RE: [Harp-L] Favorite Mic

[Buck Worley <boogalloo@xxxxxxx>]

Richard-
I have heard more than 1 account of MC151s that have come back to life after storing them in a warm (not hot) humid free spot for a month or longer. 
 
Mike- 
Do the old fenders have 1 meg inputs? Sorry for such a stupid question. The amps that I use the most are a 1959 champ, '66 princeton and a '66 bassman AB165. I usually use vintage JT30/mc151s. I have several and I know that some are hotter than others when "new" albeit one has lost some response just from lots of use and has been exposed to heat and humidity. With those mics, I always use a vintage switchcraft VC (discontinued part#320 I think). Usually I run to a Boss 7 band eq and a DD2 or echoplex EP2. I am not a tech but know just enough to be dangerous.....Do you know what pot the switchcraft VC has and does the switchcraft VC solve the 1 meg input situation even if the amp does not have 1 meg input(s)?
 
> The Crystal Balls I have has a low value pot. If yours does (under a meg), 
> toss it and install a 10 meg to 30 meg linear taper (NOT audio taper - those 
> are for tone controls) pot.
 
Didn't Tom of Tom's Mics in Dallas build those Crystal Balls mics years ago? I remember when he sold them. One would think he or whomever designed and built the mic would have known about this especially since those were marketed as harp mics unlike the old JT30s that were marketed as radio or dispatch type mics.
 
Also, I have 2 JT30s where on the back of the element, in raised letters/numbers cast into the aluminum is "MC127" but they both have a sticker that says "MC151". I was told that Astatic/CTI accidently broke the mold for the MC151 so they built the MC151 on the MC127 base plate (for lack of a better term). I was not aware that the MC151s were out of production.
 
Anyone know where I can find a Shure R7 crystal element? Last time I saw anyone offering these was Greg at blowsmeaway a few months ago and he only had 4 or 5 that got snapped up before I could get one.
 
Regards,
Buck
 

> From: ironmanmc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Favorite Mic
> Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2011 07:24:25 -0800
> CC: 
> 
> 
> The Crystal Balls I have has a low value pot. If yours does (under a meg), 
> toss it and install a 10 meg to 30 meg linear taper (NOT audio taper - those 
> are for tone controls) pot. All Electronics has these.
> 
> You're probably aware that Astatic has discontinued the MC151 crystal 
> cartridge. The MC127 ceramic is still available (I believe). They have a 
> sound similar to crystal elements, and my experience with them is that 
> they're indestructable..
> 
> If you use crystal or ceramic mikes, never run it into an input of less than 
> 1 megohm. It will sound thin and tinny. There is a simple fix. Build a 
> buffer amp for it. You'll need a cheap 741 op amp (should be WELL under a 
> dollar), a pair of 9 volt carbon zinc batteries (cheapies), 2 battery clips, 
> a pair of 1/4" jacks (I recommend stereo, so unplugging either one cuts 
> power.
> 
> The output is connected to the inverting input. This clamps gain at unity, 
> and REPLACES ALL POWER LOSSES IN THE INPUT. This make the input impedance 
> INFINITY. Your crystal/ceramic *loves* this, and now has a big fat sound, 
> as well as that "natural distortion" these are noted for having. If you 
> need a volume control, either get a 10-30 meg linear taper in th mic, or 
> install it AFTER the buffer.
> 
> 
> -Mike
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Richard Trafford-Owen" <richardtraffordowen@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: "Harp-L" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, November 07, 2011 10:10 PM
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Favorite Mic
> 
> 
> > Well, up until recently, my favourite mic was my Crystal Balls (Astatic). 
> > I'm
> > slowly coming to terms with the fact that the crystal has gone. Thanks 
> > everyone
> > for the advice. I have not completely let go yet. I've taken the element 
> > apart
> > and once I dissolve away the glue on the diaphragm, I'll be able to see if 
> > the
> > crystal has just slipped and can be easily fixed. Not sure what mic I'm 
> > going to
> > look to to get a nice crunchy sound, but there seems little point in 
> > trying to
> > replace the crystal since it is so hard to get them. A little piece of 
> > history
> > is slipping away.
> >
> > For a clean sound (non blues), I love my SM58. I also use a cheap Radio 
> > Shack
> > lavelier mic that I hold in my hand by slipping it under my wedding ring. 
> > This
> > allows me to get a lot of dynamic hand sounds and also percussive sounds. 
>