DORSEY vs. ROYER - tube vs fet

[aleaney]

It seems that the DORSEY mod has been around for some time and there have been many mods to the original mod.

A few things I've been wondering about:
1.) What is the best updated version of this mod?
2.) What other mics it works on. Would it work on a CAD GXL2200 ?
3.) What were your costs involved ?
4.) Does anyone still make PCB's for it?
5.) ROYER TUBE mod vs DORSEY mod on the same model mic? which was better?

Here's the article:
http://www.recordingmag.com/resources/resourceDetail/322.html

 

[Bob Ross]

ROYER TUBE mod vs DORSEY mod on the same model mic? which was better?

I had a "matched pair" of MXL 2001-P from back when those mics first showed up on these shores. (At that time, a "matched pair" just meant that Brad Lunde or whoever was running the MXL division of Marshall in the late 1990s would take a container full of mics from China and personally audition them to find pairs that sounded as close as possible.) About 7 or 8 years ago I did the original Scott Dorsey FET mod on one of these, and the original Dave Royer/Mojave MA-2 tube mod to the other.

In case there's any doubt, both mods made a VAST improvement in the mics' performance. Infinitely cleaner low end, more extended high end, less "fizz" on high frequency transients, less noise...big thumbs up all around.

Of course, now these two mics are no longer "matched". The Dorsey definitely sounds different from the Royer/Mojave. But I can't say one is "better" than the other. They have different strengths, they excel at different applications. If I had to characterize the difference I guess I'd say the Royer is a bit more "chewy" in the low-mids; there's a "thickness" it imparts...whereas the Dorsey sounds a bit more neutral, with a slightly cleaner high end and a more extended low end.