Looking for electret capsule manufacturer recommendations

[k brown]

The protective packaging is certainly worth paying a little extra for.

 

[rock soderstrom]

Kingkorg likes this one, I just ordered one. Single diaphragm

New-ish electret capsule

I ordered the Kingkorg electret capsule a long time ago for very little money and today installed it on a Sela T12 tube microphone clone as a test.

I am thrilled, that is the best ultra low budget capsule I have heard so far.

I will reorder a few more of them and also some KK version 2 electrets capsules(without front mesh) It's really amazing how well these capsules perform for the money.

 

[kingkorg]

I ordered the Kingkorg electret capsule a long time ago for very little money and today installed it on a Sela T12 tube microphone clone as a test.

I am thrilled, that is the best ultra low budget capsule I have heard so far.

I will reorder a few more of them and also some KK version 2 electrets capsules(without front mesh) It's really amazing how well these capsules perform for the money.

Did I just get a capsule named after me?!?! Thank you for that

I had a synth made after me, but not a capsule.

Kidding aside, i'm glad you like it. The construction on these seem to be inspired by some of the CK12 models.

 

[rock soderstrom]

Did I just get a capsule named after me?!?! Thank you for that

I had a synth made after me, but not a capsule.

Kidding aside, i'm glad you like it. The construction on these seem to be inspired by some of the CK12 models.

Yeah, is named after you to honor your original reference to these bargains. The KK12 exists in 2 versions so far in my world.

Now I'm on the hunt for matching 25mm capsule holders. So far I've only found one on Amazon, but costs more than double as the capsule. Scandalous!

 

[k brown]

FWIW, on mine I cut the plastic BM700/800 capsule holders down to a saddle-like shape, mount them on top of rubber grommets, then affix the capsule with Scotchmount Extreme mounting tape, which being rubbery, also provides additional vibration isolation.
https://www.amazon.com/414P-Extremely-Strong-Mounting-Count/dp/B005SRECEU

 

[rock soderstrom]

Yes, thats a good idea to buy donor mics for small money. Holder and body, all I need in one package. That mounting tape looks good.

Recording Tools got nice and cheap 34mm capsule holder. Maybe I can modifie them...

https://www.ebay.de/itm/29535765460...JAm6ueKTrO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[rock soderstrom]

Look what I found, has been lying around here forever. Some green spray paint and voilà my mini C12 is ready to go.

 

[entropy]

Yeah, is named after you to honor your original reference to these bargains. The KK12 exists in 2 versions so far in my world.

Good Idea!

@KK: It is possible to make a sheet with the response of the old and the new capsule in one diagram?

Now I'm on the hunt for matching 25mm capsule holders. So far I've only found one on Amazon, but costs more than double as the capsule. Scandalous!

Look at this:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3354686
That's food for an 3d printer.

Just use 2 Rubber 0-Rings on each mounting hole, one ring above, one below and screw in the mounting screw w/o really fastening it. Use some Locktite on the threads...

Just gluing them to something isn't really a good idea in my eyes...

Regards,
Holm

 

[entropy]

...bought a cheap microphone (for the body) lately, nice matte black color (no shitty gold). ok for my purposes, but it's looking really ugly on the inside if you want to modify the circuit yourself...
It seems that I have to make my own pcb.

Regards,
Holm

 

[rock soderstrom]

Look at this:

Thanks a lot Holm.

 

[entropy]

..nothing to thank!

Holm

 

[rock soderstrom]

Today I received 4x "KK12"s capsules, I'm curious how V2 sounds compared to V1.


Amazing that the capsules have survived the trip at least visually. They were completely unprotected.

 

[rock soderstrom]

V2 is slimer than V1. 7,8mm vs. 10,5mm.

Diameter is the same.

 

[mikeylemur]

V2 is slimer than V1. 7,8mm vs. 10,5mm.
View attachment 106656
Diameter is the same.
View attachment 106657View attachment 106658

What are your thoughts on the differences and which one would you recommend?

 

[kingkorg]

What are your thoughts on the differences and which one would you recommend?

The thinner one is smoother, less HF boost, but slight low end roll off. I don't really care, not much LF variation and character in condensers anyways, so you can just boost what it lacks. However at some distance it might sound thinner because of this. It has good rear rejection.

The thicker one maybe tiny bit scooped sounding, really large bottom upclose, and more, but not too much HF boost. It's hypercardioid, so less rejection from the rear, more from the sides, hence more proximity effect.

