DIY U87 clone, where to even begin?

[FrankStan52]

Hi all!
I've always had a fascination with audio equipment and electronics, and so I decided I would want to build a U87-Style Microphone.

Small problem however, I don't even know where to begin, there is so much information it's almost hard to handle.
Do I buy a kit or do I source parts myself? Where is the best place to get parts in Europe without having to pay exorbitant import fees? Where do you even get parts in the first place? I have done some digging, mainly on vintagemicrophonepcbkit and on the main build thread.

Could anyone please help me? I would love to get into building microphones, and who knows, maybe I could apply this to my Electronic Engineering Course?
Thanks so much in advace!

 

[OneRoomStudio]

All the answers to your questions and more have already been covered a lot here, but sometimes it takes some digging.

Basically, you have two options:
Option 1: Buy a kit and get building. This is probably your simplest option, or you could dig into Dan's PCBs.

Option 2: Learn about the circuit and then the world is your oyster. Start here.

 

[mrgrooves666]

Option 3: And another: https://groupdiy.com/threads/u87-revision-a-in-bm800-microphone-donor-body.78372/

 

[Paul W]

By far the easiest option is buying an AKG Perception 200 or 220 or 420 (or newer P220 or P420) and modding it with kingkorg's 5-minute mod to make its built-in EQ circuit roll off the treble the way a U87Ai does, by replacing a capacitor with one of a higher value, or easier yet just piggybacking a 2012(metric)-size (a.k.a. 0805 imperial size) SMT capacitor on top of the existing one.

https://groupdiy.com/threads/akg-perception-p220-to-neumann-u87-5-min-mod-p200-p100-p400-p420.67473/

BTW, the MicParts kit PCB is not a Neumann-type circuit. It's a Schoeps-type circuit, modded with HF rolloff (nothing wrong with that) and the capsule is no better than the one in the AKG Perceptions.

You can find the AKG Perception 200 for about $60 used in the US, and sometimes less. (Being a patient pawn shop shopper, I've gotten several for $30 to $45.) The multipattern version is more expensive ($100 or so, used?) but even new a P420 is only $200, regular price.

 

[ElSmurf]

Getting a kit is the easiest place to start, since you'll familiarize yourself with all practical aspects of the build - except the circuit itself. Micparts kits are great for that, since their documentation is excellent and you won't have to worry about sourcing parts and components, and end up with a decent mic. They're also the perfect gateway drug.

Getting Dany's D87 PCB, Arienne's K87, Moby's Bv.13 and sourcing everything else yourself is a better way to go if you want a mic that can hold its own next to the real thing. This is of course a more involved endeavor, and still won't teach you much about the circuit. But it'll be more fun than the kit.

As for where to source the other parts - only the body will require some searching, the components are all easily obtainable for an 87 build.

As you'll see, most of the parts I've listed come from outside the EU, only Moby's transformers are made here. That's just the current state of affairs.

 

[Paul W]

Getting a kit is the easiest place to start, since you'll familiarize yourself with all practical aspects of the build - except the circuit itself. Micparts kits are great for that, since their documentation is excellent and you won't have to worry about sourcing parts and components, and end up with a decent mic. They're also the perfect gateway drug.

Getting Dany's D87 PCB, Arienne's K87, Moby's Bv.13 and sourcing everything else yourself is a better way to go if you want a mic that can hold its own next to the real thing. This is of course a more involved endeavor, and still won't teach you much about the circuit. But it'll be more fun than the kit.

You could also put an Arienne K87 in an AKG Perception; that would be another very easy mod and arguably make the next-biggest difference. The circuit is already a detailed copy of Neumann's transformer-coupled circuit. (But would fine-tuning the bias be the next bestest thing to do?)

And as the thread I linked to above demonstrates, you can go off into the weeds replacing a few more components in the signal path with "higher quality" ones, like a styroflex capacitor, although I gather that many people aren't convinced it makes a significant (and positive) difference.