Congrats mshilarious!!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter timboZ
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MS, can you give us a rundown of the MSH-omni mics.
MSH-1, MSH-1a, MSH-2, MSH-10, and if any that I missed (What are the differances)
Also are any changes/improvements planed for the MSH-10.
 
mshilarious said:
You can't really do a good job with 2 AA batteries without a DC converter, which I can't do because of FCC regulation. The price point would be a problem there too since the box itself is gonna run $5. So you're looking at a box bigger than an Altoids, using a 9V, and probably in the $69 range. I don't expect it would be particularly suitable for studio use though, there are cheap options available there already anyway.
Click to expand...

Hi, You could make a Fairly cheap but pretty good performing Battery Powered preamp that is small in size and Runs off of a Couple 9v Batteries or better yet a rechargable Cell phone battery and even has Ballanced inputs and outputs.....

Useing a Preamp Chip like the INA103 or INA163 or INA217 and a few external components and an Inverting opamp for a Ballanced output it could probably be made for about $20...I recently designed a Preamp based on the INA103 and the whole board is smaller than a Dollar Bill and could be made smaller.....

The sound quality is about that of a DMP3 as these are simular chips that are used in the DMP3.....

It would even be easier and a Lot cheaper to make an Unballanced Preamp useing a dual Opamp like the NE5534 or even the TL072 and it would be MUCH cheaper and smaller as these chips only cost about 0.25c each and only need a few external components to make a simple Preamp.....

You can even build a Cheaper one useing NPN/PNP Transistors that would run off of a single 9v......

I have designs for all of these types of simple cheap preamps, so if anyone wants to try building one let me know and I"ll send you the schematics....


Cheers
 
timboZ said:
MS, can you give us a rundown of the MSH-omni mics.
MSH-1, MSH-1a, MSH-2, MSH-10, and if any that I missed (What are the differances)
Also are any changes/improvements planed for the MSH-10.
Click to expand...

The MSH-1 was the original mic. It used only the FET in the capsule, which is limited to 2mA current, which means that is has to be high output impedance, and when used in a balanced configuration, has limited SPL handling. The original MSH-1 was around 110dB max SPL, and 1K ohm output impedance.

The MSH-1A used an external FET to boost current, lower output impedance, and allow higher SPL handling. SPL handling wasn't a big focus of the 1A design, so it was still only about 114dB. The MSH-2 was the prototype 1A, really if I had to do it over again, the 1O and 1C would be called 2O and 2C, but at the time I sold only on eBay, so I was worried people wouldn't find an MSH-2 if they did a search. So there will not be an MSH-2 unless I revise the circuit again, which I am not planning to do.

The MSH-1O was an improvement of the 1A circuitry, same basic components, but a different configuration that allows much higher SPL, in the 122dB range. Agaiin, there are no planned changes.

The mobile series 1M is essentially the same mic as the original MSH-1, slightly tweaked to run on really low power. Since it does not use an external FET, and is fully balanced throughout, it has a slight noise advantage over the 1O.

The 1H is an unbalanced design which is takes advantage of the potential for gain in the internal FET as well as the ability to maximize power when the output signal doesn't have to be balanced. The 1H is probably not of particular interest to the studio crowd, unless you are using a Tascam or Soundblaster.

The basic sound of all those mics is the same, except on the mobile series I use smaller value caps to roll off the bass a little. The original MSH-1 did not feature a bass rolloff, it was flat-response like the others have been.

The 4 is also omni, that's the tube mic. I am playing around with a circuit revision for that, it won't make a big difference to the user except for a couple dB higher sensitivity, but it should make my life much easier because I currently have to reject about 20% of MSH-4 production :eek: The newer circuit should drop that to a more reasonable level.

The tube naturally sheds some lows, and it fuzzes up the highs a bit too. Also it compresses loud sounds somewhat, but as volume increases, harmonic distortion does too, but generally in a good way compared with the clipping behavior of the other mics.
 
Minion said:
Hi, You could make a Fairly cheap but pretty good performing Battery Powered preamp that is small in size and Runs off of a Couple 9v Batteries or better yet a rechargable Cell phone battery and even has Ballanced inputs and outputs.....

Useing a Preamp Chip like the INA103 or INA163 or INA217 and a few external components and an Inverting opamp for a Ballanced output it could probably be made for about $20...
Click to expand...

Yeah, you can definitely build one for $20, but that means I would sell it for $70 ;) Heck, I don't think it's a big secret that it costs me $4 to build one of these mics, and takes 15 minutes. But then I buy supplies in the hundreds, and I've built over 500 of them. I'm banking on people not wanting to reinvent the wheel . . .
 
Now, how much do these mics go for? I'd be possibly interested in a pair of overheads, or a kick drum mic, depending on the price (yay for birthday/christmas money haha)..
 
OK.....I took the plunge....I ordered a 1M. I'll let you all know what I think of it when I get it (hopefully sooner than later :p ). I'll be using it on a nice Martin and Taylor acoustic guitars. I will be curious to see what it does on vocals too for fun but not expecting much.....
 
mshilarious said:
I'll put the buttons back up after I work through the backorder, probably Monday.
Click to expand...

OK, I forgot about the holiday weekend. I'm going out of town, so I just put the buttons back up :eek:

I repeat: THE BUTTONS ARE BACK UP!!!!


If you are on the backorder list, I will send an invoice, you don't need to push the button ;)
 
MSHilarious,

That was a wonderfully interesting and informative interview. It alone would have sold me on the little critters, even if I hadn't been lurking through all the praise here at HR. I'll be ordering a bag full as soon as I can.

Thanks man,
RawDepth

EDIT: And thanks, TimboZ, for turning us on to it.
 
Last edited:
mshilarious said:
OK, I forgot about the holiday weekend. I'm going out of town, so I just put the buttons back up :eek:

I repeat: THE BUTTONS ARE BACK UP!!!!


If you are on the backorder list, I will send an invoice, you don't need to push the button ;)
Click to expand...

They sure are! And I just ordered two MSH-1Os and an MSH-4. Oh mama. Happy day for me. Looking forward to trying them out.
 
Sheesh....it figures. I just ordered a M1 model. Hopefully it will do the job for what I'm going to use it for. I was under the impression the 1O was superior in some way (a bit less of a bass rolloff) but it may not be a big advantage for acoustic guitar use. Time will tell......still looking forward to checking one out (hopefully next week) :rolleyes:
 
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