BLUE Baby Bottle capsule info + mods??

Having learned that BLUE sells large diaphragm capsules (advertised as replacements for U47, U67, U87, etc.) for $400 USD each, the idea of a DIY tube mic using one of these capsules came to mind. Then I remembered that their Baby Bottle mic sells new for as low as $500. If the capsule is of comparable quality it makes more sense to buy the baby bottle and get a premade housing + hardware for my tube mic with it.
Anyone around here have any experience with the Baby Bottle or know about the capsule? (or the bluebird too?) Is it too optomistic of me to assume it's anything like their M7 replacement capsules? I understand the Baby is a good mic in it's own right and will probably be testing one next month, but I have heard mixed reviews. In the past I might've just bought one and looked into cap upgrades, but I'm really aching for a multi-pattern tube mic right now.

[EDIT] I just read on the site that the capsule is fixed cardioid (duh!). Oh well, the question still stands. Is it up to par and fit for some tube guts? Is it $400 better than an MXL cardioid capsule?

[EDIT #2] The manual is starting to answer some of these questions for me. I'll do my homework before posting next time .

Of potentially more interest is the "Red" branded mic that Blue has announced for impending sale on the Restoration Stores website. It's the size and format of the Baby Bottle, but with the bayonette mount of the original (big) Bottle mic, and is also supposed to be compatible w/ RFT and some other capsules. You'd probably be cramming in a mini-tube, and it could be a squeeze, maybe small even for an output transformer for all I know, but you wouldn't be saddled with the one capsule choice. Very little additional money compared to the Baby Bottle, it looks like.

Bear

Hey there,
my personal experience with the baby bottle hasn't been any good.. Everytime I had to put that mic up, I quickly replaced for something better. And sometimes cheaper....
They don't come with the capsules that are for sale by vintagemicrophone.com. There are some guys here that have used the cactus capsule.. do a search and you will probably find something..
take care
Gil

I have a link to the restoration store above but can't find anything about the Red mics. These have been mentioned quite a bit since NAMM last week but I've yet to see or read anything.

im pretty sure RED is a division of BLUE mics. in the new TapeOP mag, Red has a new mic of theirs shown, looks JUST like a neum*n 563 vintage mic, with swappable heads like they had with the m7,m8, and m9.

Jazzy Pidjay put a Blue Cactus head on a g7 body i think, check his thread in this forum (to many g7's, heres another) or something near that.

nice thing about the blue caps is that they are very nicely contained in the head allredy. presented very nice.

goodluck.

t

Here's a link to a story about RED:

http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM05/Content/Red/PR/Type-B.html

I really like my baby bottle, it makes a lot of difficult sources shine (upright bass and saxophone have been quite good for me). Of course everyone has their opinion, but i think this mic is fairly underated.

I did void my warranty recently in a failed attempt to peak at the inside...managed to break the seal without ever getting the damn thing open! Anyone have advice for opening the body tube?

here is posts about my mic

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=3876

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=5066

:guinness:

cool! :thumb: I guess it's time to start reading up on all of the G7 threads. Maybe when my mic pres are done.

Having to perform some repairs on a used BB, I had to figure out how to open it. When the microphone is manufactured, the large trim ring on the bottom of the microphone cylinder is glued to the threaded section of the microphone connector extending from the bottom of the microphone. The residue resembles Locktite residue. After trying several combinations of pliers and wrenches, some leaving marks unfortunately, I came up with a method that doesn't do too much damage to the sandblasted nickel plated surfaces.

Start by spraying a small amount of WD40 on the joint between the lower large trim ring and the microphone connector tube. Protect the rest of the microphone with a rag, especially the capsule area. Repeat several times over at least a 24 hour period. Do not remove any of the screws from the microphone, especially the one on the top of the capsule. This screw presses down of the rim of the capsule and seats it against two metal points serving as the capsule "mount".

I then placed a large "aircraft" hose clamp (the type with a screw driven worm gear to tighten) on the large trim rim after first protecting the trim ring with a piece of 1/8 inch thick cork strip (bulletin board covering from the home center). Tighten as much as possible without tightening onto the body tube. Place a smaller "aircraft" hose clamp with cork protection on the microphone connector cylinder. Clamp a monkey wrench handle into a bench vise with the opening of the wrench facing upward and the wrench extending to the right. Tape several layers of paper around the body of the microphone above the lower trim ring and extending beyond the capsule to protect the rest of the finish. Set the larger clamp into the open monkey wrench and tighten the wrench. Support the body of microphone with a block of wood so that it lies in the wrench level with the surface of the bench. Grab the smaller clamp with a pair of channel lock pliers and apply torque in the clockwise direction. If either aircraft clamp slips, retighten it. Eventually, the microphone connector should start to rotate with respect to the trim ring.

This method obviously will void your warranty. Also, use this information at your own risk. Your results may vary. With a little patience, it should be possible to open the case with minimal damage. In my case, the repair was successful and the microphone is back in operation. This method will probably work for other "bottle" mikes manufactured by BLUE, too.

I noticed that the front of the capsule had been dented in shipping so I decided to repair that also. Use care when handling the capsule assembly. It appears to be a very thin aluminum casting. The joint between the "stalk" and the rear grille half could easily be broken if too much force is applied there. In order to remove the front of the grille, I placed a very thin screwdriver blade into the joint between the front half of the grille and the back half. I very carefully wedged it between the two halves without twisting it. I was able to gradually seperate the two pieces. There are no fasteners holding the front of the grille on. Eventually, I was able to get a finger nail between the two halves. Then, I gradually forced the two halves apart.

To answer another question in this thread, it appears that it would be possible to remove the capsule assembly from the top of the microphone. The assembly is held onto the body with a nut and lockwasher. This would allow it to be exchanged with a bayonet assembly (which would have to be fabricated) so that other "bayonet" style capsules could be used on the microphone. This probably is not economical to do on a new mike considering the "Red" body is about the same price as a new BB but a number of these mikes seem to be showing up on eBay fairly regularly at reasonable prices.