Microphone bodies wanted, where to find them?

I have a couple of very nice large diaphragm (34 mm.) capsules that I would like to use.
The electronics are not a problem, I can make my own PCB's and design my own circuits.
But the main problem is the body!
I have been looking around but in general the price for a decent microphone body is so high that you could buy a good microphone for that money!
I don't want to create something myself out of metal tube, because I am more an electronics man than a mechanics man...
I have found a Chinese company that offers U87-ish bodies for $75,--.
The problem is that you have to buy 100 of them...
Could it be an idea for a group buy? Any other ideas?

  We looked into a group buy a few months ago, and the prices were quite high, just for bodies.
  I have the good fortune (or not, depending on your viewpoint) of living in a large population area, and I've been able to buy microphones on the used market for very little. Just the other day I drove across town (almost 70 miles round-trip) to buy an Oktava MK-319 for $50 USD (@$60 including gasoline). The mic was in very good condition and fully functioning. I have one that I have modded, but wanted one to leave stock. They both sound nice.
  Sometimes mics go as low as $25 here for MXL, Nady, Apex, CAD, and M-Audio products. Unfortunately, you may not have such an opportunity in the Netherlands, but since all you need is the body, you might look for broken mics in the classifieds.
  I would suggest checking Craigs List in the nearest large cities.
Good luck!

http://www.ebay.de/itm/NEU-Pronomic-CM-11-Grosmembran-Mikrofon-inkl-Spinne-Studiomikrofon-Vokal-/400269135253?pt=DE_TV_Video_Audio_Mikrofone&hash=item5d31e64d95

looks like the same body as the Tbone SCT-700 Tube Mic. So a U47 stylish clone. Hardware is excellent.
regards
Bernd

Great! That is even cheaper than the price of a Chinese microphone body alone...
And the 'Microfonspinne' is included in the price! I just ordered one.
Just curious how good those microphones are without modding!
22 dBa self noise sounds a bit noisy to me! (15 dBa should be possible nowadays without problems.)

(BTW: Do you own one of these, of did you see them in real life?)

Hi,
I just ordered one as well. I´ve got a few of the Tbone SCT700 and as far as I can see from the picture they are the same. Lets wait and see. I wanted to use them for my C37 or C12 capsules. BTW, where are you located in Holland?
regards
Bernd

Baarn / The Netherlands

Oh yes, the Netherlands, I know the region around Almelo quite well, my brother lives there.
regards
Bernd

They won't sell just the bodies but the kits are inexpensive.

http://www.aurycle.com/aurycle-a460-large-diaphragm-fet-condenser-diy-microphone.html

I would be in for a few for a group buy if not for price., but (assuming US dollar) at $75/pc seems rather high for a body only, especially with a 100 unit MOQ. Does that price include shipping  per unit? At 100 units I'd exepct a finished microphone. (which I suppose is wasteful if the only thing maintained was the XLR connector.)

Even with the US dollar weak against the euro, that is a pretty good price. Looks like musikhaus-kirstein  only ships to the EU though. Kein versand nach USA. :'( (Although I shipped a mic to Germany, at about 4x the cost to ship the same mic to me in the USA.)

I have contacted the Chinese manufacturer, but for $7500.-- all you get is a big box with 100 microphone bodies.
The cost for individual shipping is not included!
And even worse: if you look at the picture, you will see that the body itself is blank metal...
That means you have to spray or powdercoat the bodies yourself!
Anyway: the musikhaus-kirstein microphone looks a lot more promising.
It is not only a complete functional microphone (we have to see how good or how bad they are), but  also have the electronics inside, they may be easy to modify.
I ordered two yesterday and saw to my surprise that I had to pay twice for shipping.
This morning I found already a message in my mailbox that this was a mistake, and that they wil refund the excess to my account.

Don't you know somebody in Europe who can buy it for you and send it? No idea what it will cost to ship it to the USA.

@bernbrue: after I ordered, I found that there is also a musikhaus-kirstein in the Netherlands...  ;D
That is what you get if you react over-enthousiastic. No problem, the price is still good and it gives a good feeling to have contributed a little to the German economy...

Hi,
you can get the same microphone at amazon uk as well. So people from abroad should try there. Eh, yes, thanks for contributing to german economy  ;D
regards
Bernd

bernbrue said:

Hi,
you can get the same microphone at amazon uk as well. So people from abroad should try there. Eh, yes, thanks for contributing to german economy  ;D
regards
Bernd

Click to expand...

And thank you for contributing to the Greek!  ;D

noulou said:

And thank you for contributing to the Greek!  ;D

Click to expand...

Hah, thats another story. Personally I hope that your economy is getting up on its feet soon. Please, don´t quit European Community. My personal contribution is that I have given a dog from Greek a new home here in Germany. She feels quite happy here with a big garden as her new terratory and all my kids around her. She is trilingual, Greek, French and German. Sometimes she even obbeys! 
regards
Bernd

Ruud, je hebt persoonlijke post. 

Would there be a way to remove the green logo and the text "Pronomic" from the body of the CM-11?
(It depends if the body is coated or has a laquer layer on it. I have had success with paint thinner in the past...)

RuudNL said:

Would there be a way to remove the green logo and the text "Pronomic" from the body of the CM-11?
(It depends if the body is coated or has a laquer layer on it. I have had success with pain thinner in the past...)

Click to expand...

"Pain thinner"..... ;D....nice typo,but we all know what you meant,hahahaha.....
Excuse me,couldn't resist

Udo.

Hahaha! I didn't see it myself. It should be "paint thinner" of course!  ;D

I take the MXL logo off 200x's with 99% isopropyl alcohol, a makeup remover pad, fingernail, and a bit of scrubbing.

Hi,
I received my microphone today.  Unfortunately it´s much smaller than the Tbone SCT700. From the pictures in ebay you can´t see a difference to the Tbone. In real life it has got almost the same shape, body and head basket, but it´s much smaller. However, a really nice mic for modding. Sorry to direct you on to the wrong track.
regards
Bernd

I received my microphones today too.
They even don't sound too bad as they are now, taking into account that they are only Eur. 55,--.
Self noise is lower than I would have expected, with a 22 dBa specification.
I think the first thing I want to do is bridge the contacts of the low-cut filter inside(!) the microphone.
At the moment I wiggle the little button, I can hear interruptions in the output.
It seems the polarisation voltage builds up rather slow, it gave me the impression that the microphone did not work...
Other things to check: FET bias and the DC-offset on the phantom power lines.
(Should be zero volts when the output transistors are properly matched, but I'll have to wait and see...)