Does the fuzzy cover my SPB1 came with eliminate need for pop filter?

  • Thread starter Thread starter policenauts03
  • Start date Start date
DJL said:
Only with some silica gel packs in the zip-lock bag... otherwise, condensation could become a problem.

NOTE: many times when you get a new mic and open up the box you'll see the mic comes in a plastic bag with a silica gel pack in it... now, I bet you know why. ;)
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right on...so I assume you use these little gel packs. Can I ask where you get yours?
 
DJL said:
Sorry Han, but with all due respect, I disagree... it seems even a little moisture can make the B1 stop working. For example, when people started reporting problems with the B1's, Alan Hyatt said it might be moisture and that they should try drying them out under a 100W blub. So I was curious and put a Marshall MXL V67G and Studio Projects B1 on stands and left them there to see which one would die first... well, the B1 stopped working after a few months and the V67G never died. This is the reason why I suggested putting the B1 in a zip-lock bag with some silica gel packs when not in use... it will also help keep the dust out.
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Don and all

A condenser mic that's used for recording vocals, has been in a very humid condition for a while, so let it dry some time first.

I have a Neumann M149 on it's stand since 1996 now without any problem. I have two B1's on a stand for some 18 months now without any problem.

Same with the MXL V69 and V77. And the studio is more than 7 feet below sea level. :D Without jokin', humidity is between 60 and 70% here.

In my first post here I linked to a post of Klaus Heyne, who is a real expert and I hope he don't mind when I copy and paste some of his post in the link here:

Use wind socks/screens only when nothing else will do. They are made of open cell plastic foam which starts deteriorating within 1-2 years after manufacture, and thereafter its disintegration accelerates. Fine foam dust and flakes will quickly penetrate through the screen and be deposited all over the (electro-statically charged and therefore attractive) capsule area. The final stage of this material is that of a semi-liquefied goo, and then the fun begins.

Try this test at home with your windscreen: rub your fingers against it over a white piece of paper. If foam dust is deposited on the paper, throw the screen away. It will be unusable for any type of capsule protection and be more costly to keep than to replace.
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The best, cheapest (free) and all around easiest form of preventing a condenser capsule from deteriorating is the good old plastic bag from your super market's produce or cereal/candy department. (You may have to look a little harder for a bag that is made of a bit thicker material- it will last longer)

Just put the bag over the mic on the stand, if you cannot tear down the set up, for positioning reasons, and permanently store the mic in this bag inside its proper case after the session. No need to seal the bag tight. Just let it breathe.
(If the humidity in the room was excessive, you would already have had moisture back down on the capsule, so no need to worry it the bag fits too tightly. If anything, a bag over a warm tube mic will force redistribution of the higher humidity sitting on the capsule towards the drier amp region of the mic, and somewhat act as a dehumidifier)

The main idea of the bag over the capsule is that of a barrier- to prevent the electro-statically attractive capsule from sucking in particles from as far as six feet away, and letting these contaminant act like the salt crystals which catalyze fog formation: If there is no dirt film, it becomes that much harder for any moisture to form droplets and a conductive path to short the two condenser plates, diaphragm and backplate.
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Silica-Gel bags are an excellent way of drying an overly humidified capsule, but only if you tightly restrict the volume of humid air getting to the moisture-hungry silica crystals.

Placing a silica bag next to the mic grill may be well intended, but is useless:The stuff is so hygroscopic that any access to the world at large will neutralize the silica within an hour.

The proper way to dehumidify a humid condenser capsule:
Dry the Silica bag as directed (usually printed on its side.) I place it in a conventional oven or toaster oven set to ca. 350-400° Fahrenheit (175-200° Celsius) for 3-6 hours. Immediately remove the bags (buy more than one, they are cheap) to a sealable canning glass jar or similar until cooled to room temperature. Remove the bag(s), place against the grill of the mic, and immediately enclose the mic with Silica bag in a tightly sealed plastic bag. This forces the crystals to suck the limited amount of moist air out of the capsule area of the mic head and prevents the crystals to poop out from too much exposure to ambient air. Save the unused Silica bags in the sealed container until needed.

Kind regards, Klaus Heyne

If you want more , try the link.

Peace, Han
 
windscreen

I find that the windscreen causes a sort of ringing noise, maybe due to internal reflections. Definitely don't use in indoors.

Paddy
 
Reggaesoldier said:
so who do you guys buy your silica packs from?
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ANYONE!?!?! You all talk like you use these things, where do you get em?
 
Reggaesoldier said:
right on...so I assume you use these little gel packs. Can I ask where you get yours?
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Yeah, I use them... I buy new equipment all the time and they come in the boxes so I have a lot of them... many times you can get a box of them on ebay... they're also in new shoe boxes, so you may be able to talk your local shoe salesman out of some... the same with camera's... so you may be able to talk your local camera shop out of some. Oh, and many times they sell them at places where they sell packing/shipping type materials.
 
Reggaesoldier said:
ANYONE!?!?! You all talk like you use these things, where do you get em?
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Well, some come in microphones and other equipment that needs to stay dry.

I've never had to buy any (or use any here in the Phoenix area) but I'd imagine you could get some at Wal-Mart in their dry flower section where it is sold in one and five pound cans for flower drying. It's sold the same way in crafts stores (like Michaels) and other department type stores that carry flower-arranging supplies. You could try camera or photo stores also to see if they have it in little packets.

If you take prescription drugs, many of the stock bottles come with little silica gel cannisters inside. Ask your friendly local pharmacist if she could save some for you.
 
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