ART M-Four microphone parts upgrade

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The Sugar Lion

Active member
Joined
Oct 7, 2016
Messages
32
This is my first post here so hello to all.

I am a total novice at any type of modification but would like to make this mic my first go at it. I was thinking it would be wise to upgrade some caps, capsule and transformer at some point. I was wondering if anyone here would be able to give me any advice with this mic. Are there certain caps that should be replaced and others that will not make any difference?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Hello!

Rather there's no schematic available online (you can always write to manufaturer and ask for it for self repair).
Microphone also rather isn't popular so if you want any help with modification, make good pics of PCB from both side as also the capsule. Then we can think about some mods ;)
 
Yes it seems that this is not a very popular Mic to mod. I'm not sure why there is a lot of room in the body and it is very easy to get at the capsule.

I tried to upload pictures but the add photo button in the forum here did not work. I can upload them to another site and link them if need be. There is also a good chance I can get a schematic. I'll see what I can do.

Thanks for getting in touch.

ln76d said:
Hello!

Rather there's no schematic available online (you can always write to manufaturer and ask for it for self repair).
Microphone also rather isn't popular so if you want any help with modification, make good pics of PCB from both side as also the capsule. Then we can think about some mods ;)
 
First step to adjusting a microphone is writing down what you don't like and also what you like.
The Sugar Lion said:
This is one of the most logical suggestions and I will be honest and tell you that I just got the thing and am still learning it.  Very first impression was that it saturates to easily. But let me get back to you in a couple of days.
:) :) :)
 
I did some test recordings today with acoustic guitar, shaker and vice and am pretty impressed with this thing the way it is. I did side by side comparisons with the Apex 460 it came out on top. It was not as bright and peaky in the highs and not as saturated and bloated in the lows. The overall feel of the M-Four is that it is more balanced, or perhaps less dished in the mid's.  If anyone is interested I can try and post some files. On a down note I think there might be some phase issues when moving into the figure 8 positions I will have to do some more recording to figure out what is going on with that though. I should mention that I have removed the inner screen from the head basket and put in a Groove Tubes tube in place of the stock tube.

Where the Apex won is that it had a slightly higher output and less noise. The M-Four that I have seems to have a bit of a 60Hz hum. to it. I would love to get the output A little hotter and kill the hum. It does not feel overly sibilant to me so I am very happy about that! As for the sound quality of it I think I am pretty happy with it.

I have pictures but they are all to big to attach. I will have to upload them to another service and link them.
 
Here are some pictures

https://www.pinterest.com/mikegoodwin3766/art-m-four-tube-mic/

Here is a link to a private playlist on soundcloud with the comparison between the Apex 460 and the M-Four. Just in case anyone finds it interesting. I am not a great guitar/Uke player so be kind :)

I hope it works https://soundcloud.com/mike-goodwin/sets/apex-460-vs-art-m-four/s-Zm47X
 
At the risk of talking to myself here. I was wondering if anyone here would be willing to take a look at the pictures I posted and tell me if there are any caps or resistors that I could safely upgrade to try and improve the overall clarity and noise levels of this mic.  Like I said I am pretty happy with it the way it is but if I can clean/tighten it up a bit I would be a happy camper.

I Can't seem to get the pictures to upload to the forum so I put them on Pintrest. Hope that works for people.
 
An easy way to improve the output, overall clarity and noise levels would be to junk the electronics and replace it with a more modern circuit like the Schoeps.

Microphone-Parts make some kits that do this nicely with premium parts.
 
ricardo - it's a tube mike :)

The Sugar Lion said:
I Can't seem to get the pictures to upload to the forum so I put them on Pintrest. Hope that works for people.

Not really - i have no account on pinterest, so i can't see pics larger size.
You can put pics into photobucket  or any other imge hosting server, and paste it to the message here.
 
ln76d said:
ricardo - it's a tube mike :)
I'm answering his request for mods that "improve the output, overall clarity and noise levels "

Now that I've seen his pics, my recommendation is reinforced.

If the ART has a separate PSU to power the tube, it may be worth keeping the tube in there with just the filament running & conneced to keep the mike warm.  I did that in the Calrec Soundfields with a 5W resistor.
 
Without account on pinterest i can only see small pics.

My opinion - check PSU, trace microphone circuit, draw schematic, change the tube and improve it.

Some idea!

Did you ever before used any condenser microphone with senistivity close to 12mV/Pa.
Many people, which use modern FET condensers where sensitivity is over 20mV/Pa thinks that microphone with lower sensistivity is noisy. Usual preamp, where is need of more gain sucks not  microphone itself. My suggestion - test it with some good preamp,
What preamp you are using now?
 
ricardo said:
I'm answering his request for mods that "improve the output, overall clarity and noise levels "

Now that I've seen his pics, my recommendation is reinforced.

If the ART has a separate PSU to power the tube, it may be worth keeping the tube in there with just the filament running & conneced to keep the mike warm.  I did that in the Calrec Soundfields with a 5W resistor.

So you think it is junk Ricardo? If so that is cool. I very well might be by many standards.

No need to talk about me in the third person though. If you are not interested in helping that is OK.  Perhaps it is not worth upgrading?
 
I am totally new and unable to do that. I was comparing it side by side with another cheap tube mic and this one was a little lower in output so it did not seem to far out of reason to think that by improving some parts I may be able to help it out a little. I have already replaced the tube with a decent GT. I was using a Golden age Pre 73. They are not super quiet by any means but it is definitely not adding the hum that I am hearing from the mic. I realize that I am asking for free help so if your not interested that is fine.



ln76d said:
Without account on pinterest i can only see small pics.

My opinion - check PSU, trace microphone circuit, draw schematic, change the tube and improve it.

Some idea!

Did you ever before used any condenser microphone with senistivity close to 12mV/Pa.
Many people, which use modern FET condensers where sensitivity is over 20mV/Pa thinks that microphone with lower sensistivity is noisy. Usual preamp, where is need of more gain sucks not  microphone itself. My suggestion - test it with some good preamp,
What preamp you are using now?
 
The Sugar Lion said:
So you think it is junk Ricardo? If so that is cool.
...
Perhaps it is not worth upgrading?
No I don't think its junk.  But if you want to "improve the output, overall clarity and noise levels ", the Microphone Parts kit will be cheaper, easier and give better results than eg buying supa dupa tubes .. or any other solution that keeps the tube(s).

If your comments about the sound were different, I might have recommended other stuff.  But if we assume you are not deaf and are reporting accurately, my recommendations still stand.

I've advised on tube mike design for other forum members.

And I'm serious about using the tube filament to heat the mike.  As I said, I designed this into what was at the time, the most expensive mike you could buy.
 
You seem awfully grumpy for no reason. Please calm down.

The Sugar Lion said:
No need to talk about me in the third person though. If you are not interested in helping that is OK.  Perhaps it is not worth upgrading?
Ricardo was answering ln76d, why wouldn't he refer to you in the third person?

The Sugar Lion said:
I realize that I am asking for free help so if your not interested that is fine.
People are giving you help. Read it and digest.

Best wishes,
Matt.
 
It seems that I have misunderstood. Sorry for being so grumpy.

Matt Nolan said:
You seem awfully grumpy for no reason. Please calm down.
Ricardo was answering ln76d, why wouldn't he refer to you in the third person?
People are giving you help. Read it and digest.

Best wishes,
Matt.
 
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