Big oops with condenser mic--HELP

M

mattdee1

New member
Hello everybody:

I had a very unfortunate mishap last night. I was recording some vocals in my bedroom using an Apex 460 condenser mic, which was hanging in the shock mount and affixed to my mic stand. I finished up what I was doing, powered down the PC, and starting putting things away.

I stepped out of the room for 2 FRIGGIN’ MINUTES and suddenly I heard a crash. My f#@king cat somehow knocked over the mic stand—yes with the Apex still attached. I enter the room to see the stand sprawled across the floor, having taken my desk chair with it.

In hindsight, I should have done more to ensure stability of the stand—the mic is so heavy that it doesn’t take much to tip a boom stand over if you’re not careful. But, too late for that now.

It was very late, I had to get up early for work this morning, so I just couldn’t find the energy to set everything back up to check the mic—believe me, it’ll be the first thing I do when I get home. The real kicker: the mic isn’t even mine, it belongs to my buddy who plays bass in our band.

I know condensers are notoriously fragile—so my questions are:

1) Is there any chance at all that the mic will still work?
2) If I fire it up and it doesn’t work, can I send it in for repair? Or would the repair basically cost the same as a whole new unit?

Sorry for the cluelessness I’m very new to this equipment.

Thanks
MattDee
 
I'd say there's a good chance it'll still work. I don't know how hard it hit the floor, but I've dropped a few (pretty good drops) and haven't lost one yet. Good luck!
 
You'll probably be fine. I had a friend's 2-year-old shot-put a Shure KSM27 six or seven feet onto a wood floor. Kid's got a good arm. It was fine. It died a quiet, uneventful death in its sleep a year or so later. RIP.

Frank
 
Sorry about your loss Frank.:(



One of my condenser's (mxl 990) took a spill and put a hefty dent in the grill casing. Still works like it used to ... not saying it is working that good ... but it's still working like it used to :).

It will hopefully still work, good luck though! Eric
 
Ok, ok... these tales of condenser survival are very encouraging. :)

But can anybody answer the question about the repairs (if needed)?

Thanks
 
what about repairs?

would you buy a used condenser on ebay? ya know maybe they dropped it and it has a year left.

what about a used dynamic from ebay? I think I really need an sm7 but don't have the cash
 
If you bought it new from a reputable dealer and it's less than two years old you may have a shot. If you bought it used from ebay then it'll probably cost you more to have it repaired than the mic is worth.

Frank
 
yes it will work fine
no apparent damage either i bet
why dont you just pluger in and try it?

and most importantly when will people reinforce their cheapass mic stands with pipe or something other thats heavy...its too damn easy/simple and costs nothing...or maybe 4 bux:p
 
Odds are it will be fine. Worst case scenario is that if the mic was running at the time or had been recently running, the fall might have killed the tube filament. $2 will buy you a better tube than the stock tube in those things anyway, though, so it's no great loss if that's the case. :D
 
yeah condensors are tough. My NT2-a was on a stand that tipped over, still works great. Sometimes the grill comes off, but other than that, it functions perfectly.
 
help plzz

:(problem not hearing myself wen hearin to software :/ ok i got a XenyBeh 1202 fx Mixer ..ok from M-Audio Interface(Outputs L n R) am runnin hmmm guessin 1/4 cable to mixer where it says C/D Tape -IN- n Ma Monitors are going straight to MAIN OUT L n R what do i need??i can hear maself wen i turn on da Phatom Power{on mixer} n everything but wen i record on Sofware noting... need to add more cables? cuz on ma Mixr have CTRL ROOM OUT n CD/TAPE OUT did i connect anything wrong???plz help:confused::(
 
Condensers and Dynamics should survive such things with little more than battle scars. They're generally built for stage use where events like that are common. But it depends on how far it fell and what it hit when it landed. And how it hit. I'd say that tube mics and ribbons are a little less forgiving. Repairable I suppose, but where I live, it's 40 miles to the nearest GC, so I wouldn't know where to send it to get repaired in the first place. I know that Shure seems to offer lots of mic parts for their mics. I'm not sure if other manufacturers do the same.
 
JayStar said:
:(problem not hearing myself wen hearin to software :/ ok i got a XenyBeh 1202 fx Mixer ..ok from M-Audio Interface(Outputs L n R) am runnin hmmm guessin 1/4 cable to mixer where it says C/D Tape -IN- n Ma Monitors are going straight to MAIN OUT L n R what do i need??i can hear maself wen i turn on da Phatom Power{on mixer} n everything but wen i record on Sofware noting... need to add more cables? cuz on ma Mixr have CTRL ROOM OUT n CD/TAPE OUT did i connect anything wrong???plz help:confused::(
Click to expand...

JayStar
I recommend starting your own thread instead of hi-jacking someone elses. You'll be more likely to get answers to your problem that way.
 
mattdee1 said:
Ok, ok... these tales of condenser survival are very encouraging. :)

But can anybody answer the question about the repairs (if needed)?

Thanks
Click to expand...

If it's under warranty, get it repaired. Contact Cy at affordableaudio.com and inquire about whether he would handle a warranty repair. He is an auth'd Yorkville dealer, and Yorkville is the distributor for Apex.

If not, with that particular mic it will be better use of money to replace it.

You didn't say if it landed on carpet or cement? Likely it survived, since ribbons are really the most sensitive mics when it comes to surviving impact. If it was carpet then you are probably ok.

Get a 25 pound olympic style weight, the disc type with the big (2 inch) hole in the middle. Set that weight down over the stand and let it rest on top of the boom legs. That will hold that boom stand in place, and make it much harder to tip over.
 
soundchaser59 said:
If it's under warranty, get it repaired. Contact Cy at affordableaudio.com and inquire about whether he would handle a warranty repair. He is an auth'd Yorkville dealer, and Yorkville is the distributor for Apex.

If not, with that particular mic it will be better use of money to replace it.

You didn't say if it landed on carpet or cement? Likely it survived, since ribbons are really the most sensitive mics when it comes to surviving impact. If it was carpet then you are probably ok.

Get a 25 pound olympic style weight, the disc type with the big (2 inch) hole in the middle. Set that weight down over the stand and let it rest on top of the boom legs. That will hold that boom stand in place, and make it much harder to tip over.
Click to expand...

The good news is I used the mic for a marathon session yesterday and it still works just fine, despite the big dent in the screen. PHEW! :)

Your suggestion about the weight works great by the way, I'm a bit perplexed that I didn't think of it on my own.

Thanks guys
MattDee
 
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