U47-style bodies - who can make one?

[audiovisceral]

As currently planned, the PSU enclosures will have no markings.

They will be totally blank with the exception of a hole cut-out for a fused IEC connector on the back.

So it will be up to you to drill the drillings & mark the markings.

Works for me.

 

[speakercoil]

Skylar... You're my hero... This is awesome news... so for everyone who wanted more than one, it sounds like that is no longer a selfish request, nor is it one that will be denied... YAY! I personally want two... I really want to make a pair of G7's and throw them in these bad boys... Get myself a bunch of matching components... OMG this will be sick... I was never expecting a PSU body as well, but that's a great idea. I was just going to get my own made, but I am sure your design will be better.

So if I don't make them G-7's.... anyone down for a U47 build?

OH!!!! Also Skylar... the last round of pics made it look  more like a lolipop mic body, instead of the original U47 style... is this correct? did the style change? If not, maybe that is an idea for a future build/design now that you have a manufacturer who you seem to have faith in. It would be sick to have a lolipop style body which you could swap out for old Neumann heads or Blue heads... Just a thought.

-Grant

 

[fazeka]

<snip>
OH!!!! Also Skylar... the last round of pics made it look  more like a lolipop mic body, instead of the original U47 style... is this correct? did the style change?

Please read Skylar's post again with the pics:

"Pictures of sample parts."

 

[wilberweb]

Hi, Skylar can you save your solid works to a revit .rvt format or dwg I have revit and autocad that would be great to have a rvt file or dwg on this mic.


thanks
Larry

 

[crackerzot]

Hi Skylar,

This is such great news.  I'm thrilled to be able to be included in the first run if the sample meets with your approval.  Exactly when do you need the money and is there some centralized point of purchase so you can get paid and know exactly how many you're making?  I'd just like to know exactly where and how to place my order request when the time comes.  Thank you!

Jeff

 

[speakercoil]

<snip>
OH!!!! Also Skylar... the last round of pics made it look  more like a lolipop mic body, instead of the original U47 style... is this correct? did the style change?

Please read Skylar's post again with the pics:

"Pictures of sample parts."

heh... I guess I never read the comment she posted with the pics, just saw them and was like "woah the head design changed a bunch..."

However I still say a good idea for a future project would be a lolipop mic designed to be exchangeable with neumann and blue caps... anyone else agree with this?

As of right now I am tickled pink with the progress, and excited about these mics... It's going to be like a late x-mas present to myself! Sooooooo excited.

-Grant

 

[Linus]

...I will open up an order system and alert all of the folks who participated in the feeler.
...

YAY!!!

 

[Skylar]

Hi Skylar,

This is such great news.  I'm thrilled to be able to be included in the first run if the sample meets with your approval.  Exactly when do you need the money and is there some centralized point of purchase so you can get paid and know exactly how many you're making?  I'd just like to know exactly where and how to place my order request when the time comes.  Thank you!

Jeff

I will set up a webstore and provide a link.

heh... I guess I never read the comment she posted with the pics, just saw them and was like "woah the head design changed a bunch..."

Trust me, this isn't the first time I have been mistaken for a female.
For the record though, I am, in fact, not a she. Here's proof:

[I get "Hey Kurt!" a lot.]

My avatar only shows half of my face, so I suppose the reveal is not what you were expecting...like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izet8zN1vmE

 

[Skylar]

Hi, Skylar can you save your solid works to a revit .rvt format or dwg I have revit and autocad that would be great to have a rvt file or dwg on this mic.


thanks
Larry

I have decided not to distribute the CAD files for this project at this point.
Having spent hundreds if not a thousand hours on the design & manufacturing of this microphone body (plus $everal G-notes),
I have made the decision to keep these files private.
I hope you can appreciate this conclusion.

 

[speakercoil]

heh... I guess I never read the comment she posted with the pics, just saw them and was like "woah the head design changed a bunch..."

Trust me, this isn't the first time I have been mistaken for a female.
For the record though, I am, in fact, not a she. Here's proof:

[I get "Hey Kurt!" a lot.]

My avatar only shows half of my face, so I suppose the reveal is not what you were expecting...like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izet8zN1vmE

[/quote]

LOL... Actually that was purely a typo... A long time ago I did think you were a girl, because I found a link or something related to you and it had a recording of a female singer... However that was like almost a year ago. Then someone corrected me on gearslutz and I was like "damn... and I thought there was a talented female singer who was also a DIY gear junkie..." However since then I knew you were a guy... So either that was a weird slip from my old thought, or just a typo. I know you are a guy and have known for quite some time. lol.

On that note... I can see you getting "hey kurt" a lot... I actually used to look pretty damn similar back in the day when I had long hair... I used to get "hey kurt" a lot, until I started wearing a fedora and then I started getting "hey Kid Rock!" A LOT... and I mean A LOT... I got it like 7 times in one day. The craziest was when I was interning at Blackbird Studios and an engineer walked in and saw me from the back and said it... He had actually worked with Kid Rock before, and actually thought I was him. When I turned around he had a look of embarrassment on his face. It was classic. I always preferred the "hey kurt" I must say.

