Old Mod, New(ish) Mic?

Hi,
I'm new to mic mods/DIY audio projects, and I want to try a reletively easy/cheap/fun mod that will result in a mic I can really use for a long time. I've settled on the Royer/Mojave MXL 2001 mod, but I have a few questions about it I was hoping one of you could answer. First of all, is the MXL 2003 similar enough to substitute? If so, I think the 3 micron diaphram would be a big improvement over the 6 micron one the 2001 has, and the resulting mic could be pretty impressive. Secondly, does anyone know of any way I can get a hold of the mod kit aside from ordering it direct from Mojave? On the Mojave website it says that they were thinking about distributing the kit to pro-sound stores, and that the street price might be less than the retail listing on the Mojave website. I'm just a poor college student and need to save all the money I can, so any savings on the retail would be great. Thanks to everyone, and sorry if this isn't a verry interesting post, but I need to start somewhere.

*kkkkkkkk*

As to the MXL2003.....
paging gus.... paging gus.....

sit tight, and gus will be right with you. :green:

As to the royer mod, the parts are readily available, the only expensive part is the transformer ( if you go with the Jensen JT-DBE), some may be able to suggest a lower cost alternative.

I did mine on perfboard, and it turned out great:

changage to urlage:
http://www.shinybox.com/diy/royer/royer1.jpg

pm me your email, and I can fill in some details for you.

ju

The mod will certainly work with that capsule, but I don't know if it will be much better or worse than the 6 micron - might be a subjective thing. If it's your first tube mic I think you will like the sound of either.

Do a search on this forum for discussions about the royer mod. There have been a few already. Many people have done this mod without the kit using perfboard or their own layouts. I would advise you to read Dave Royer's articles carefully before you start and pay careful attention to the way in which the grounding is done.

As far as the transformer goes, you don't say where you're from. If your in Europe you can use either Lundahl or Sowter audio transformers for your mic instead of the Jensen - they're easier to get hold of (at least in the UK).

I did the Royer mod first and then went on to build the G7s. It's fun, give it a go, and post back with any questions (& don't electrocute yourself!)

Fum - your mic's lookimng really nice. Good neat work. How's it sounding? And what's the second big cap? B+ stabilizer/filter?

Stewart

:thumb:


Incidentally, I have a problem with one of my royer-mod mics. It's crapping out when you shake it, and then it recovers. I'll report back when I get to the bottom of it.

Hi OneRoom,

Welcome to "The Lab"!

I see you're in good hands already..

:grin:

Jakob E.

I like the Sowters, they sound great in this application. They are very easy to deal with and will gladly sell you small quantities and their pricing is pretty darned good for the transformer you're getting, IMHO.

I would not worry to much if the capsule is 6 or 3 micron. Both 3 and 6 micron capsules can sound good if they are a good design IMO.

Now I bought a 2003 with the idea of using it for a tube microphone build. When I tried it I was surprised that it sounded OK out of the box. I then took a look at the parts used and noted to use of a few ceramic caps and a electro in places that can affect the sound. I changed the parts to the best films that could fit. I then sent Tim (flatpicker) a kit of caps to upgrade his microphone V93? same as the 2003. I took some pictures of the mod but I seem to have lost the pictures I did send them to Tim I believe or did I send them to Steward?

I think the modded microphone sounds great on Female voices. Maybe a tube mod would be better.



1) 1000pf polystryene
2) .22uf to 1uf polypros
2) .01 polypros
1) 1uf PET film or better

All caps >= 50V

Hi Gus,
I don't think I have them. Maybe it was Tim.
Stewart

Wow, thank for all the help. I live in the states so I think I might go with jensen unless I can any of the other cheaper. Is the difference between 3 and 6 micron really unnoticeable? Thats kind of dissapointing. I was hoping the transient response would make a difference. Oh well, a 2001 is cheaper than a 2003 so I can save some money there. Also, after this model is moded is it easy to switch out the tube, or is it a pain in the ass? Thanks again for all the help.

