6 year old mic needs capsule cleaned?

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"Druhms" wrote ...
>I have a U87 that I bought new 6-7 years ago. It seems to be
> sounding a little sibilent lately. Is it possible that the capsule
> needs cleaning already?

Wouldn't extra mass (dirt & grunge) on a diaphragm cause a
*loss* of high frequency response?

> I know caps start going bad around then also. Are caps a factor
> in microphones?

Do caps go bad any faster in microphones than in any other
electronic circuits? Surely 6 years is a very short lifespan.
Or are those Chinese mics assembled with substandard
components?

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Druhms <druhms@aol.com> wrote:
>I have a U87 that I bought new 6-7 years ago. It seems to be sounding a little
>sibilent lately. Is it possible that the capsule needs cleaning already?

If the capsule is bad, it'll start rumbling and getting noisy. Sibilance is
not a sign.

>I
>know caps start going bad around then also. Are caps a factor in microphones?

Sometimes, but bad caps will tend to cause the opposite of the problem you
notice. I think maybe you're just noticing that the U87 is kind of sibilant.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

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On 06 Nov 2004 18:32:28 GMT, druhms@aol.com (Druhms) wrote:

>I have a U87 that I bought new 6-7 years ago. It seems to be sounding a little
>sibilent lately. Is it possible that the capsule needs cleaning already? I
>know caps start going bad around then also. Are caps a factor in microphones?
>Thanks,
>JJ

Are you still using the U87 with the same preamp?

Mike T.

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On 06 Nov 2004 18:32:28 GMT, druhms@aol.com (Druhms) wrote:

>I have a U87 that I bought new 6-7 years ago. It seems to be sounding a little
>sibilent lately. Is it possible that the capsule needs cleaning already? I
>know caps start going bad around then also. Are caps a factor in microphones?

Wouldn't these factors tend to reduce high frequencies?

Have you acquired any new gear recently? Maybe you're comparing it
to something else that is smoother. The harder you listen, the more
you realise that no mic is perfect, especially the large-diaphragm
ones designed to flatter voices, not to be accurate :-)

CubaseFAQ www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
"Possibly the world's least impressive web site": George Perfect

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On Sat, 6 Nov 2004 13:32:28 -0500, Druhms wrote
(in article <20041106133228.07763.00000284@mb-m01.aol.com>):

> I have a U87 that I bought new 6-7 years ago. It seems to be sounding a
> little
> sibilent lately. Is it possible that the capsule needs cleaning already? I
> know caps start going bad around then also. Are caps a factor in
microphones?
> Thanks,
> JJ

JJ,

I doubt it, but it's possible. Sibilance is not something that I'd normally
associate with a dirty diaphragm.

Have you begun using a new preamp or speakers. Is the source, perhaps, a bit
more sibilant?

Regards,

Ty Ford



-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com

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"Druhms" <druhms@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20041106133228.07763.00000284@mb-m01.aol.com...
> I have a U87 that I bought new 6-7 years ago. It seems to be sounding a
little
> sibilent lately. Is it possible that the capsule needs cleaning already?
I
> know caps start going bad around then also. Are caps a factor in
microphones?

No, I wouldn't say it's an indication of a needed cleaning. If the person
you're recording is different than whom you are used to recording, that
could easily be enough. If it's the same person (assuming we're not talking
about you recording you) then you'd have to find out if perhaps they'd had
any dentistry work or chipped a tooth or had an ear infection or any number
of possibilities. I bought a nice mic for my wife, and in EVERY case this
mic has been used it simply works great for a dynamic live mic. Every case
but for my wife. There was something about her voice it simply did not
like, and try as I might, there was no way to talk it into liking my wife's
voice. So I bought a Neumann KMS105 and that problem went away and now I
have a "duet" mic for onstage that essentially sounds great along with the
105. It just can't be Bev that uses it.

Besides, in almost all cases where an indication would be the mic having
problems you'd notice either a loss of sensitivity or a cut in high end
reproduction, or in a case of mic electronics, you'd probably notice an
increase in self noise or loss of output.

But you can do yourself a favor on any of your mics and track some known
quantities in terms of instruments and use them for reference when you
suspect something has changed. Now admittedly, it's really not all that
possible to get the exact same sound, even if the mics placement hasn't
changed in a two day space, much less putting up a test environment 2 years
(or 6) down the road, but you should be able to see (hear) differences if
indeed changes have occurred.

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio

> Thanks,
> JJ

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Actually, I have not been using any new gear, but I think it may have just
been bad luck that the past few people that I have been working with have had
sibilant qualities. I have been done with them now for a few days and am
recording some new people and the problem isn't there. I do notice that some
people are just more sibilant than others, but I was getting nervous that 3 in
a row had the same problem. Same freq. of sibilance too.
Oh well, I did learn some good things from the question anyways.
Thanks everyone.
JJ

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On Mon, 8 Nov 2004 21:59:33 -0500, Druhms wrote
(in article <20041108215933.10502.00000156@mb-m25.aol.com>):

> Actually, I have not been using any new gear, but I think it may have just
> been bad luck that the past few people that I have been working with have had
> sibilant qualities. I have been done with them now for a few days and am
> recording some new people and the problem isn't there. I do notice that some
> people are just more sibilant than others, but I was getting nervous that 3
> in
> a row had the same problem. Same freq. of sibilance too.
> Oh well, I did learn some good things from the question anyways.
> Thanks everyone.
> JJ

jj,

Pretty much you can hear that when they speak, you know with your ears and no
mic. I was in a furniture store a few years back when two women came in to
shop. One was INCREDIBLY sibilant. I moved around the store just to get away
from her chirps. She could have cut glass with that voice.

In general a lot of the low and mid priced condenser mics (and some others..
as well as overly bright combinations of mic and preamp) that are too peaky
make the situation worse by taking a mild sibilance and accentuating the
problem.

Regards,

Ty Ford


-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com