WTF? D112 Question - with audio sample

  • Thread starter Thread starter NL5
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NL5

NL5

Unpossible!
OK, I bought a used D112 about 6 months or so ago, and just got around to using it last night. It sounded really thin and tinny. replaced it with a Pro25, and it sounded fine. Put the D112 back on this morning, and POUNDED on the basss drum. Here is what happened -



The first part is what I heard last night, and then it sounds like the capsule finally breaks loose. This is a clip of just the BD mic with NOTHING done too it. Don't pay attention to the horrible attempt at drumming (I'm a basss player), or the fact that it is clipping horribly when it starts working.

My questions are -

Was it the capsule being stuck?

Is it fixable, or is it fine now?

Is this common?


Thanks in advance,

NL5
 
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Are you using it on a kick or a tom??? I've never heard a kick ring like that.........

Anyways, that clipping is definitely not normal -- sounds like you've got a bum unit....
 
It's on a kick, but the clipping isn't the problem. The audio clip is with my gain set in one spot thru the whole thing. At first the mic is almost unresponsive, then suddenly "comes alive". I turned the gain down after that take, and the mic sounds fine now. I am just curious as to what was wrong. I think the capsule was stuck.

Any ideas?
 
Well - personally, if a mic did that to me, back it would go for service. If it were to cut-out again in the middle of a session, that wouldn't be a good thing, so I'm pretty picky about keeping up gear maintenance (including appropriate service calls).........
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
Well - personally, if a mic did that to me, back it would go for service. If it were to cut-out again in the middle of a session, that wouldn't be a good thing, so I'm pretty picky about keeping up gear maintenance (including appropriate service calls).........
Click to expand...


OK, one last question -

If the capsule is messed up, is it worth having a $150 mic repaired, or is it cheaper to just buy a new one? If it were one of my Nuemanns, I'd have it fixed.

Thanks again Bear.
 
I remember recently someone had a similar problem with a mic that had been sitting unused for a long time and Harvey Gerst suggested that the capsule was stuck, as you suggest. He recommended giving it a light whack to get it unstuck. That might be what happened here.
 
MadAudio said:
I remember recently someone had a similar problem with a mic that had been sitting unused for a long time and Harvey Gerst suggested that the capsule was stuck, as you suggest. He recommended giving it a light whack to get it unstuck. That might be what happened here.
Click to expand...


That's what it sounds like to me...I was hoping Harvey would shed some light as well.....

Thanks.
 
Was the mic new when you purchased it?? If so it should be under warranty.
 
That kind of problem can happen if a dynamic mic sits around for a long time without getting used. As the previous poster suggested, whap the front of the mic a few times with the palm of your hand, in case the coil got slightly stuck. Run it on an extra track every chance you get, but use another mic as well, just as a safety, till you're confident the thiing is gonna work well every time.
 
Out of curiosity, how does not using it cause that to happen?
 
OneArmedScissor said:
Out of curiosity, how does not using it cause that to happen?
Click to expand...
Good question. Like a loudspeaker, it has a cone, voice coil, and it sits in a magnetic gap. Now that cone is very light molded plastic, but unlike a speaker, mic cones do not have a spider like a speaker does. What's a spider? That's the orange wavy thing that attaches where the cone meets the voice coil. It's job is to keep the voice coil centered in the magnetic gap.

Ok, no spider in a mic diaphragm assembly, so over a period of time (with the mic laying on its side), a little sag works in and the coil starts moving to one side. Add a little humidity, and a slight oxidation in the gap can bind the coil. Usually, a good tap or wind blast from a hand palm can free it up and dislodge any oxidation build up.

Besides if it doesn't fix it, you've lost nothing, since it was broke to begin with.
 
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