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Post by phrazemaster on Sept 9, 2015 22:53:25 GMT -6
Greetings all, this is my seminal post. I'm a DIY'er for some time now and am currently sinking my teeth into some microphone goodness a la GroupDIY et al.
I've been a lurker for some time and have enjoyed "getting to know you gents" such as it is, vicariously through this crazy medium we call the "web." So, "hey, nice to meetchya!" I'm in Southern CA in the OC.
Just finished, but almost, a Matachung C12 - still waiting on a Tim Campbell special! I actually got on his waiting list! It must be some kinda miracle or something; the guy is so good and in such demand! I'm supposed to get it in about 9-10 weeks from now. All's left is to install the capsule and do the initial powerup; PSU fired up fine and kept its magic smoke!!
I've also got a Max MK-U47 on the way, and trying to decide if I'm gonna go Blueline, or go whole hog and get a real K47/49. On the fence about it, as has been hashed way too much around here, I respect the great Klaus and he seems to feel nothing is as nuanced and musical as a real Neumann cap. But you guys have raved over the Blueline so...dunno...
Incidentally anyone know where to get a K47/49 at a decent price? Only place I've found that sells them is VintageAudio and they want over 1200 bucks for it! Yet I see forum mentions of it being around $800. Where do you go to get that price?
By the way the forum flashes something fierce; it's hard to read sometimes and I'm afraid I might be getting epilepsy.
Last mic in the hopper is a full-blown U47 recreation using a FleA body, and a circuit from Mr. Grosser himself. Using an EF12. I've got a Redline for this one.
I've had the parts for 2-3 years but have been too afraid to even THINK about putting her together but...a few days ago I broke out my stache and realized, "hey, I finally UNDERSTAND this stuff now!" Like it didn't even phase me to figure out transformer windings/hookup, etc! So, for any newbies out there, of which I still very much qualify myself to be, I'm here to say "you WILL grow dude!"
So that's pretty much it for now. Nice to be part of a nice community besides GDIY.
Best,
Mike
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Post by kcatthedog on Sept 10, 2015 3:53:48 GMT -6
Welcome ! Did you see that JohnKen was selling a blue cap ? Maybe start with that ?
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Post by tonycamphd on Sept 10, 2015 8:34:26 GMT -6
Very cool, welcome Mike! The blue line is killer bang for the buck, but if ur considering spending $800 on a Neumann k47? I'd say u need to get ahold of Shannon Rhoades at mic rehab, a mic capsule from Senheiser isn't a gurantee of "thee" sound, having ur mic tuned by the man Shan... Is! 8) good luck and keep us posted 8)
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Post by Johnkenn on Sept 10, 2015 10:25:46 GMT -6
I think he should go with the blue line  I'm gonna move this to the main board...welcome, phrazemaster |
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 14,976 
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Post by ericn on Sept 10, 2015 10:41:31 GMT -6
Welcome
K47/49'any Neumann / Senn dealer can order as part, try Fullcompass or Sweetwater PARTs dept , not sales ask for parts !
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Post by jfoc on Sept 10, 2015 10:56:27 GMT -6
Heres a couple of options for capsules...
TSKGUY @ group diy
Shannon here (mic rehab)
Bees Neez
ADK capsule from Front End Audio
in addition to the Thiersch/Neumann offerings
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Post by phrazemaster on Sept 10, 2015 14:01:03 GMT -6
Awesome thoughts you guys! And I fully divulged of the fantastic shootout Tony and Robert did not that long ago on these capsules; way to go guys!
I'll let you guys know how things progress, and gee it's fantastic to find a gang of dudes who support each other in these builds! I love gdiy but there's a bit of a stigma if you're not a pro; sometimes I post questions that get ignored, or I just don't post because they are too simple. Still cool guys though, and I recognize some of you here from there...
On another note ("Do!"), I had the pleasure of talking to Robert on the phone a few weeks ago; we were going to get together on an M49 build of mine, but it didn't work out. I have a FleA body, and the poctop boards and did an M49b version. The PSU was magnificent! I added a DUAL voltage voltmeter baked right into the front panel, plus a board I had made!
I fired her up and...NOISE!!! Up the ying yang! She was way too complicated. I was amazed I even got all the parts to fit; it was like a Chinese puzzle in that thing!
So I TOTALLY gutted the PSU and redid her just recently - simplified her a lot, but retained the cool functionality. Noise floor is WAY better, but still some low-level hum that sounds like 60Hz, although an analyzer plugin I used showed it's not just 60Hz, but a mixture. Turning off the PSU but still listening to the mic yields the disappearance of the hum, so it's def coming from the wall.
