damage?

[daveblue222]

my dogs managed to knock over my mic stand and now the preamps (1 and 2) on my firestudio project seem to have to warm up. by this i mean there is static and hissing for about a minute. when the stand got knocked over 2 behringer c-2s were plugged into the firestudio project.

maybe because i left them in excess static built up or something? because this morning when i plugged everything back in then powered it up there was no static or hiss. left them in whilst i went to work then static again when i came home.

weird?

 

[mixsit]

Does it quit when you unplug the mics?

 

[dgatwood]

Yeah, agreed. Sounds more like the mic is damaged than the preamp... unless it's a tube pre and you broke half the filament in a tube or something.

 

[darrin_h2000]

If it does it with both mics plugged in individually then it is likely the preamp...the likelyhood of both mics having the exact same problem is small...it would be something they both have in common.

 

[dgatwood]

Yeah, but I quite literally can't think of anything that could cause such behavior that could be triggered by yanking a cable attached to a jack that's screwed to the front of a solid steel case... unless, of course, the mic stand fell over ON the FSP.

Otherwise, it's more likely to be condensation buildup on the mic diaphragms.... Given that they're the same mic in the same room, it makes perfect sense that they would both be affected in roughly the same way.

There's also one really badly designed spot in that mic where they used a component lead where they should have used an empty plated via to a solder pad on the correct side of the board. The result of this is that similar Chinese SDC mics are notoriously hard to mod without tearing the pad in question (I think I tore three out of four), requiring just the right amount of constant tension on the cap with one hand while you heat the lead with a soldering iron with your second hand and use a solder wick with your third hand. What? You mean you don't have three hands?

Because of that poor design decision, it would not be at all surprising if the pads spontaneously tore in the field, though I'd be surprised if both mics failed in that way at the same time. The result of that pad is a lot like the sound described, though, IIRC, which is why I mention it.

 

[darrin_h2000]

Yeah, but I quite literally can't think of anything that could cause such behavior that could be triggered by yanking a cable attached to a jack that's screwed to the front of a solid steel case... unless, of course, the mic stand fell over ON the FSP.

Otherwise, it's more likely to be condensation buildup on the mic diaphragms.... Given that they're the same mic in the same room, it makes perfect sense that they would both be affected in roughly the same way.

There's also one really badly designed spot in that mic where they used a component lead where they should have used an empty plated via to a solder pad on the correct side of the board. The result of this is that similar Chinese SDC mics are notoriously hard to mod without tearing the pad in question (I think I tore three out of four), requiring just the right amount of constant tension on the cap with one hand while you heat the lead with a soldering iron with your second hand and use a solder wick with your third hand. What? You mean you don't have three hands?

Because of that poor design decision, it would not be at all surprising if the pads spontaneously tore in the field, though I'd be surprised if both mics failed in that way at the same time. The result of that pad is a lot like the sound described, though, IIRC, which is why I mention it.

Condensation shouldnt be a problem if you are properly storing the mics...never leave a condenser on the stand...keep it in the case with some dissectant.

 

[daveblue222]

im pretty sure its where i have left them plugged in and condensation has built up. when i unplug them and leave them for awhile, then insert the xlr there is no noise. my house has quite random changes in temperature. will definitely store mics in boxs etc from now on


cheers for all the help

 

[Shadow_7]

There is some gear that needs to warm up. Mainly when dealing with tubes though. I've heard of some places turning everything on 15 minutes before actually using it to record anything.

As far as the other quirk. I've had some fractured solder joints that get quirky. And seem to heal once the unit has warmed up. Although those should be a bit more evident. If you bump the mic stand or bump your hand on the table hosting the gear, something changes. Maybe not all the time and maybe not to the same degree. But it's like your gear will soon be featured on ghost hunters. My old laptop was like that because the power cord got jerked around a lot. And the headphone jacks aren't much better. Especially if you have a decent set with a heavy cord.

 

[mixsit]

Condensation shouldnt be a problem if you are properly storing the mics...never leave a condenser on the stand...keep it in the case with some dissectant.

My understanding is unless you're rejuvenating them desiccants are spent fairly quickly after exposure.
Two conditions for moisture are from breath -you don't seal mics up after use, or rapidly going from a very cold mic to warm wet environment. A loose fit plastic bag is good to let it remain in equilibrium with the moisture in the air and mostly just keeps dust off.