NADY TCM 1150 Tube Microphone Mods - More Photos

[sbranco]

Gus, doesn't the Apex 460 have 6 micron Tenlux dual sided capsules? I am sure that you said that the 797 6 micron capsules you have used sound pretty good. Maybe not great but pretty good no? I have two Behringer B2 pro's where the pcb's are stamped 797 Audio. I am pretty sure my B2 pro's have 797 6 micron dual sided capsules. I also have the two Apex 460's and I am planning to get two of Dale's capsules. I figure I would like to end up with 6 pretty good mics for about $1,500 and lots of hours of modifying.

I have no experience with a quality mic like you recommend. From what I can gather, the jump up in quality from say a grade B+ mic to a grade A mic is audible but the price difference is substantial. Also, the rest of our equipment could diminish the advantage since we are using a Motu Mark II, Digimax LT's, a studio with less than optimal isolation and design, lower quality cables, poor man's monitors, etc.

My ears could hear the difference going from Digimax pre's to Seventh Circle N72's. They could hear the difference going from an Electrovoice PL80 to a Studio Projects C1. I would say to my ears that the Apex 460 is better than the C1.

Rather than have two $1,500 mics, I think it would be more practical for my situation to have 6 pretty good mics and a UAD-1 for example. That would probably improve the sound I get more than the two mics based on all the other constraints to my set up.

Maybe I could upgrade the capsules in the end to the AKG's or Peluso's and make them sound great?

Does that make sense to anyone else?

 

[craigmorris74]

Maybe I could upgrade the capsules in the end to the AKG's or Peluso's and make them sound great?

When I get my 460 in it will have upgraded caps, Cinemag input transfomer, and Peluso CEK-12 capsule. Maybe you can get an idea from its sound when I post clips from it. I'll use my N72 since you've heard their sound before.

 

[Gus]

still china made backplates

 

[Gus]

It is funny I was talking to a person on the phone last night about microphones. They own some nice ones. They told me about some new good according to the web china based microphones china capsule based microphones they bought. They got rid of them right away.

Now I made a mistake in buying a few microphones based on the web the gt 33 and gt 44 have good electronics but I have no idea what the capsule is about. I might stick a LD on the 44 body or just sell it.

Now a lot can be learned from modding cheaper china microphones, yes you can often make them better: However you can use the best electronics but you still have the capsule limit.

I mean this in a good way many of the microphones mods people have posted here have what looks to be good/ very good electronics. I have been down that path it is a great path to learn from and I am all for it. I do like reading the posts here about peoples builds.

Like I have posted I have two modded 1050s and they sound OK but they don't sound great to me and I believe it is the stock capsules still in them.

There is something you can do with the capsules to help them a little in some of the tube microphones.

 

[sbranco]

OK so we got to record a clip of acoustic guitar with the stock and modded mics. Stock mic is on the left and modded mic on the right. I regret that I did not have a third mic like a U47 for comparison. That would truly be helpful to see how far off it is but I am pretty sure that it is still far off of a great mic. Still, great is a relative term depending on your circumstances and wallet. Better is still better. so check it out. I think the detail in the mid range appears to be the most striking to me and a marked improvement in the mod versus the stock mic. Not sure if that is due to the tube or transformer but probably a little of both.

Note that this 5 minute clip is a high resolution wma file at nearly 8Mb.

http://download.filefront.com/49204...1b3d6f0372a5713bf840bb299c3e930ff518e02e131c7

 

[craigmorris74]

Sounds like the stock mic had a hankerchief over it. Sounds promising.
Thanks for posting the clips!!

 

[Jazzy_Pidjay]

Here is some pics of my "on working" Apex 251e :thumb:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v439/jazzy_pi/DSCF0713.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v439/jazzy_pi/DSCF0714.jpg

:guinness:

 

[sbranco]

Hey I don't know the 251e but that looks nice. What kind of transformer is it and is that a big cap in the middle? If so, its huge. good work though. how does it sound?

 

[Jazzy_Pidjay]

It's not finish

i wait a C414EB with Brass Ck-12
maybe in a few days, to mount it in the "clone"

the trafo is a cinemag CM-2480
the cap is an Audyn Cap Plus 2,2µF
a very good sounding cap.

:thumb:

 

[Gus]

looks nice

 

[Jazzy_Pidjay]

thanks Gus !

 

[atz]

Does the Apex have rivets around the diapghram or are they screws?

it looks like on the Nady they are rivets

 

[sbranco]

from memory, i think they are screws on the Apex 460. a pretty standard 797 audio capsule with the white plastic ring

 

[Gus]

Today I worked with a lab member with a nady1150

Check your power supplies My 1050s PSs have the same markings as the 1150 but the B+ and the PCB were different. In my unit the 6 volt regulators heat sink was connected to ground and no insulator was used so the ground leg diode was shorted via the tab to heatsink connection. The 1150 had a different PBC layout in that section and the heatsink was not connected to ground so the diode worked.

We limited it to 5 microphones today
1150 small mods to circuit stock tube and ps and stock transformer
1150 modded PS, and mods to circuit and voltages and stock transformer
black knight
SP C3
My much changed 1050

All had stock capsules

Funny thing the grill dia and capsules in the 1150s do not sound bad, that grill seem to work OK with the capsule(I did not open the grill to look at and measure the capsule I did not want to influence myself)

The SP sound like a SP
The black knight sounds good
The 1150 with stock voltages and tube I don't like that much.
The mods to the other 1150 were to try to make it sound its best with the stock capsule, grill and transformer.

Something to try might be the church microphone gain section with a 12at7.

 

[Flatpicker]

Good info!