Gus' MXL 603s mod - Pictures/Part numbers -thanks Flatpicker

[Svart]

I couldn't see any clipping on the waveform but it seemed slightly offset.  I'll take a closer look again tonight.

I changed one of the mics over to the true Schoeps circuit but didn't hear much difference either.

 

[Marik]

There kind of a mini explanation here:
http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=30808.0

I cant find the big thread for some reason....

I think I posted it in Black Market and it was deleted. I wish I did all the write up on Word document, first... :-[

I completely changed the whole time delay circuit and instead of two-chamber design turned it into three-chamber one. That is, beside the back-plate I made two plastic pieces (instead of original one). This allows to tune the capsule in very wide range for different tonal balance.
I actually was working on another very promising solution, but at the moment don't have much time to devote to finish it.

Best, M

 

 

[jbl]

I am having trouble finding the 1000pf Xicon Styroflex polystyrene cap from Mouser. Any help?

thanks

 

[audiophreak]

Hi,
  I got some styros from here - http://www.justradios.com/capacitors.html  - and had good luck.

 

[jbl]

thanks for the site. Could someone actually link me to the actual part? I'm a bit of a noob and this is my first mod undertaking.

 

[Svart]

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Xicon/23PW210/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMskl60Y%252bU5iXVEP1cD%252bQld5EKsl%2f0FmL2M%3d

or

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Xicon/23PS210/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMskl60Y%252bU5iXVEP1cD%252bQld5Ro4QOAmq%252bTI%3d

 

[jsaxon]

I'm interested in some really BASIC info:
1. Do I need to be looking into a finer soldering iron than I'm used to, for this kind of de-soldering and soldering?  I'm used to what we called a 'soldering pencil', and I'm more used to making cables than this sort of thing.  I don't want to burn a hole through the circuit board, y'know. 

2. There seem to be various 'de-soldering braids' available from Digikey.  Any preferences?

3. And solder.  I guess the stuff I've been using to sweat copper pipe is not the recommended solution, ha ha.  Where should I look, and for what particular solder?

Thanks for your patience and help!
Jeremy

 

[Sleeper]

Kester 63/37 lead solder
yes a "pencil" is fine.
and I hardly every use desoldering braid , but it all looks pretty much the same... a desoldering tool is not that much money and much better.

 

[hazmatstrat]

anyone know where I can get some more of those little screws that hold the micbody in place?
The 3 little suckers that are right around the bottom...

Hey Stich,

I found that Maryland Metrics has just about any screw you may need. Call them they are very helpfull

http://mdmetric.com/

Best,
Jim

 

[stitch-o]

anyone know where I can get some more of those little screws that hold the micbody in place?
The 3 little suckers that are right around the bottom...

Hey Stich,

I found that Maryland Metrics has just about any screw you may need. Call them they are very helpfull

http://mdmetric.com/

Best,
Jim

Thanks Jim!
That went directly into my 'parts' bookmark folder.
I will be talking with them soon I'm sure.

Warren, from ZenPro, got me in touch with the MXL rep and he sent me enough to replace
the ones I needed.

I gotta say, I've been using my Marik modded diaphragms on a pair of the royer MA-1 tube SDCs
and they are NICE. Like "holy crap!" nice.  ;D
Here's a pic after I replaced the mylar with a nice Hovland.

 

[hazmatstrat]

anyone know where I can get some more of those little screws that hold the micbody in place?
The 3 little suckers that are right around the bottom...

Hey Stich,

I found that Maryland Metrics has just about any screw you may need. Call them they are very helpfull

http://mdmetric.com/

Best,
Jim

Thanks Jim!
That went directly into my 'parts' bookmark folder.
I will be talking with them soon I'm sure.

Warren, from ZenPro, got me in touch with the MXL rep and he sent me enough to replace
the ones I needed.

I gotta say, I've been using my Marik modded diaphragms on a pair of the royer MA-1 tube SDCs
and they are NICE. Like "holy crap!" nice.  ;D
Here's a pic after I replaced the mylar with a nice Hovland.

I like the CE and UL listing on the tracer ammo box.  ;D

I want to get mxl 2 capsules made by Mark. I havent decided if I want to put a tube in them. How is the bass response on these mics with a tube. I put a 5703 in a MXL 993. The bass / mids were amazing.


Jim Jacobsen
JJ Audio

 

[stitch-o]

Thanks Jim!

