I literally had all of the parts needed to build another mic. BM800 body, transistor and assorted other parts, capsule... so why not. I took the C12 topology and replaced the tube with a 2N5457. This is a transistor based clone of the tube mic that I made a month or so ago. The capsule here is the same one that I used in that tube mic. Same NTE10/3 x-fmr. So really the only difference is the active component (and the surrounding resistor values for bias and proper operation).
The tube version and the FET version have the same frequency response. I was expecting that the FET circuit would have a bit more top end than the tube, so this was a bit of a surprise.
What I really didn't expect... the FET version seems to have a bit more pop in the upper-mids... it responds faster - the guitar was there more quickly than the tube version, but at no greater amplitude than the tube.
Is this what people are talking about when they say that a tube mic has a more smooth or more mellow sound?
The tube version and the FET version have the same frequency response. I was expecting that the FET circuit would have a bit more top end than the tube, so this was a bit of a surprise.
What I really didn't expect... the FET version seems to have a bit more pop in the upper-mids... it responds faster - the guitar was there more quickly than the tube version, but at no greater amplitude than the tube.
Is this what people are talking about when they say that a tube mic has a more smooth or more mellow sound?