Re: [Harp-L] Re: Crystal mic elements

["steve warner" <10reedsbent@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 5/7/08, steve warner <10reedsbent@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Stephen,
> Precisely!   Regarding proper storage.  It's rare that someone does
> that.   BUT if you think I, for instance, keep my mouth shut regarding
> crystals then I'll bet you 1000 bucks I've got a whole slew of mics laying
> around that will smoke your 151.  I know how hot they are as a good buddy of
> mine was sponsered by CAD when they took over Astatics harp mics, he was
> able to cherry pick his 151 elements and keep the hottest ones and send the
> rest back and yes, they were all 5 megged when tested. ***** I'm not sure
> how many people know that in some of Shure's 70 year old spec sheets that
> having 5Meg on the amp's 1st grid stage will give more low end and a tad
> more output.  It isn't all that much, though.  He had elements coming out
> his ears and I ended up with several of the hot ones.  They're great
> elements and I love their biting tone, but there are hotter elements to be
> found that can take a real beating and that's why I've got many good ones
> laying around because my customers have literally told me to keep their old
> ones.  I've had many Astatics and BB's sent to me with dead crystals because
> they were dropped.  Rochelle Salt is a natural substance and they are fickle
> when it comes to quality control.....power output/voltage creation via
> piezoelectric effect....purity is the word here.  They're like a piece of
> non-tempered glass and they will crack...I've seen the cracks.   I dare
> anyone who say's they can fix a crystal actually do it even close to the
> original spec.
>
> Now,  I have a nice R7 in an old RCA Bullet, but I don't use it because
> it's not as hot as my personal CM's or CR's or the A1 element , but it does
> have fantastic tone and I wish it was at full strength.  Full strength R7's
> are about the best element ever, but try to find some.   I only keep it for
> nostalgic reasons.  I met a guy who's father was a Shure salesman 40+ years
> ago and he found a stock of R7 crystals in his fathers garage and they were
> all roughly 20% degraded in spec output, so I only bought one...for the heck
> of it.  You think they don't deteriorate?  Think again.
>
> That's just my 2 cents worth......from several hundred custom harp mics
> worth of experience and doing things with mics and elements that nobody has
> done before.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 5/7/08, spschndr@xxxxxxx <spschndr@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > If crystal elements are incredibly delicate flowers, as some have
> > claimed, why have I been using the same MC-151 in my go-to mic for nearly
> > ten years in heat/humidity-ridden Houston, TX?? I have to have taken it out
> > to a venue at least five hundred times by now.
> >
> > The reason is that I store it in a Tupperware container with desiccant
> > packs when it's at home.? Do the math: that's where the average mic spends
> > the majority of its time, not onstage or in transit.? Keep a crystal cool
> > and dry at home, and it will keep going.? Micro-Mark sells useful
> > desiccants, I think the camera shops do also, or you can just dump
> > in?whatever silica gel packets come out of new electronic packaging.? You
> > could probably even transport the mic in the airtight container if you want
> > to go all the way with that, keep it there between sets.? Don't leave it
> > where it might get too warm, like in the car's trunk parked in sunlight in
> > the summer.? Exercise common sense.
> >
> > Crystals that die due to being dropped are probably fixable, check the
> > archives for a discussion of the procedure.? Dropping one does not mean
> > certain death; a particular direction & force are required to unseat the
> > crystal.? Don't leave it sitting atop the amp; I set mine atop its cable on
> > the floor against the amp where it's not likely to?be kicked.? I do that
> > with other kinds of mic too.
> >
> > The corresponding caution with Shure CR/CM elements is not to store your
> > mic in the back of your amp because time spent close to large speaker
> > magnets may demagnetize the mic element.
> >
> > I think crystal mic fans seldom respond to expressions of crystal mic
> > phobia because keeping their mouths shut means more MC-151s for them, at
> > better prices.
> >
> > bullfrog, in the case of your biscuit, having a correct gasket for the
> > element/mic combo is crucial to driving the mic diaphragm hard enough to
> > induce distortion at that point; check harpmicgaskets.com for that.?
> > Biscuits did not originally have MC-151s in them.? You might also
> > double-check with Greg Heurmann to confirm that your inline VC is a
> > crystal-specific model, just in case; and a 5Meg grid load resistor on the
> > amp's input is a good idea for use with?harp mics in general, but especially
> > with an MC-151/VC combination.
> >
> > Stephen Schneider
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
> > http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
> >
>
>
>
> --
> steve
> www.thunderharpmics.com
> fattest tone on earth!




-- 
steve
www.thunderharpmics.com
fattest tone on earth!