I love both for handheld condensers, or close miking stuff. They sound huge used like this. Great improvement over that poor TSB165a which used to be staple for low end condensers.

IIRC the thicker one has spot on Slate ML1 response when put in flat circuit.

For the price these two will never be beaten i believe.

 

[rock soderstrom]

What are your thoughts on the differences and which one would you recommend?

Essentially what KK has already written. My assessment depends strongly on the intended use. For longer distances, I prefer the V1, the thicker one. It also depends on the headamp. In conjunction with a vintage tube circuit ala Sela T12 I also like the V1 better, with a more modern FET circuit I would rather prefer V2.

My clear recommendation is, buy both and try it out for your intended use, used mic technique and taste. Very good price-performance ratio!

 

[mikeylemur]

The thinner one is smoother, less HF boost, but slight low end roll off. I don't tend to panic because of this, not much LF detail and character in condensers anyways, so you can just boost what it lacks. However at some distance it might sound thinner because of this. It has good rear rejection.

The thicker one maybe tiny bit scooped sounding, really large bottom upclose, and more, but not too much HF boost. It's hypercardioid, so less rejection from the rear, more from the sides, hence more proximity effect.

I love both for handheld condensers, or close miking stuff. They sound huge used like this. Great improvement over that poor TSB165a which used to be staple for low end condensers.

IIRC the thicker one has spot on Slate ML1 response when put in flat circuit.

For the price these two will never be beaten i believe.

After using my sm58, I would prefer something something with abut more HF detail. The thicker sounds like it has the profile of an sm58?

You mentioned rear and side rejection. As I will be using a desktop mic, there will be sound coming from the rear (speakers) and side (keyboard). I can't tell which capsule pattern is best suited for my use case.

Leaning toward the thinner one based on what you two have said.

 

[kingkorg]

Both will give you substantially more low end and detail. Cardioid vs HyperCardioid will depend on where the speakers are placed.

You can go for amazing trick not many know about. Put the mic dead center between the speakers. Put mono signal to both speakers, and flip the phase on one of the speakers. This will give you most cancellation and lowest level comming from the speakers dead center where the mic is, but your ears will still be able to pick up the sound as usual, but with less low end. This is the trick used by engineers where vocalists don't want to record with headphones. I believe Black Hole Sun is recorded this way.
Hypercardioid would be the best choice in this situation.

 

[mikeylemur]

You can go for amazing trick not many know about. Put the mic dead center between the speakers. Put mono signal to both speakers, and flip the phase on one of the speakers. This will give you most cancellation and lowest level comming from the speakers dead center where the mic is, but your ears will still be able to pick up the sound as usual, but with less low end. This is the trick used by engineers where vocalists don't want to record with headphones. I believe Black Hole Sun is recorded this way.
Hypercardioid would be the best choice in this situation.

That's a very interesting trick. I tried to google about phase cancellation and most audio engineers try to remove it and not introduce it . This was the only video I found find demonstrating the trick, the results don't see too impressive though.

Both will give you substantially more low end and detail. Cardioid vs HyperCardioid will depend on where the speakers are placed.

This a model of my room, I have a desk in the corner that meets a sloped ceiling. Unlike a studio setup where the speaker is away from the desk, my speakers are set on a desk. In my case, I feel like a cardioid will be the most appropriate?

 

[Paul W]

The thinner one is smoother, less HF boost, but slight low end roll off. I don't tend to panic because of this, not much LF detail and character in condensers anyways, so you can just boost what it lacks. However at some distance it might sound thinner because of this. It has good rear rejection.

Could you elaborate on that? My impression has been that condensers often have less LF rolloff than handheld vocal-oriented dynamics (and better HF extension too).

Either way it seems like there's not much information in the bass (the bandwidth is narrower) and you ought to be able to EQ it better than the HF, because boosting HF exacerbates any circuit hiss.

Am I wrong? Is there LF circuit noise (rumble?) that's a problem that limits your ability to boost the bass with EQ? I would think that LF rumble is usually ambient noise, e.g. from trucks driving nearby or room mode boom, not a mic issue per ser (unless you have a bad shock mount), so it's going to have the same ratio to LF signal whether it's boosted or not. (Boosting a weak LF signal will also boost any LF noise, but won't change the ratio.)

Of course if there's really no LF signal, boosting it won't help, but I'd think a difference of a few dB where the bass rolls off would usually not be an issue.