you Buy Silica packs buy the ones that change color when the go bad! I replace zip-lock bags and Silica every 10-12 months. E, that's cool, do you have a lead on those packs that change colors? I heard that you can just put the silica packs in the oven on a cookie sheet for a bit, and they return to as good as new? can't verify that though.... |
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Post by ericn on Aug 2, 2015 20:28:27 GMT -6
Talk to your local Uline distributer, I'm due in Sept to change them out so I'll do some checking last time I had to buy a 500 count pkg that I sold the majority to a local camera shop that went out of business.
The problem with baking is this you don't know if they are working or not till you have damage.
The other thing is you also have no idea how long they they sat on the distributer shelf to begin with.
If I find a good deal I'll post and split it with anybody at cost!
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Post by Ward on Aug 2, 2015 20:32:12 GMT -6
I've had that happen with Sennheiser cases also!!
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Post by Martin John Butler on Aug 2, 2015 20:36:30 GMT -6
Man, that really sucks Tony. Good luck with the Sinsay treatment.
This got me thinking. The shock mount of my mic is such a PITA to remove and then put back together, I just leave my mic out, and cover it with plastic. Am I asking for trouble, or is that OK?
I really should get one of those easy on-off shock mounts.
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Post by ericn on Aug 2, 2015 21:06:15 GMT -6
Man, that really sucks Tony. Good luck with the Sinsay treatment. This got me thinking. The shock mount of my mic is such a PITA to remove and then put back together, I just leave my mic out, and cover it with plastic. Am I asking for trouble, or is that OK? I really should get one of those easy on-off shock mounts. I have seen to many Mics hit the floor because they were stored on the shock mount! Constant load puts a lot of wear on those elastic bands! and don't go cheap on the bands, the idea is to protect the mic. |
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Post by jcoutu1 on Aug 2, 2015 21:58:55 GMT -6
Same thing happened to a pair of 81's that I've got. Couple other mics including Sennheiser like Ward said too. Total disaster. Good luck man. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Aug 2, 2015 22:10:41 GMT -6
well, i cleaned them as best i could, there is no way i would send them to Shann in that sticky condition, at first i tried denatured alcohol=mistake, discolored the plastic on the case, then i used acetone... mehhh, then i used mineral spirits... which i should have know to use in the first place, it's the most mild, it reacted with the goo perfectly and made it dissolve the rest of the way, some hot water rinse to get the big boogers off, then i soaped them up and they're in the dishwasher right now.... Of course i'm talking about the cases haha, I used a toothbrush, narrowQ tips(get it...8l), mineral spirits and then acetone to finish clean the mics, all n all, not too bad. the capsules are still a total mess, i'll leave that to the Shanman, but i'm gonna dive inside the barrel right now and see what the scoop is?....
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Post by popmann on Aug 2, 2015 22:19:40 GMT -6
Happened to my 421 decades ago. God, I'm old. It was one of my first mics I bought for my own studio....I pulled out the foam and recut a new piece of modern foam for it.
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Post by tonycamphd on Aug 2, 2015 23:08:49 GMT -6
well, i got one opened, i'm pretty excited about this, i didn't know there were tranny's in these? there is no info or schemo's anywhere on the webs(at least that i could find), i'm thinking with Shann's touch these may just become kickass! Maybe i should have Jim Williams do one of them his style so they can be compared, then i could change the other to match which ever i dig more for a matched pair?... or not.., just thinking aloud haha.... edit; upon further inspection, the bottom end of the circuit looks kinda km84 like with the tantalums, the middle to the top doesn't, it looks like it's got a transistor where i'd normaly see a coupling cap? I have no clue haha, maybe i could ask Jim to make some changes to bring it more to the KM84 ballpark? and then Shann can dial away, who knows maybe it'll be amazing and we can buy up all the SM81 for $150 and have these guys build them into monsters for about 1/2 the cost of the 84?(one can dream 8), the 84 has that dual bobbin tranny though, i bet that's where a lot of the imaging solidity resides in that thing...  Attachments:
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Post by Shannon on Aug 2, 2015 23:53:12 GMT -6
Redd Foxx.
This is the big one.....
Dddddaaammm bro I'm gonna buy you a boxed zip lock bags..... Your the new poster child for mic condoms ,, Email me those pics I'll post them on Facebook . I won't tell everyone who's they are ( or will I ) but I gotta post them. Lret's revive them
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Post by ericn on Aug 3, 2015 7:10:19 GMT -6
Redd Foxx. This is the big one..... Dddddaaammm bro I'm gonna buy you a boxed zip lock bags..... Your the new poster child for mic condoms ,, Email me those pics I'll post them on Facebook . I won't tell everyone who's they are ( or will I ) but I gotta post them. Lret's revive them Mic Condoms ! But Uncle Shannon, my Mics and I have talked we want a bigger collection ! We want to raise little Blondies nurture them till they gro up to be big LDCs! |
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Post by lpedrum on Aug 3, 2015 9:29:48 GMT -6
well, i cleaned them as best i could, there is no way i would send them to Shann in that sticky condition, at first i tried denatured alcohol=mistake, discolored the plastic on the case, then i used acetone... mehhh, then i used mineral spirits... which i should have know to use in the first place, it's the most mild, it reacted with the goo perfectly and made it dissolve the rest of the way, some hot water rinse to get the big boogers off, then i soaped them up and they're in the dishwasher right now.... Of course i'm talking about the cases haha, I used a toothbrush, narrowQ tips(get it...8l), mineral spirits and then acetone to finish clean the mics, all n all, not too bad. the capsules are still a total mess, i'll leave that to the Shanman, but i'm gonna dive inside the barrel right now and see what the scoop is?.... GooGone is great for these types of jobs--not sure if I would use it directly on electronics though! By the way, I did session a few months ago, drumming and producing. The engineer convinced me to use SM81s for overheads and I'll never do that again--way to harsh on the cymbals for my ears and added nothing cool to the snare sound. But I'm sure they're worth saving if you can get them up and running again. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Aug 3, 2015 10:20:05 GMT -6
well, i cleaned them as best i could, there is no way i would send them to Shann in that sticky condition, at first i tried denatured alcohol=mistake, discolored the plastic on the case, then i used acetone... mehhh, then i used mineral spirits... which i should have know to use in the first place, it's the most mild, it reacted with the goo perfectly and made it dissolve the rest of the way, some hot water rinse to get the big boogers off, then i soaped them up and they're in the dishwasher right now.... Of course i'm talking about the cases haha, I used a toothbrush, narrowQ tips(get it...8l), mineral spirits and then acetone to finish clean the mics, all n all, not too bad. the capsules are still a total mess, i'll leave that to the Shanman, but i'm gonna dive inside the barrel right now and see what the scoop is?.... GooGone is great for these types of jobs--not sure if I would use it directly on electronics though! By the way, I did session a few months ago, drumming and producing. The engineer convinced me to use SM81s for overheads and I'll never do that again--way to harsh on the cymbals for my ears and added nothing cool to the snare sound. But I'm sure they're worth saving if you can get them up and running again. yes they have been a little harsh when pushed IMV. Googone is pretty harsh, be careful, it will eat plastic(if we're talking about the same stuff?). |
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The foam apparently completely broke down and dissolved into an oily gooey mess, and completely destroyed the mics! Worse yet, when i opened the case, whats left of the greenish blue foam crumbled out onto my carpet and permanently stained it!.. bummer! 