So yeah... Totally knew, and I apologize for weather that was just a weird slip from way back when I thought you were a girl, or if it was just a random typo. Either way.. FUCK. If you look at my older posts you will see I say "HE" and no "she". OIY... I guess now I have the embarrassed look on my face. lol.

Also... I agree you shouldn't release the files. You have been working on this forever, and it would not be fair to just make the files public. HOWEVER... I will say you should offer a second run later on down the line since you do have the files, and there are bound to be people just getting into DIY gear who shouldn't miss out on such a great project.

I think I speak for everyone on Prodigy-Pro when I say thank you for what you have done... There have been a lot of group buy, small run things in the past... But I can't recall any that have had this amount of dedication, work, or devotion to excellence. For that you should be applauded.

-grant

 

[ryansteele]

[quote author=Skylar]

Honestly, if a bunch of cheap mics started cropping up with this body, that could be a good thing
because at that point, the factory would probably be producing them in high quantity, meaning the price would be reduced.
I see that as a positive.
This whole project is about making a well-designed mic body available for DIY enthusiasts...not about me making money.[/quote]

i'd like to chime in to say that this is exactly the reason you are a seemingly awesome, selfless dude. seriously, man...kudos.

 

[crackerzot]

Any sort of an ETA (just a general idea is okay) when the ordering system and link to it will be posted here, Skylar?

 

[Skylar]

Any sort of an ETA (just a general idea is okay) when the ordering system and link to it will be posted here, Skylar?

I expect to see the first production sample during the 2nd or 3rd week of January.
If that sample is 100%, then we will start the full production, and open the web-order at that point.

So, my guess is late-Jan / early-Feb if everything goes smoothly.
If things do not go smoothly, you will hear about here.

As usual, I will keep you apprised of progress as it happens.

 

[thousandshirts]

What an exciting project.  I'm going to have to get my friend to make me some fingerjointed hardwood boxes for these!  :-[

 

[speakercoil]

What an exciting project.  I'm going to have to get my friend to make me some fingerjointed hardwood boxes for these!  :-[

Man... no fair... I want one...

 

[Skylar]

CALLING ALL CARS!


The manufacturer has asked me to provide them with more pictures of the headbasket (particularly the inside).

This is for their reference as they are designing an assembly process.

I have already sent them everything I have, which is really only 4 or 5 images.

Can anyone with a U47 or M147 take several full-res, non-blurry, well-lit photos of the inside of the headbasket?


In the meantime, I am providing them with some detailed diagrams and tooling/fixture designs that should simplify the assembly process.

Thanks for your help!

 

[bugfight]

[I get "Hey Kurt!" a lot.]

but you don't look anything like kurt rongey...

 

[ioaudio]

i want to thank dave / craptical again for providing the beautiful pics and data so unselfishly!

skylar, everything is important, the internal structure, the material of the mesh, the plating process etc.
i plan to make a housing locally, since i found out where to source the original mesh, thanks to mr.oelberg we know where to make the plating (btw they are a real nice small business, you pay extra for treating the chemicals in a environment-friendly way)

i have not seen a chinese housing which is up to neumann´s standarts, the mesh is way to soft, the internal construction does not allow a proper way to gird the mesh into place.

-max
EDIT: the groove to hold the mesh shown below is featured in the m147 head basket only, not the u47.

 

[fazeka]

i have not seen a chinese housing which is up to neumann´s standarts, the mesh is way to soft, the internal construction does not allow a proper way to gird the mesh into place.

Max, that is a little disheartening to hear. Hopefully that vendor will be the exception rather than the rule. Could it be the mesh itself that is soft in addition to a fault in the girding?

 

[Skylar]

i want to thank dave / craptical again for providing the beautiful pics and data so unselfishly!

skylar, everything is important, the internal structure, the material of the mesh, the plating process etc.
i plan to make a housing locally, since i found out where to source the original mesh, thanks to mr.oelberg we know where to make the plating (btw they are a real nice small business, you pay extra for treating the chemicals in a environment-friendly way)

i have not seen a chinese housing which is up to neumann´s standarts, the mesh is way to soft, the internal construction does not allow a proper way to gird the mesh into place.
here´s a little hint, the groove to hold the mesh.

-max

Thanks Max,

That idea has come up in this thread before.
I decided not to use a groove (like the one you have shown) on either the top or bottom ring because the original was not done this way.
(The M147, however, has a groove on its bottom ring; whereas, the U47 has no groove on top or bottom.)
This may be a small detail, but I believe the resulting internal geometry of a grooved headbasket design will have a greater impact acoustically than mesh made from an alloy that may or may not be softer than the original.

The problem is not in the design of the parts, but rather in the assembly process.
Nothing needs to be re-designed, rather an assembly process needs to be devised.

In my opinion, there are two ways that the assembly could be done.

A) like this:



B) or build the rail+ring structure then put the mesh in later. We know that this is the way FLEA assembles their copy:

   

The difficulty with method B is that you need a fixture that can keep the parts in place as you weld (or solder)them together.
The real trick with such a fixture is designing it so that the fixture can be removed once the headbasket frame has been built around it.

I designed a fixture set this morning which I think will do the trick.
I will post some pictures in a sec.