Full and rich.
This the 5840 circuit. I used a NOS mullard replacement (CV somethin'-somethin')
David seems to use that tube a lot.
Not as hyper accurate or percussive with transients as some of the solid state SDCs I've used
but the definition, detail and 'feel' of the recordings is outstanding, especially in the low mids and bass.
Also, the high end is airy without any hint of sharpness or grit.
I've been using these 12-14" out, 12th fret pointed towards the sound hole on acoustic guitar.
I find no need for a second mic; everything is right there.
Absolutely stellar recording tools.
If I can dig up a sample that isn't in a clients session, I'll post it here.

Have you played with different caps in your mics?
I've got a list of caps I'd like to try including what
I thought I saw in the guts of one of your "dogs" somewhere: a Mundorf or Ampohm maybe?...

Cheers brudda!

 

[hazmatstrat]

Thanks Jim!

Full and rich.
This the 5840 circuit. I used a NOS mullard replacement (CV somethin'-somethin')
David seems to use that tube a lot.
Not as hyper accurate or percussive with transients as some of the solid state SDCs I've used
but the definition, detail and 'feel' of the recordings is outstanding, especially in the low mids and bass.
Also, the high end is airy without any hint of sharpness or grit.
I've been using these 12-14" out, 12th fret pointed towards the sound hole on acoustic guitar.
I find no need for a second mic; everything is right there.
Absolutely stellar recording tools.
If I can dig up a sample that isn't in a clients session, I'll post it here.

Have you played with different caps in your mics?
I've got a list of caps I'd like to try including what
I thought I saw in the guts of one of your "dogs" somewhere: a Mundorf or Ampohm maybe?...

Cheers brudda!

Stitch

I have tried many caps in my mics. The big black caps are the Axon caps. Korby uses them in his mics. I just tried a big green Russian PIO with a 6ak5w circuit. They sound very good but they are very big. I use a big blue Wima cap in my Akita mic.
I use a lot of Wima, Panasonic, and Polystyrene whenever I can.


Best
JJ

 

[abechap024]

Ahh I want I want!

 

[roaka1]

hey guys,
i got the modded 603s pair. Ive bought em as a new pair. There was no info about matched pair or not...., but one microphone is more bright and has more highfrequecy hum.

here is what i tried:
i checked the board, all parts and solder look similar.
i switched the cables, mic-capsule and the preamps too, problem still appears at the same mic.

I actually planed to record drumoverheads. I need to know if there is a way to make this mic less brighter to make em both match!
I dont really know what the condensers and other parts on the board really do and how they affect the sound... ive just modded the mics by paper

Any ideas?

 

[riggler]

Are the boards clean / pretty free of flux everywhere?

 

[okgb]

those capsules can vary quite a bit  , try swapping them onto the each other body and see if the problem follows
there was someone here rebuilding the sd caps but it wasn't as cheap as the mics themselves

 

[roaka1]

thanks for replying!
i swapped the capsules, but they didnt change the sound (they are good).
I noticed that one board looks much older than the other, the green color is almost gone, looks dirty... tho' they were new and shipped in one case.
The solderdots are clean and dont hit each other.
The parts look identical; the color on the resistors are the same and the capazitors... hmm, they look similar.  :-[

-Could there be a variation of the capazitors?
-Is there a way to clean such boards, im a bit afraid to use water  : ?

 

[rantanplan]

Hi there!

Nice thread, thanks to all contributing here!

i have a question: Is there any disadvantage if i replace the capsule/gate cap with one of 1500pf ? i can get some nice philips styroflex caps but no smaller than 1500pf.

Yesterday i did some recording in the basement of some friends house. The mic was really noisy but not white noise... it sounded to me more like some mechanical issue (very LF rumbling with some hiss) . A week earlier i used the moded mic for recording a tabla and there was no issue at all.

It was quite damp in the basement - maybe that was the reason for the rumble?

Thanks for your comments.

 

[abechap024]

Hi there!

Nice thread, thanks to all contributing here!

i have a question: Is there any disadvantage if i replace the capsule/gate cap with one of 1500pf ? i can get some nice philips styroflex caps but no smaller than 1500pf.

Yesterday i did some recording in the basement of some friends house. The mic was really noisy but not white noise... it sounded to me more like some mechanical issue (very LF rumbling with some hiss) . A week earlier i used the moded mic for recording a tabla and there was no issue at all.

It was quite damp in the basement - maybe that was the reason for the rumble?

Thanks for your comments.

Yes, 1500pf should be fine. interesting note though, alot of the older mics use 680pf, I think the reason is the capsules themselves can pick up a lot of LOW frequency and 680pf helps maybe clean up some of that, but anyway I have done a lot of mics with 1200pf and they sound fine.

Rumbling is definitely related to moisture in the air, I've had some problems with some of my mics doing that, and a mixture or storing the mics in plastic bags with silica gel packets(desiccant) helps solve the problem, but it seems like some capsules are more prone to it than others, usually the dirtier ones.