DIY microphones Where do i start

  • Thread starter Thread starter kip4
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kip4

kip4

Well-known member
Just for the fun of it I'd like to make some of my own mics. Dynamic
just some mini ones i think
i'd appreciate some input on what kind of capsules i should get.
and where might i find shematics and xformers.
thanks
 
Try making a microphone out of an old speaker Kip! Like the Yamaha sub kick - very easy to do. There are a few threads floating around here on making them with pictures and everything.
 
Are you just looking a bit of fun or do you want a usable mic too?

I made a ribbon mic the other day out of pure boredom.
Obviously it completely sucks but it was fun :)

Hard drive magnets and tin foil all the way.
 
What's your goal? You can make a Gyraf G7 from scratch with a piece of brass pipe, mesh, capsule (ranging from US$100-400) etc etc. You can make an electret mic inside an XLR jack. You can get a kit from Aurycle.com. US$70-170. These are all condensers though, but at various levels of effort and price. Google e.g. "alice mic" "gyraf g7" "ioaudio mk47"

Google is your friend for schematics.
 
Thanks guys for the contributions great stuff and plenty to think about.
I was thinking of making something along the lines of the shotgun shell mics. Compact and maybe not to many componants for a start.
Building knowledge as i go refining the design and yes i'd like to make something usable.
I havent ruled out ribbon mics maybe even using ebay condensor mic bodys found cheap. Prime candidates for modding. maybe something like the behringer c1 body gutted and slap a homemade ribbon assembly in it. I'm looking for ideas as well.
This could be a nice long term project and yes maybe one day a modded kit build too. When i've come to terms with the terminolgy and have a better understanding of the potential of differing componants effect on the mics.
 
Yep I reckon your right moresound. I'll be making a right Dwayne Dibbley of myself.
No doubt burning out more componants with the iron than the project is worth but hay whats a few squids in the name of learning.
I've been making stuff since i was a kid. Not electronic i hasten to add.
It would have been if i'd had it my way.
I grew up watching my radio operator sailor dad making crystal radio sets using only a small bag of tools (even the bag was made by him out of sail material lol)
I wanted to follow in his footstep but unfortunately at 14 in my interview to join the services i discovered I'm colour blind and that was a now go so i became a cabinet maker instead.
My ambition to make electronic stuff still burn bright though and this may well set me on my way. After all what can go wrong ? Says the old man who have never even tried to bend a resistor into shape without breaking.
 
You'll soon figure out what side of the soldering iron to hold then you'll become an Ace Rimmer! ;)
 
I found the stuff you were talikn about guys really easily here

D.I.Y. Recording Equipment - DIY Microphones, Preamps, Compressors, etc.

just the kind of thing i was looking for. love the prespex ribbon assembly and the jack plug omni mics.
I'll get some help from my engineer brother in law and the sparky at work says he'll advise me too.

I was off work sick last week and took some time out to research the RTV silicone modders use in mics. it took me hours to discover that basically it's an engineering grade silicone, heat resistant and non corrohsive a bit like the stuff used in gasket sealant. What a dissapointment given the amout of hours it took me to find that out. I'm slow guys but i get there in the end.
 
My solderings not bad at all. I couldnt do one of this op amp things with more legs than a cattapillar but i reckon i can cope with the kind of things found in mics. He says boldly.
 
Here a story from shortly after the navy knocked me back.
I was so determined to prove dad and the navy doubters wrong.
I went to my local electroncs store and bought a simple flashing light kit made up of a couple of pcb with pots on wires ( to vary the amounts the lights flashed) bought the light box to go with it and so began my journey carefully soldering the boards in the manor sety out in the accompanying plan.
All in secret on my bedroom table late at night when everyone else was asleep. Except my younger brother who shared a room with me. He must have cursed me.
Anyway after a weeks work assembling and verifiying it. I smuggled said curcuit into the bathroom one evening when dad was listening to music on the headphones mum was busy in the kitchen and my sibblings where sat watching tv.
I got it all rigged up on the bathroom floor and plugged the monstrosity in.
Counted down from five and switched it on as if it was a lunar rocket launch.
this wasnt far from the truth actually, there was indeed a big bang and a big flash of light and it all went dark.
Fortunately I was in the right place because i nearly bobbed my self.
I blew the main fuse in the appartment.
AAAAAAhhhh now what
trying desparately to unplug it without fear of burning myself i stuffed it still smouldering in the dirty laundry basket in the balcony drying area outside the bathroom and carried on as if nothing had happened. Luckily i never got caught and luckily no clothing was ruined or caught fire, Phew.
i waited till the coast was clear and disposed of it never to repeat such a stupid act for years.
My cheeks puckered up that night and i resigned to wait a while before i did any more diy electronics again.
 
Initially I was going to say you sound a bit like me, but after that bathroom story maybe I won't bother,lol.


Seriously though, I've always been a diyer or trier. I don't have a technical knowledge of or education in electronics, but (within reason) I can understand what i'm told or what I read.

I didn't start with mics, I started with racking some old preamps.

Along the way I found some really helpful people who had patience for a noob but in hindsight I think the hardest thing is asking the right questions.
If you don't know the terminology *like me*, it can be very hard to get help with things.

With the preamps for example, when things went well it was great but if I came across a problem people would say have you tried X,Y or Z.
They were probably standard go-to troubleshooting techniques, but man, I was lost! lol.

IDK, there'll be people reading this saying racking a few preamps is simple stuff, and it probably is, but to me that was a huge undertaking.


Anyway, no need for my life story. Good luck.
 
Steenamaroo
You just built a ribbon mic
can you post an article on how you did it and how it sounded in use?
I'd love to see it. It can be any worse than some of the abortions i've made over the years.

I can be pretty resourceful at finding bits and making stuff sometimes.
Theres some ribbon stuff on you tube too like this

DIY Ribbon Mic - Install the Magnets - YouTube
 
kip4 said:
Steenamaroo
You just built a ribbon mic
can you post an article on how you did it and how it sounded in use?
I'd love to see it. It can be any worse than some of the abortions i've made over the years.

I can be pretty resourceful at finding bits and making stuff sometimes.
Theres some ribbon stuff on you tube too like this

DIY Ribbon Mic - Install the Magnets - YouTube
Click to expand...

LOL. it's not worth an article dude. It really is terrible. Speech is barely audible, but just enough that I was kinda pleased with myself! :p

It's magnets glued to wood, glued to more wood with a gap between them,lol.

The 'ribbon' is crimped into spade connectors and they were glued into place too.

Really really bad stuff but I literally just wanted to see if I could capture a sound at all, and I did. :)

I did make me think with proper leaf and appropriate magnets, it might not be too hard to put a reasonable ribbon mic together.

When I get a transformer for my reslo I'll build it into a connector instead of fitting it to the mic. That way it'll always be available for things like this.
 
Which transformer did you get in the end mate and if it's not too rude a question how much?
And guys if you were still in any doubt I dont think i'll ever be in the same leauge as Mr Joly or MrH,
but i'd love to have a go at this and feel i have the back up i need not to make too much of a hash of it hopefully.
 
It's not rude at all.
Haven't actually picked one up just yet. They seem pretty expensive and i can't find a lundahl in UK.
Haven't looked super hard all the same. Kinda hoping something will come up on ebay.
 
cool if i come across anything i'll give you a shout mate
 
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