MXl2001 grill mesh removal without destroying?

I like the royer mod, however the mic seems like it could be little more open on the high-end. I think the mesh maybe effects this somewhat.

I'm planning to remove a layer or two of inner mesh, what's the best way to do it without destroying the grill?

Let's hear your techniques for doing this.

I have read the other posts, however I have not heard some of you have actually done to remove it.

I just got one, havent removed the grill yet though. I did remove the grill on my 990's... 3 layers is WAY to much! I used long needle nose pliers and some patience... I just pulled up a little bit of screen at a time...one of them turned out great, the other has a slight deformity in the upper corner now... though I think I can fix it with some epoxy, I have just been lazy.

I pulled the inner layer of screen on mine, just did it by working needlenose pliers under the layer and twisting gently to pull it out of the welds/epoxy/whatever it is. It was some work, but they came out alright.

Getting started is the hardest part...

This worked well for me.
Take small tip needlenose and push one end *gently* into the screen directly in the middle of the layer (i.e. where the capsule would be pointed out of the basket). Close pliers to squeeze and pull the layer out a bit. Then cut through the screen with wire cutters and twist away!

Oh, and be carefull not to cut yourself.

One inside grill removed from the front of the mic so far. Did you guys remove 1 or 2 and didi your remove front and back? Your thought's on the sound change too?

My friend used the mic last night, minus one inner grill from the front. He compared it against tracks from the other night with all grills in place.

I heard the tracks today and the Mic minus the one grill is more open sounding on the high freq's.

I think I'll leave it alone for now; however has anyone removed both and can you tell me what you think? Did you remove grills from both the front and back etc...

Removing grille mesh is a great mod, isn't it?

I always strip my mics down to just one layer of the most open-weave mesh. I can't remember if this meant removing one or two layers from a bunch of Oktava MK219's, 319's, Studio Projects C1 and various MXL mics.

For a reference test signal I like to use this sentence: "She sells, sea shells by the sea shore". The unmodded mics generally sound sloppy like this: "she shells, shee shells by the shee shore" compared to the reduced-grille layer mics.

That extra wire just messes up the transient response. By the way, I've yet to run into RF or EMI problems with a single layer grille.

I'm also fond of placing little conical foam absorbers around the base of the capsule mount to absorb and diffuse HF reflections within the head basket.

I wonder if you could use a dremal tool with a cut-off wheel? You'd have to be careful, but one zip around the base of the grille would do it.

Using a Dremel tool? You could try this, but I would be very cautious. I learned early on in my experiences building violins that power tools can be your friend, but sometimes they are too aggressive, too fast. For delicate operations it might be slower by hand, but if things start going wrong, it's easier too stop the damage before it runs away on you.

Well, the outer grille is much thicker, so I doubt a "nick" from a cutting wheel running at low speed would ruin it. However, I?m not advocating that anyone try this if they don?t feel comfortably doing it.