The cost of building mics?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Diffusion
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Diffusion

Future Astrophysicist
Just wondering, how much do you think it would cost to build a mic with the quality of a nuemann or something... what about with the quality of a Rode NTK?
Also, is it possible to build your own exact version of a mic? For example, can I buy all the internal parts used in a Rode NTK and use them to build my own version for cheaper?
Just curious...
 
Capsule

The capsule is the hard part... Everything else is pretty cheap aside from any transformers you are going to use.
 
The capsule is 75-90% of the sound of a mic.

Granted, good electronics are key to having a good clean sound. Most of the cheaper chinese mics have poor quality components and poor amp designs, so replacing the circuit with one of higher quality has its benefits.

The capsue itself is a work of art. There are little intricate parts that have a drastic effect on the sound. The vent holes, the depth that they are drilled, the spacing, the arrangment of the vents, the space between the backplates, evaporating the gold onto mylar or PVC, not to mention tensioning the diaphragm to the correct frequency. If you were to build your own capsule, you would spend more on the machining alone than the cost of an expensive mic.

You could buy a Peluso capsule or take a 797 caspule and get pretty close. You could even buy a Neumann capsule on ebay.

If you are a DIYer like me, you can build just for the fun of it. I have built some very interesting sounding mics. Some good quality ones. Do they sould like a Neumann? ...I don't know! ...I doubt it.
 
If you want the exact replica of a given mic, just buy the mic - cheaper, easier and faster. If you want to build a mic yourself, it has a 99% chance of sounding crappier than any commercial mic, but it will be original, fun to build, and a learning experience.

In between these two extremes is modifying a commercially built mic, which will add a little expense to the mic, probably make it sound better if you know what you are doing and follow a logical plan, will be fun, a learning experience, and you'll have a one or few of a kind mic.
 
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