Capsules

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pcnj50a

New member
Hi, first post.

I want to build my own high quality mikes- I'd pretty adept with circuitry (been designing and building tube stuff for close to forever), but can't fabricate a capsule. The Panasonic electrets are great for testing, but have poor noise, even after modification as per Linkwitz. My *preference* is figure 8 pattern and small diaphragm (I want to experiment with crossed-8s), but cardioids could be adapted. B&K capsules are a bit out of my financial reach. Recommendations for under $500 or so would be appreciated. Cheaper is absolutely fine.:D

My recording interests are minimally miked acoustic guitar/vocals, so it wouldn't need to survive the inside of a kick drum or a heavy metal screamer at 1".

TIA!
 
Moresound, many thanks. A bit of checking and indeed, capsules can be bought. The small ones are under $100. My searching did turn up some alarming questions about consistency. It might be worth buying 4 or 5 and picking the best two?
 
pcnj50a said:
Moresound, many thanks. A bit of checking and indeed, capsules can be bought. The small ones are under $100. My searching did turn up some alarming questions about consistency. It might be worth buying 4 or 5 and picking the best two?
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It depends on where and from whom your purchasing them from?
Someone like M.Joly at Oktavamod will have already have in his possession quality capsules.
 
...if you're looking for a good LDC basic capsule (for vocals), these are not bad at all...good starting point IMHO...

KCM 35mm LARGE DUAL DIAPHRAGM CONDENSER MIC CAPSULE CAP - eBay (item 120473121090 end time Mar-06-11 07:00:32 PST)

...from there you can go to a site like Advanced Audio, although their K67 capsule is not unlike the one above...

Advanced Audio Microphones

...and then there's John Peluso's least expensive option:

GERMAN STYLE MICROPHONE CAPSULE - eBay (item 170594773047 end time Feb-23-11 12:06:36 PST)

...some may argue that all three options are more similar than the prices might suggest...;)

...small diameter capsules are more plentiful, and as you mentioned, quality varies quite a bit...but your suggestion of buying a few and choosing the best one is a good game plan...maybe Philgood (resident mic builder) could chime in with his thoughts...
 
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Yeah, if others have gone down the same path, I'd be interested to know what they found. Small diaphragm is more interesting to me because of lower colorations- this is a minimal miking effort, so it's important that the mike not editorialize too much. Back in the day, I did some recording with B&K mikes that were 1/2" or so and got excellent results; some might call them "boring," but they were true to the tone of the instruments.

As I make progress, I'll post what results I get. I've got an interface and mike preamp designed and pieces bench tested, so I think that if the capsules are good, the results should be limited only by my ineptness in placement. I'm not worried about the musicians, they're great and they're totally on board with my rather radical minimalist ideas.
 
There you see pcnj50a. There are plenty of people to get those capsules from and/or pick their brains about your endeavor.
 
kidvybes any info on k47 style capsules?

Just curious if you or anyone else has any dealing with this guy

RK-47 Microphone Capsule | K47 | Microphone Parts

Way cheaper than any other k47 tyle capsule that I have been able to find.

The Peluso goes for over 200.

The Peluso is a 6 micron and this one is a 3 micron. I'm sure this one is a total Chinese build and Peluso says his is a metalwork Chinese build.

Any thoughts? At that price, I am tempted to just buy it and see what I get.

Edit:

I did notice that the Joly K47 capsule is quite a bit flatter than this capsule's chart. But $89 is quite a bit cheaper than a $399 mod.

From what I can gather, Joly won't sell his capsules. Is this a myth?

BTW, I have an April 17th date to get a Joly mod on my MK-219 so I'm not anti taking it elsewhere, just curious how I could get decent results getting into it myself being new to modifying mics. (Don't want to screw up a $250 dollar capsule)

Thanks
 
Joly told me "no problem" about selling his capsules. $85 for the MK-012, so I'd imagine that the 47 won't be too horribly priced. Seemed like a nice helpful guy and didn't even try to talk me out of diy-ing.:D
 
pcnj50a said:
Joly told me "no problem" about selling his capsules. $85 for the MK-012, so I'd imagine that the 47 won't be too horribly priced. Seemed like a nice helpful guy and didn't even try to talk me out of diy-ing.:D
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No he is a great guy. Always willing to be helpful.
 
moresound said:
No he is a great guy. Always willing to be helpful.
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He was extremely helpful even before the sale. I did want a mod from him, perhaps more, I laid out my gear and setup and he steered me away from some and offered suggestions for others. I think some that have him do mods have zero technical skills. (I have performed mods on some pres, built stompboxes, pads, etc, so I have some skills)

I read (some time ago) where he told a guy he wouldn't sell him a capsule because he wished to keep it proprietary and build his business. I get that, so I haven't asked.

Sine he is out until Apr. 17th on my mod, I guess he is doing ok.

Wouldn't hurt to ask I guess, especially now that I am a customer.
 
He may even have a bunch of capsules from microphones that he modded .... don't know that for sure but it may be worth an ask.
 
I did shoot him a quick message and he did confirm that he isn't selling his raw MJE-K47 capsule. I totally get it. He wants to make sure his brand isn't clouded by mods using his capsule but not done by him.

He did give me a good tidbit of info though. I didn't realize it as I am new to the microphone game. He stated that the voltage to the k47 needs to be lowered when swapping it for a K67 so as to keep the diaphragm from sucking to the backplate.

Doh! Guess I have some research to do. I guess this little experiment of mine won't be as simple as I thought.
 
indymusician said:
kidvybes any info on k47 style capsules?

Just curious if you or anyone else has any dealing with this guy

RK-47 Microphone Capsule | K47 | Microphone Parts

Way cheaper than any other k47 tyle capsule that I have been able to find.

Thanks
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...a more historically accurate K47 capsule should be 6-micron, not 3-micron, as the one offered by microphoneparts.com...you can contact Dave Thomas at Advanced Audio, as he sells a nice quality 6-micron K47 capsule (it's not on his site, but he does offer it) with brass metalwork for around that same price...he'll be offering that capsule in his new multi-pattern CM-48fet mic, due out shortly...
 
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