Favorite mic kit - MicandMod, AMI, Micparts.com, BeesNeez, other?

[MasterEvan07]

First post here!

I'm on my second mic build and it's kinda got me looking down the rabbit hole of possibilities for better this, that, and the other...problem is I'm an amp and guitar guy, so I've very little experience in high end mics and what to look for - I just know if it sounds good it is good.

What's the order of importance in a mic - capsule, transformer, etc. - for most significant impact on the response and tonality?

Who makes the highest quality kits or is it a pick your parts kind of thing?

Looking forward to learning more and having fun dipping my toes in this arguably unfamiliar world.

 

[rock soderstrom]

What's the order of importance in a mic - capsule, transformer, etc. - for most significant impact on the response and tonality?

Welcome! There are certainly many different opinions on this. In my humble opinion, the individual components are responsible for the sound in the following order:

Capsule, capsule, capsule, type and quality of the head amplifier circuit (tube, FET, etc.), grille and body, PSU, transformer and component quality.

The whole thing should be taken with a spoonful of salt.

 

[soliloqueen]

Welcome! There are certainly many different opinions on this. In my humble opinion, the individual components are responsible for the sound in the following order:

Capsule, capsule, capsule, type and quality of the head amplifier circuit (tube, FET, etc.), grille and body, PSU, transformer and component quality.

The whole thing should be taken with a spoonful of salt.

controversial but in my experience i would honestly switch body and circuit. only provided that the circuit is implemented correctly though. a working but cost cut schoeps circuit will affect the sound of a mic a bit, but a bad body? like a truly bad body? yikes. i had a mic in here recently that rung so strongly that when you spoke into it, it sounded like talking into a tin can on a string. 5 seconds of disassembly and reassembly later, it sounded fine.

 

[Андрій Чубака]

Mic it is like complete and solid product. Every part in mic is important and can change sound. Not always you just can take some one good part like a capsule and have from it good mic instantly. Sometime is cheap parts is also working very good. If you want a good mic better try something wich is already tested by other people and you know about result is good and same as you needed. Every different voice need different mic for best performance in recording. In some case low frequency is preferred, in other case is more smooth sound is needed.

For guitar for example i hear good samples from k-47 capsule. But is my opinion for voice this kind of capsule is not preferred. Maybe just only for gangsta rap bands.

 

[rock soderstrom]

controversial but in my experience i would honestly switch body and circuit. only provided that the circuit is implemented correctly though. a working but cost cut schoeps circuit will affect the sound of a mic a bit, but a bad body? like a truly bad body? yikes.

You can certainly see it that way. It probably depends on your own experience. I have not had a really super bad body but already totally lousy headamps with noise and bad sound.

 

[MasterEvan07]

What're some great capsules and bodies? Interesting that the grill and body play a significant role, I get the grill to a certain degree, but hadn't considered the body would be an issue.

 

[kingkorg]

What're some great capsules and bodies? Interesting that the grill and body play a significant role, I get the grill to a certain degree, but hadn't considered the body would be an issue.

Body has a resonance to it and could ring at certain frequencies. Also it is a hollow helmholz resonator connected directly to the capsule. I measure capsules without any body or grille. The second i attach capsule to anything it changes the response. And not by a small margin.

I also join Soliloqueen's conclusion, assuming the circuit is doing it's job as it should, most being linear and presumably quiet, the circuit comes after the capsule and body/grille.

Of course there are some mic models that require the circuit to be nailed, and that could be tricky. Example would be u67, where performance of the circuit would be crucial. Or something like Sennheiser MKH 800, not that anyone is cloning these - sadly.

Best capsules I've encountered so far are the two from Soliloqueen described in a thread here on Groupdiy. Best CK12 would be Tim Campbell's. No experience with body/pcb kits.

 

[ElSmurf]

I'd try my hand at a micparts kit, just for the amazing build guide they offer. If you build one of their mics using their build guide, you will have a very solid understanding of the practical peculiarities involved in building DIY mics. And a decent mic. That's how I got started.

After that, you can look into sourcing all the parts yourself - vintagemicrophonepcbkit.com or Vami sound is a good place to start for PCBs. For tranformers, Moby is the place to be. And as kingkorg mentioned, Soliloqueen/Arienne Audio capsules are a no-brainer - very high quality for a very reasonable price. Finding good bodies takes a bit more digging in my experience.

 

[MasterEvan07]

I'd try my hand at a micparts kit, just for the amazing build guide they offer. If you build one of their mics using their build guide, you will have a very solid understanding of the practical peculiarities involved in building DIY mics. And a decent mic. That's how I got started.

After that, you can look into sourcing all the parts yourself - vintagemicrophonepcbkit.com or Vami sound is a good place to start for PCBs. For tranformers, Moby is the place to be. And as kingkorg mentioned, Soliloqueen/Arienne Audio capsules are a no-brainer - very high quality for a very reasonable price. Finding good bodies takes a bit more digging in my experience.

