Build you own mic

[pdadda]

Has anyone tried to build their own mic before? I was looking at this article in TapeOp http://prosoundweb.com/recording/tapeop/buildmic/buildmic_16_1.shtml
about how to build a condensor mic for dirt cheap and thinking about giving it a try. The article has a schematic and parts list, but not many pictures of the building process.

 

[OneRoomStudios]

That article comes up a lot. I built two, they turned out pretty well. The only problem is that the mic element used in the article was discontinued. You have to get a different one. I forget which one I got. Look around on www.digikey.com and you'll find it. They're usable, but nothing special so don't get your hopes up too high.

 

[arkitech]

Wow this looks pretty cool. Is the quality very good from them. This would complete my ghetto recording setup lol

 

[pdadda]

OneRoom, I want to build them to use as overheads until I can save up for a decent pair. Have you tried yours as OH's?

 

[crazydoc]

The Tape Op article is pretty straightforward. If you try to build it and have questions, post here.

Here's a site with lots of pics and info using these types of capsules in stereo applications:
http://mp3forkidz.com/mic/index.html

Here's a newsgroup you can join (or just read) that's really into building these:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/micbuilders/

 

[OneRoomStudios]

I've tried them as a stereo pair for a jazz quartet, but not as OH yet. They'd probably sound ok. They have a little too much self noise for any serious aplication, but they're not too bad...then again I guess it all depends on how carefully you build them. I built mine pretty well, but there are things I could have done better (I didn't really clean all the contacts on the wires/caps/res/sockets before I soldered etc...). I don't know...they're cool to have around, but like I said, don't expect too much. Oh, and you can buy a pair of ECM8000's for about the same...but that wouldn't be as fun.