Broken microphones?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Prof_Rikk
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That was my first guess.
To check it I borrowed another mic from a friend (an AKG C1000) and in fact it didn't make any strange noise...
 
That was my first guess.
To check it I borrowed another mic from a friend (an AKG C1000) and in fact it didn't make any strange noise...

Not sure what that has to do with my suggestion of checking to make sure the set screws on the sides of the mic are tight, though if one condenser works, it probably rules out problems with the other gear and the cable.
 
I'm going to venture a guess and say the capsules are dirty and the effects of the dirt are being shown by your change in location to an area of higher humidity in the air. I'd bet that if you sent the mics back to Italy they'd sound OK because of the dryer climate. That's about the only plausible explanation left.

As always, don't attempt to clean the diaphragms yourself unless you know what you're doing. If you can get a good tech to do it, then by all means go that route. The only thing I've ever tried that worked was to use a very very soft paintbrush, dry, and use gentle motions to remove dirt and buildup.

I don't recommend doing it yourself, but if all that's left is to throw the mics way you've got nothing to lose.
 
I'm going to venture a guess and say the capsules are dirty and the effects of the dirt are being shown by your change in location to an area of higher humidity in the air. I'd bet that if you sent the mics back to Italy they'd sound OK because of the dryer climate. That's about the only plausible explanation left.

Why would a dirty microphone cause a low frequency hum? A dull sound, sure. Pops and crackles, maybe. But hum?

I very much suspect they were roughed up a bit in transit, and that either A. the set screws that hold the mic connector in place inside the mic are loose causing the body to be ungrounded or B. the grille around the capsule is no longer properly grounded.
 
Sorry, I skimmed past the area where he describes it as around a low A (110hz) but says its with other noises up to 8khz. To me that sounds like the rumble I've heard from a dirty capsule. You know, it starts as sounding like the ocean, then progresses to a low rumble with some other pops in there.

You're right though, it could be a ground problem. Check all the screws to see if any are loose. Check for frayed wires or cold solder joints as well. I had one mic that had a low hum that wouldn't go away until one day one of the capsule wires was no longer attached to the board. I re-soldered the wire and the hum was gone!
 
Dirt? hmmm didn't think about it, as I always kept both mics in their tidy case.
Anyway I've prepared a sample of the noise (looped) of the broken mic, followed by a sample of another mic.... the difference is quite notable...
 
Not sure what that has to do with my suggestion of checking to make sure the set screws on the sides of the mic are tight, though if one condenser works, it probably rules out problems with the other gear and the cable.

I've also checked this, but all the screws seem to be absolutely tight.

The strange thing is that the problem is exactly the same on both microphones.
I still think it may have something to do with the airport security checks, since they held my hand luggage in the metal detector for quite a long time, asking me what the heck I was carrying (of course they had never seen a condenser microphone x-rays before)...
 
Well, that is definately NOT a dirty capsule or capacitor problem. It sounds like a ground problem or sheilding. It sounds lower that 60hz hum because you are in England where power is at 50hz. dgatwood was right in his diagnosis. Did you check the screw that house the circuit board and hold the XLR? I wonder if they futzed with those at security trying to take them apart. I bet they didn't know which way to tighten the screw on the XLR since it's a left handed screw.
 
Well, they didn't actually touch them at all, they only watched them with the x-rays machine -and I was there watching them.

Anyway I'll try checking again all the screws!
 
What you have is simple mains hum including harmonics. Also some noise at 11kHz. I suspect that your setup is somehow different from what you had before. Some (badly designed...) mikes are just more sensitive to hum pickup than others. The source of the noise could be something else than your actual equipment. Try turning off everything in the room except for what you need to hear the mikes. "Wall-warts" and other power transformers are a typical source of this kind of noise. Either the mike or the cable can pick up the noise. Another guess is a ground loop somewhere in your system. Honestly don't think there's anything wrong with the mikes themselves.

Martin
 
If I were guessing, I'd suspect that the 11 kHz noise you hear is an artifact of the encoding process interacting with the self noise of the microphone. Just a gut reaction, though, and I could easily be wrong.

On the 50 Hz noise, let's go with a decision tree approach:

1. Does it hum with other condenser mics? If not (as I believe I read), then we can rule out a lot of issues right off the bat. Any hum in the phantom power would show up as long as phantom is on because it would go directly into the input. Any noise later in the audio chain would not change when you change mics. This leaves three possibilities:
A. The microphone itself.
B. The mic cable.
C. The preamp's case ground.

2. Does it hum less when you touch it? If so, then either:
A. The set screw that holds the XLR connector in place is loose. Tighten the screw(s).
B. The microphone cable has a poor ground. Clean the contacts. Tighten the screws on the cable.
C. The microphone cable does not ground the chassis of the mic and neither does the mic. Add a jumper wire between the ground pin and the ground tab on both ends of the mic cable.

3. If not, then either:
A. You have noise on your ground (shield) and the design of this particular mic doesn't protect against that. Fix the grounding problem with a grounding pigtail. (Try 2C first, though.)
B. You're in a really electrically noisy environment and LDCs are just hopeless.
 
PROBLEM SORTED!!!

Guys, you won't believe this... it's plain ridiculous.

As I've said before, initially I thought it was the Tascam and sent it back for repair. The lab said it didn't have any problem, so I assumed they were right and supposed it was a mic problem.

Well, I've been lucky enough to meet an electronic engineer who lives near my house. He tested my equipment and the conclusion was: THE TASCAM POWER ADAPTOR IS THE CULPRIT. It affects the mixer even if it's not connected...

Well, all is well that ends well. Will buy a new adaptor!

I'd like to thank you all for your help and kind support! You are really very good people!
 
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