Ideas for Grampian GR2 Ribbon Mic Rebuild

[Deadly Mix]

I've had this vintage British Grampian GR2 ribbon mic for almost 20yrs. It didn't work when it arrived from eBay. I took it apart back then and all this black stuff that seemed like old disintegrated foam of some sort came out.
I've examined in and everything else appears to be undamaged, so I'm not sure what's wrong with it.

I talked to Wes back then and he said he could convert it into a BK5, but it was many years ago. I didn't yet know what an RCA BK5 was, I didn't know what a legend I was speaking to, I didn't have much money, and I was only interested in vocal mics back then.
I tried calling up AEA a few years ago, but the offer to convert it to a BK5 was off the table.

Any ideas for what to do with it??

If there was a better option than an RCA BK5, I think Wes would've mentioned it. However, if any does have a better idea, I'd love to hear it.
We also have a vintage RCA 77B (1932), so it wouldn't likely be our main ribbon. I just want it to be something we're likely to get a lot of use out of when we track clients.

Any ideas on how to go about the BK5 mod? A restoration would be fine, but an upgrade would be better.

 

[Tubetec]

If its all there and the ribbons intact why does it need modification ?
Chances are its only a wiring issue internally or wrong pinout ,

https://xaudia.com/2012/05/motm-grampian-gr1-and-gr2.html

 

[ruffrecords]

I bought a couple of brand new GR2 ribbons back in the 60s. I still have one. The other became faulty after many years, so like you, I took it apart and a lot of black stuff fell out. The was the black foam rubber cushioning the the ribbon and its magnet. At that time there was a guy i the UK who refurbished ribbon mics (I forget his name) and a sold it to him for quite a bit more than I paid for it. He refurbished it and sold it one.

The other one I have and it still works (but I expect the foam in that has also turned to dust).

They are lovely sounding mics. I am sure you would like it if you had it refurbished rather than converting it to something else. One great thing ab out it is that the polar response on both sides is identical. This makes them great for us as a crossed pair for stereo recording. It did did a recording this way and when I played it back on headphones I was astounded that you could "feel" the acoustic of the room. It was eerie.

I am not certain if it was the one I used but there is a UK company that repairs Grampian and other classic ribbon mics: https://xaudia.com/

Cheers

Ian

 

[Rob Flinn]

+1 with Xaudia. He has refurbed two B&O BM3/4 for me & also he refurbed a stereo Lustraphone ribbon mic for me. Always happy with Stewarts work.

 

[k brown]

Is yours black on the back and silver on the front? That model is 'semi-cardioid' from having a sheet of foam behind the ribbon. This semi-cardioid model is no where near as sophisticated in it's pattern-forming as the BK-5; can't think what Dooley had in mind.

https://www.coutant.org/rcabk5/index.html

 

[ruffrecords]

Is yours black on the back and silver on the front? That model is 'semi-cardioid' from having a sheet of foam behind the ribbon. This semi-cardioid model is no where near as sophisticated in it's pattern-forming as the BK-5; can't think what Dooley had in mind.

https://www.coutant.org/rcabk5/index.html

I suspect it was to compete with the popular Reslo ribbon which had a semi-cardioid polar pattern and was a common stage mic for bands of all kinds.

Cheers

Ian

 

[MicMan]

I have one of these. As Brian says, the 'black stuff' is just old, decomposed foam rubber to insulate it from handling noise, rattling etc.

As mentioned, Stewart at Xaudia.com can easily re-ribbon it and restore it. Look at this: https://xaudia.com/shop_item/grampian-gr-ribbon-microphones-gramp

If there's no ribbon left inside the mic - in the magnet gap - and you're feeling really adventurous, you could re-ribbon it yourself, following Larry Killip's instructions here: http://www.lkmusic.co.nz/ribbonfix.htm . (I just re-ribboned my own similar Lustraphone ..but I've sent that to Stewart to have a more appropriate (i.e; louder) transformer fitted).

Stewart may take 3 weeks or so - maybe more, depending on how much work he has waiting to be done - to get the mic done ..plus delays at Customs coming into the UK and back into the US! ..So it's worth trying it yourself, if you've got steady hands and if the ribbon's (probably) broken.

With a good ribbon inside (..DON'T bother converting it into something else!..) those Grampians really do sound great.

(P.S: If you want to hear how one of these sounds, go to https://colepicksvintage.com/pages/samples and just scroll about halfway down through the audio samples to Grampian GR2.)

 

[materials to outlet]

I have a Grampain GRX that Stewart at Xaudia refurbished. IIRC, there were 2 models of these mics, one bi-directional and one unidirectional- the GR1 and the GR2. Stewart cleans all the disintegrated junk out of both, replaces the transformer with his better spec-ed one and re-ribbons them. Since they are both the same mic (just the directional version has more foam and stuff in there) once Stewart is done with his rehab/upgrade he dubs them GRX.

I love this little mic- it well out-performers what I paid for it, and Stewart is a genius at this stuff. He also has a somewhat well known upgrade/rehab he does to the Reslo ribbons called The Beeb.

I honestly hesitate to sing Xadia's praises too loudly, simply because their work is so damn good and I'd be kinda bummed if their sales page turned into another Cole Pics (not bagging on Cole at all, I just can't buy his mics anymore because they are snapped up so quickly), but it is a pretty great shop I'd be leaning on a lot if I lived on the other side of the Atlantic.

And actually, I should say that Cole Seddarth of Cole Pics Vintage is a fantasitic option if you have a vintage ribbon or dynamic you want rehabbed. Really great rates (NO BENCH FEE- if he can't fix it he just sends it back), good work and a crazy nice guy.

-Not to disuade anyone from tackling a repair or upgrade themselves though... we are here to DIY.