A new resource, cool - thanks!

 

[Delta Sigma]

In order, my three favourite capsules (price considered) are Tim's CT12, Beesneez' M7, Arienne Flat K47. I love the U67 clone I made with a Beesneez K6, but I'm not sure the K67 capsule is useful to me outside of the filtered U67 (or U87) circuit. I am not a fan of the two K47 capsules I have (Beesneez K7, Maiku K47). Both are nice capsules but their high mid bump makes them less versatile to me. Then they work on a source, they work very well, but they don't always work.

I have a TLM67 --> U67 build on the go, but Neumann capsules are are hard to consider with their ginormous price tag.

 

[MasterEvan07]

I just finished my second build last night along with the power supply and everything works perfectly. No noise floor to speak of, nice and clear sound, etc.
My mic locker is slowly growing.
I really want to build a U47 now that I have an Ela M-251 style build done. Maybe some Moby iron and an Arienne capsule...several places to source other parts. I understand now why lots of places offer just the body as a "body kit" seeing as a good body is such a challenge to source and so important to the overall/end result.

 

[neowalla]

I'd try my hand at a micparts kit, just for the amazing build guide they offer. If you build one of their mics using their build guide, you will have a very solid understanding of the practical peculiarities involved in building DIY mics. And a decent mic. That's how I got started.

After that, you can look into sourcing all the parts yourself - vintagemicrophonepcbkit.com or Vami sound is a good place to start for PCBs. For tranformers, Moby is the place to be. And as kingkorg mentioned, Soliloqueen/Arienne Audio capsules are a no-brainer - very high quality for a very reasonable price. Finding good bodies takes a bit more digging in my experience.

I second EISmurf's reply. I started down this rabbit hole in the fall of 21 with a micparts.com S87 kit and yes the build guide is definitely worth a lot especially if you are just starting out building microphones. After some experience it is nice to go the vintagemicrophonepcbkit.com route and source your own parts, body, capsule, etc, but understand there is no "build guide" as such. There is a wealth of information on each board Dan sells right here on this forum, but you will need to dig through pages of conversation and be patient. It's not all laid out for you step by step. The great thing there is the variety of mic models he has PCBs for.
I still occasionally build circuit mod kits from microphoneparts but source bodies and capsules elsewhere.
The FET47LB kit from UTM produced a pair of nice mics.
I'm eagerly looking forward to possible future kit offerings by Arienne.

 

[ElSmurf]

The FET47LB kit from UTM produced a pair of nice mics.

Didn't know about UTM, thanks for bringing them to my attention. They seem to have a nice choice in transformers for people in Europe.

 

[MasterEvan07]

Has anyone compared the Micandmod.com U47 kit to other U47 kits/builds/Oliver Archut version?
I kinda want to get it and use the Arienne Flat K47 and Moby BV08 transformer, but I'm open to other suggestions/direction.

 

[ElSmurf]

I have no experience with m&m products, but seeing you're in the US, that would be a pretty expensive kit. Especially if you won't be using their capsule and transformer.

My suggestion would be to source your own body and PSU enclosure, get the D-EF47 PCBs from Dany, Soliloqueen's flat K47 and Moby's BV08. Dany's PCBs are pretty straight forward, well documented on the forum, and come with a clear BOM. And then you can still go crazy with caps etc.

 

[MasterEvan07]

I have no experience with m&m products, but seeing you're in the US, that would be a pretty expensive kit. Especially if you won't be using their capsule and transformer.

My suggestion would be to source your own body and PSU enclosure, get the D-EF47 PCBs from Dany, Soliloqueen's flat K47 and Moby's BV08. Dany's PCBs are pretty straight forward, well documented on the forum, and come with a clear BOM. And then you can still go crazy with caps etc.

Looking into these recommendations now, thanks! What's the difference between the D-EF47 and D-47? I feel like I'm overlooking something trying to find what differentiates them.

 

[MasterEvan07]

Never mind, I see there's the dual tube vs. single tube.

 

[rock soderstrom]

Never mind, I see there's the dual tube vs. single tube.

Yes, and the tube type is different. EF800 family vs 6028/408A.

Edit: PSU and heater arrangement are different too.

 

[MasterEvan07]

Yes, and the tube type is different. EF800 family vs 6028/408A.

Edit: PSU and heater arrangement are different too.

Building PSUs for tube mics is somewhat new to me though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that they range in design and supply because they have unique needs by tube, amps are no different essentially.

…I guess I find myself wishing there was a “universal” supply with myriad heater, plate, and pinout options. It would be quite cumbersome though, so I understand why there isn’t one.

 

[ElSmurf]

I guess I find myself wishing there was a “universal” supply with myriad heater, plate, and pinout options.

Where's the fun in that?

I remember having more work with trying to figure out how to fit everything in the PSU enclosure than with the PCB and wiring itself. They're relatively simple circuits and require less attention to detail than what's inside the mic itself.