How to 'audition' a microphone before buying

Thanks Harvey:) Now if I could only figure out how to remove this broken outer casing from my 421 and put the brand new casing on it [there's gotta be some "hidden" screws in this damn thing], I'll be in great shape!:confused:
 
On a 421, remove the metal plate near the XLR connector, and take the screw underneath out. The XLR connector assembly pops out. If you look inside you see a glob of silicone at the end of the cavity made. If you cut that glob away, you'll find a 7mm bolt, which, when removed, makes the mike come apart.
 
Thanks again Harvey! I mean, where else will you find this type of specific & technical microphone information at this time of the night? Not Sennheiser [on Sunday night no less]! FYI my 421 is already recased, resoldered and rocking once again. Whadda guy, eh?:D
 
allright pink!!

btw...where did all the white 421's go? ya saw 'em on Hollywood squares all the time.
 
The last time I recall having seen the old white 421s was on an old Humble Pie video and on some ancient Jimi footage too. The Humble Pie footage was from the Marque in London I believe. When I asked an engineer friend of mine about them he said he felt the older 421s were a bit noisy when compared to the U-4 [and later versions].
 
I just want to add a comment about dealing with salespeople... as Harvey said, you don't want to get them to haul out a dozen mics on a Saturday aft when the store is busy... but OTOH, the salespeople are there to serve you and sell you something - it is, after all, their job to let you try the products and find one that is right for you - which means demo'ing it.

Somewhere, somehow, people got it into their heads that we shouldn't bug the salespeople, as if we were interrupting their "important work" so they can sell you something! Well - their "important work" IS to sell you something, so they should be accommodating you, and not the other way around....

And if they don't want to play ball, I'm the first one to tell them that I'm taking my business across the street, where they DO accommodate proper demo'ing or I remind them of the many on-line retailers that offer a demo and return policy.... they usually change their tune pretty quick after hearing that.

Bruce
 
Yeah, but it's Friday and the 3 threads I just bumped to the top of the board will help answer many newbee questions... and me having bookmarks or not wouldn't help the newbee's see the threads now would they. Too bad this thread isn't a sticky.
 
Harvey Gerst said:
Plug the first mic in, and turn on the mixer. Adjust the preamp gain to maximum, and bring up the channel slider till the store's background noise lights up the first 3 or 4 segments of the channel meter (or any meter on the mixer). Note the number of segments showing on the meter and put that number right on the mic's post-it paper. (It will be a number between, let's say 2 and 6.)

Click to expand...

Assuming that the background noise is consistant.
 
grinder said:
Assuming that the background noise is consistant.
Click to expand...
Please not that in my very first post, I said,
"it would require going into the store when you and the store both have some free time. Asking to test mics in a busy store on a Saturday is NOT a good idea, for example."

One of the requirements of any comparison testing is consistent testing conditions. Obviously, a guy playing guitar 20 feet away, trying to be the next Eddie Van Halen, would not be a good thing.
 
In a lot of cases, the folks at GC will let you take the mics into one of their "little" rroms with the decent pres and amps. They're not soundproof, but they'll certainly cu down the amount of background noise, and keep the EVH wannabes from screwing up the baseline for your tests.

I know when I bought my 012's, I was using the high-end pre room. Made doing this a lot easier.
 
I agree... auditioning microphones before buying is a very good idea... and I've never had any problems auditioning microphones at music stores and etc either.
 
DJL said:
I agree... auditioning microphones before buying is a very good idea... and I've never had any problems auditioning microphones at music stores and etc either.
Click to expand...

Just curious, where did you go to audition that B5 you just bought? I haven't seen them anywhere.

Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top