Samson C01 modification with transound or similar...?

I have read the meta, and noticed also the wonderful "alice" microphone by scott.....he uses a transound mic capsule...would this type of capsule work in a samson C01...as per the meta, it sounds as if the capsule on the C01 is the problem...

If i can use it, where can i find a source ( im stateside ). Or, any other suggestions for that type of capsule that would work in the samson?

help me, help me!

bump.... :grin:

I'm pretty new here, and I don't know the answer to your question about using the Transound capsule in your Samson microphone, but as far as a source for the capsules is concerned, there is a link on the Alice microphone page. You can find it through the meta's, but I happened to have it bookmarked:

http://www.scotthelmke.com/transound.html

[quote author="Adadan"]I'm pretty new here, and I don't know the answer to your question about using the Transound capsule in your Samson microphone, but as far as a source for the capsules is concerned, there is a link on the Alice microphone page. You can find it through the meta's, but I happened to have it bookmarked:

http://www.scotthelmke.com/transound.html[/quote]

thanks...yup, i saw that a while a go....i am still wondering if it would work in the samson, as it has been determined that most of the noise from that mic is from the capsule, which is a non-powered electret....

Frankly, I don't think the S@mson C1 is worth the effort. You get much better microphones at almost the same price these days. The Studio Projects B1, for instance, is a very usable microphone. No part of the S@mson is so good that you could turn it into a cool microphoene by upgrading a few parts. The grill with all that foam isn't good. The circuit is pretty standard, nothing fancy. Sell it and buy a better microphone.

[quote author="Rossi"]Frankly, I don't think the S@mson C1 is worth the effort. You get much better microphones at almost the same price these days. The Studio Projects B1, for instance, is a very usable microphone. No part of the S@mson is so good that you could turn it into a cool microphoene by upgrading a few parts. The grill with all that foam isn't good. The circuit is pretty standard, nothing fancy. Sell it and buy a better microphone.[/quote]

yeah, i hear ya...but it was a gift from my wife..... =^p

i've actually got some decent snare sounds on it.....(not really high spl stuff....like brushes)...
and it turned out pretty good....i just would like to make it a little quieter
and would like to do so just for the diy of it..... :roll:

Okay, that changes the situation entirely :grin:
Perhaps one of those Transound capsules would be an option, then.

Lo-Fi: Of course you can try just swapping the capsules... also, theres nothing stopping you from basically building the same circuit that scott uses inside of your samson mic...

Mark strong sells the capsules www.transsound.net, and I believe scott may be also selling the capsules...

best of luck. :thumb:

The Transound capsules that have a built-in FET are pretty noisy as well. Now if you could fit a TSB-165A plus the extra FET and 1Gohm resistor in there, you might have something. But then I don't know anything about the rest of the circuitry, whether it would help or hinder the sound.

oops, forgot to mention I was thinking TSB 165A.... wich does need the fet and 1gohm... Thankfully scott isn't as absentmided as me.

[quote author="Scodiddly"]The Transound capsules that have a built-in FET are pretty noisy as well. Now if you could fit a TSB-165A plus the extra FET and 1Gohm resistor in there, you might have something. But then I don't know anything about the rest of the circuitry, whether it would help or hinder the sound.[/quote]

i think the samson does not have a capsule with a fet built into it....it's just a plain ole capsule that is unpowered. so i figured i would just put a quieter capsule in it...or is this the nature of the beast? (the configuration)

so is the alice microphone noisey? or does the resistor and the fet help with the noise ?

It's the built-in FET (with the cheap way they bias them) that makes most little capsules noisy. If the Samson capsule has no FET internally they might still be doing a cheapo FET anyway... or maybe it's something else in the mic circuitry. So if that's the case then maybe putting a whole different circuit and FET behind the capsule would improve things significantly. I can't imagine them spending money on quality parts or even much QC at that price, though - maybe you got an unusually noisy one?

Alice is very quiet, on a par with a good Oktava MK-012. Certainly suitable for quiet sources in a studio environment.

Edit: If the Samson capsule has a circuit-board in the back it's probably got an internal FET. If not, you could try replacing the capsule with a small capacitor (maybe 10pF?) and listening to the circuitry by itself for noise.

The C01 has a fet on the PCB schoeps type circuit.

The capsule is the cause of the noise as best I can tell.

I replaced parts on one of my C01s Fet, caps it made no difference. I ended up cutting one of the capsules up a picture should be in one of the meta threads.

[quote author="Gus"]The C01 has a fet on the PCB schoeps type circuit.

The capsule is the cause of the noise as best I can tell.

I replaced parts on one of my C01s Fet, caps it made no difference. I ended up cutting one of the capsules up a picture should be in one of the meta threads.[/quote]

EXACTLY!

i saw that picture, and thus my quest for the right capsule - something less noisy, as the meta says, it's not the circuitry that causes the noise, but the capsule...

what kind of capsule then could i replace the c01 for Gus ?

I don't know

Doesn't the C01 use an electret capsule? I'm pretty sure you can just pop a TSB165A in there. If it's not an electret, just leave the capsule bias disconnected.

[quote author="dayvel"]Doesn't the C01 use an electret capsule? I'm pretty sure you can just pop a TSB165A in there. If it's not an electret, just leave the capsule bias disconnected.[/quote]

well, i guess there is only one way to find out! i dont suppose there is much danger to the tsb165a....if it doesnt work, i guess i'll just make a different mic. out of it....

i know that the new transound will require 1.5 volts. which i guess i could run that power from the mic itself by adding a voltage regulator ?
i dont suppose that the capsule in the samson has any power to it...

[quote author="Lo-Fi"]i know that the new transound will require 1.5 volts. which i guess i could run that power from the mic itself by adding a voltage regulator ?
i dont suppose that the capsule in the samson has any power to it...[/quote]

You're thinking of capsules with a built-in FET, which the TSB-165 does not have. No power to the capsule should be needed.

[quote author="Scodiddly"][quote author="Lo-Fi"]i know that the new transound will require 1.5 volts. which i guess i could run that power from the mic itself by adding a voltage regulator ?
i dont suppose that the capsule in the samson has any power to it...[/quote]

You're thinking of capsules with a built-in FET, which the TSB-165 does not have. No power to the capsule should be needed.[/quote]


oh, good! i got confused because it said it's operating voltage was 1.5v

http://jlielectronics.com/transsound/electrets/tsb-165a.htm

i think that if it doesnt need any power then, it's got to work in the samson, and if that's the case, ill let you know if there's much of an improvement.

That's a slightly confusing diagram - the actual capsule is the part inside the dotted line. The rest is a suggested circuit.