I'm about 95% of the way on that one, but the slight hum bugs me when I try to record.
I have a sneezbeez K7 in her, plus a real AC701K...all premium parts throughout!
If anyone is in the OC SoCal area and has an M49 PSU and a hankering to help me troubleshoot my baby, lemme know!
Thanks again for the friendly welcome and I look forward to knowing you guys better.
Let's all try to stay cool. We're in hades here in SoCal this week!
Best,
Mike
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Post by tonycamphd on Sept 10, 2015 18:18:45 GMT -6
Awesome thoughts you guys! And I fully divulged of the fantastic shootout Tony and Robert did not that long ago on these capsules; way to go guys! I'll let you guys know how things progress, and gee it's fantastic to find a gang of dudes who support each other in these builds! I love gdiy but there's a bit of a stigma if you're not a pro; sometimes I post questions that get ignored, or I just don't post because they are too simple. Still cool guys though, and I recognize some of you here from there... On another note ("Do!"), I had the pleasure of talking to Robert on the phone a few weeks ago; we were going to get together on an M49 build of mine, but it didn't work out. I have a FleA body, and the poctop boards and did an M49b version. The PSU was magnificent! I added a DUAL voltage voltmeter baked right into the front panel, plus a board I had made! I fired her up and...NOISE!!! Up the ying yang! She was way too complicated. I was amazed I even got all the parts to fit; it was like a Chinese puzzle in that thing! So I TOTALLY gutted the PSU and redid her just recently - simplified her a lot, but retained the cool functionality. Noise floor is WAY better, but still some low-level hum that sounds like 60Hz, although an analyzer plugin I used showed it's not just 60Hz, but a mixture. Turning off the PSU but still listening to the mic yields the disappearance of the hum, so it's def coming from the wall. I'm about 95% of the way on that one, but the slight hum bugs me when I try to record. I have a sneezbeez K7 in her, plus a real AC701K...all premium parts throughout! If anyone is in the OC SoCal area and has an M49 PSU and a hankering to help me troubleshoot my baby, lemme know! Thanks again for the friendly welcome and I look forward to knowing you guys better. Let's all try to stay cool. We're in hades here in SoCal this week! Best, Mike Robert's(winetree) the man, dude cracks me up with his dry sense of humor, we talked about me meeting up with you guys when he was going up there, but it fell apart before he had a chance to mention it to you, we gotta make it happen for sure though. As far as the PSU, check you grounds and maybe reflow all your solder joints, that sometimes magically makes problems disappear, it's the very first thing i usually do to eliminate sillys 8) |
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Post by phrazemaster on Sept 10, 2015 19:45:33 GMT -6
Great ideas Tony! Yeah too bad I've spent 9 MONTHS on this PSU! I've built it twice. I'm OCD about solder joints too, so may not be the issue. The noise floor went drastically down with the redo, but it's still "just enough" to irritate...I have to really think if I've got it in my to tear it apart again...even reflowing all joints is a PITA after all this... What would be really telling is if anyone has an M49 PSU I can try for 10 minutes...I could eliminate the PSU or know if it's in the mic, pretty quickly...But I do have an AC701K in there, so would have to tweak the heater down to 3.9v (shouldn't take but a minute to do!). Def let's hang sometime; I'd love to see your collection and Robert's, and I'll be glad to share my meager offerings of a U87Ai, modded by Jim Williams first and then by Andreas, as well as my DIY gear too |
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Post by category5 on Sept 10, 2015 21:17:24 GMT -6
Some great options mentioned here, but if you want the Neumann cap the part # is Part # 053291 ($715.10) and the # to call is 860-434-9190 ext 1.
The post and saddle are Part # 062086 ($13.60) and part #066176 ($33.25)
Blueline is awesome but can be a bit mid forward for some. Redline is mellower in the mid region, and has a little more balls down low. Dany Bouchard's new capsule has evolved into an excellent option too (especially for the price), coming in somewhere between a redline and blueline. The Neumann is much more modern sounding, but excellent but of course it's pricy. Shannon can make you a cap at that price point that sounds like whatever sound you're after. I've never met anyone that wasn't blown away by his work.
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Post by phrazemaster on Sept 10, 2015 22:03:11 GMT -6
Thanks Cat5!! I'm tempted by the Neumann; I greatly appreciate the info. I just posted a link to some sound files of my recently born M49 clone. Not sure how to add the link here, but I'll just copy/paste it. Opinions welcome. Yeah that's me crooning realgearonline.com/thread/3987/diy-vocal-samples-noise-floor |
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