My latest obsession K47 capsule

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tskguy said:
I did speak with him about them but he has them custom made and I didnt have the nerver to ask him. He said just a strip of brass would work and it did I just think it looks crappy.  I will most likely give him a call again and ask him if he is willing to part with a handfull.

E

Why don't you ask Dale, he might know a source. He hasn't contributed here lately, but I saw him post on Klaus Heyne's forum, and it looks like he's still into building capsules. Maybe he just needed a break from "mass" production.
 
I sent Dale an email awhile back asking about skins and havent heard any response yet. I will send him another and see if you reponds. I searched through a bunch of his post trying to see if he mentioned his source for ring terms with no luck. I also just finished the gcode for cnc'ing the backplates. I hope to have the machine built this weekend! It should help reproduce these with consistant results.

Eric
 
Many have copied this backplate. No one can tune it right. Not even Thiersch.

But maybe, you WILL come up with something nice.
 
desol said:
Many have copied this backplate. No one can tune it right. Not even Thiersch.

To my ears, the Thiersch PE sounded better than the PVC Neumann in Martin's samples:

http://www.panphonic.com/M7/

But on the other hand, I put the Thiersch PVC in last place.

Note, I judged only by the guitar strumming example; to me, these samples revealed the sonic differences more readily.
I also took the test blind, wrote down my opinions, then looked at the "tellme" page.


For what it's worth, I put them in this order:
1. Wagner rebuilt PE
2. Thiersch PE
3. Tie - Gefell PVC & Dale PE (Dale's sounds very different from all the other capsules, but I did like the sound)
4. Neumann PVC
5. Thiersch PVC

Maybe this tells me that I like PE capsules better than PVC.


Anyway, my opinion from listening to these samples, is that it appears Thiersch is able to tune this backplate design quite well (PE version at least).

Unfortunately, just yesterday I destroyed my Thiersch red line STW-7 while building a mic.
I won't be able to test his capsules in person until I get mine back from reskinning.
Anyone know if Thiersch is still doing the 25% off?

Lesson learned: Treat a $400 capsule like a $400 capsule.

 
I like the guitar strumming sample as well because he's hitting the guitar hard. For me, this points out the possible weaknesses in a given capsule. I'm listening on Yamaha NS30X's. Not studio reference(i have those too)...but pretty good sounding. I kinda lied, Gefell has the secret down too.  :-X  I think overall..i like the Gefell the best...but the Neumann would compete with a proper reskin!

General tie: Gefell, Neumann, Wagner. Good overall balance. Not too muddy, not too spikey. Good mid clarity. The Wagner is nice with the top roll off. The Neumann is nice..but a tad lacking in bass freq...probably due to age.

The Theirsch capsules sound nice...but bit muddy in the low end to me.
I do not own any of them...yet.
 
When I listened to these samples a quite a while a go, I liked the Neumann PVC best. But having had some experience with various capsules, I tend to distrust shootouts like that one. You really need to have listened to the mic in person. Also, most M7 style capsules sound a little different front and back.

My favorite capsule of that style is the Neumann K47/K49. I actually like it better than the M7, it is more versatile, too.

The Gefell M7 is said to be a little darker than the Berlin M7. I read somewhere that the backplate design was altered slightly for the post-war Berlin capsules. The Gefell ones supposedly still have the pre-war design.

Anyway, I have a U47 (K47 shortbody), a Gefell UM57 (original capsule in good shape) and a Gefell UM92S (PVC reskinned by Thiersch).
The best sounding, to my ears, is the U47 (what a surprise!). The UM92S comes in second, the UM57 third. Of course the electronics and the body/grille design also play a part in that equation. The two Gefells sound very nice, but the U47 is the one that floors me every time. It has a kind of realism in voice applications that I haven't heard from any other mic. It doesn't sound like a microphone at all, it sounds like you (actually a little better than you, but it makes you think it's you that sounds so good).

I also built three Dale M7 equipped mics. Unfortunately one fell on the floor, and the lollipop head broke off; the other ones were FET mics but are taken apart right now.
I really like Dale's M7. In timbre they to fall somewhere between a K47 and a Gefell M7. They do sound a little different from capsule to capsule and from batch to batch. They go from very usable to really nice. His later ones tend to be better than the earliest ones. Usually one side is a little darker than the other. I tend to prefer the slightly brighter side as it is closer to a K47. I still have a few Dale M7s left in my drawer, but I'd be happy to buy some more.

I'd like to try a Thiersch STW-7 PE; that could be the closest thing to a Neumann K47.
 
I'm presently waiting on a quote for two Gefell PVC M7's and a quote for two Neumann K47's. I'm a little afraid to hear the Neumann quote! It would've been nice to hear the k47 in Martin's test, but i agree that these types of tests are ultimately inconclusive of anything, having to do with the mic's actual usage in a studio.

Dale is awesome. He's a friend and i have the utmost respect for his design work.
I have a gut feeling that he is simply fine tuning things towards a finished design.

I'm not surprised at how good the Gefell is.
 
Hi all,

Nice to see my thread still alive! My progress is a little slow. I just recently completed my DIY CNC router! What a rabbits hole that was :eek: It is working well now and I hope to start drilling holes soon. Accuracy is the most important thing and getting my machine tuned well took some time. My first capsule (the one in the pic) sounds fine but is having some phase issues. My hope is that more accurate drilling will help that situation out. As soon as I get some good capsules skinned I plan on taking a mic to Columbia college here in Chicago to get the frequency response charted. I guess my main goal is to make a capsule that sounds good not necessarily one that sounds just like K47!

Eric
 
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