I like the 2003 capsule better than the 2001. It is a taste issue you might like the 2001 better than the 2003. I meant it is the overall design of the capsule. My VM1 has a 6 micron capsule that is the best I have heard so far. The 2003 is a two layer grill and the 2001 is a three layer I like the 2003 grill better: however the 2001 grill can smooth the highs more.

My 2003 capsule is not bad and is a 797 audio capsule. I tend to like the 797 audio capsules I have heard better than the other china buillt capsules I have heard. The 2001 is not the same capsule.

I don't think capsules written specs help alot. You got to try them.

I think I have over 50 condensers at last count some SD some LD. most of them are china built models. However I do Have some good ones I leave stock and use to compare my experiments to.

There is no easy answer with microphone.

[quote author="zebra50"]Fum - your mic's lookimng really nice. Good neat work. How's it sounding? And what's the second big cap? B+ stabilizer/filter?
[/quote]

It sounds great! It's a different flavour from my higher end mics, but a nice flavor, and a great tool.


That second cap( the grey one) is I believe the 1uf 250V hangin off the primary of the transformer.

The orange drop is the .1uF 250V off the second capsule lead.

I just got a V67 in, which I'll do the same mod on. I believe these are the same capsule, I'm wanting to see how the grill design effects the sound between them. I've been buying two every mic, so that I have a before and after to compare against as well.

I've also got to pick up a 2003, as I want to hear what gus is talking about =). I may just do the cap upgrades.

Oh, and OneRoom, when you order from Jensen, they have a canned and uncanned version of the JT-DBE. My pic has the canned version( which I ordered by accident), which is an odd fit for the 2001. I zip tied it to the metal body, and it worked out ok, but the Royer article called for the uncanned version I believe.

I also just finished a capsule replacement in an AKG 414EB P48, and the thing frick'n sings now! I wouldn't have even attempted such a thing if it hadn't been for doin the royer mod.

Regards

ju

[quote author="Gus"]...I took some pictures of the mod but I seem to have lost the pictures I did send them to Tim I believe...[/quote]Yep, I have them. I'll post them tonight after I get home.

Gus is right about the 2003. Do the simple cap mod and it opens up and sounds great. I didn't even like it before the mod and was going to sell it until Gus talked me out of it. (Thanks, Gus!)

Here's a before and after sample. The extra noise in the "after" clip is because the door to my computer cabinet was left cracked open. I didn't notice it until later, but never got a chance to do another take. The modified version was more sensitive, too.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/flatpicker/mp3s/V93BeforeMod.mp3

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/flatpicker/mp3s/V93AfterMod.mp3

Fum

with the MXL microphone you can move the grill assembly from some models to other models.

Then you can pull the inside screens. Marik wrote about removing the inside screens.

As I said before I see grills as preset EQ curves and am still learning.

Flatpicker
I'll post them tonight after I get home

Click to expand...

So did you ever get home? or perhaps this thread/links/pics shifted to another thread??

(sorry I'm late to the party)

I just listened to those mp3s, and while I can hear a slight difference between them, most of it seems to be lost to the 24kbit/s 16KHz mp3 conversion

low bitrate mp3 turns HFs into digital artifact soup

[quote author="RedHouse"]So did you ever get home? or perhaps this thread/links/pics shifted to another thread??[/quote]Hmmmm... that was a while back, but I thought I sent them to Stewart to host...

Stewart, I can send them to you if I haven't already.

You know it's funny, but seems like I remember there being more comments when I originally posted these clips. I also remember writing a detailed post about mic/source placement, etc... I'm sure it was this forum. Is there a similar thread somewhere around here or am I living in parallel dimensions? :? I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...

[quote author="tmbg"]I just listened to those mp3s, and while I can hear a slight difference between them, most of it seems to be lost to the 24kbit/s 16KHz mp3 conversion
[/quote]

mmmmmmmmm........ Those two samples are dramatically different, IMHO. WAV's would probably offer even more differences. It sounds pretty good for a $150 mic. Get two @ $110 each:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41466&item=3775079993&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW