I WON!!!!

[KuruPrionz]

Matt McGlynn at Micparts and Roswell mics did a live stream on YouTube, a mic upgrade with his new kit for an MXL 990 (the kit is a 990XF).

I watched the upgrade and made a comment in the comments section below after the show was over.

 

Matt was going to pick a random comment and give that poster an upgrade kit.

 

I got an email today. I WON!!! It's a full upgrade kit, a capsule and a circuit board with all components and detailed instructions.

 

Anybody have a broken MXL990 they want to sell cheap?

[Anderton]

Congratulations! Make sure you keep us posted on how this progresses....

[Mike Rivers]

Congrats! I was going to watch that but forgot. I have a 990 here that's my "does it have phantom power?" test mic. It's actually not all that bad for a $50 condenser mic but I was always curious about upgrades, but not curious enough to mess with it. I have enough good condenser mics now that it doesn't hurt to have a "meh" condenser mic around when called for.

 

Let us know how it goes.

[Notes_Norton]

Congratulations -- enjoy!!!

[KuruPrionz]

Thanks! For anybody who cares, I have no affiliation with Matt McGlynn or MicParts/Roswell but I do respect and admire what he is doing for the recording community. His offerings look like amazing bang for the buck to me and most welcome on my budget.

 

I'll be getting the RK47C capsule, Matt's description in quotes:

"The RK-47C is within 1dB of flat from 1k to 8kHz, then has a gentle

rolloff. It sounds really solid, mostly flat, with a good bottom end,

healthy proximity effect, and definitely no hype in the highs."

 

The 990EF circuit board kit is guaranteed to fit an MXL990 only, other 990 models may or may not work.

The circuit board includes both a transformer and a JFET component, it is intended to bring some harmonic distortion to the sound of the mic.

There are kit options available for lots of inexpensive mics - 3 different capsules and 3 different circuit board types, no hype, +transformer and + transformer and JFET.

 

Which means one can build different sounding mics, as a small home studio guy that's exactly what I would like in terms of options.

I have another MXL, a 1006 BP (battery power) that sounds "pretty OK" but I may hot rod it next after I dip my toes in.

 

I plan to report on how the mic build goes and what the mic sounds like once I find a donor MXL 990. Thinking I'll post on craigslist and see if anybody has a broken one. All I need is the body, the grille and the XLR connector. I don't care if the capsule or circuit board are toast, they will be coming out anyway.

[KuruPrionz]

The kit has shipped, Priority Mail.

 

Still poking around for a donor body. I'll get one soon.

 

Craig, I plan on taking some pics as I go. I'll post those and how the resulting build sounds. Taking into account that they only sell direct and most of the labor is done by the buyer, I'm guessing that a successful build should compete with mics in the $800-1,000 range.

[Dave Bryce]

That's awesome!!!! Enjoy, my brother...

 

dB

[KuruPrionz]

That's awesome!!!! Enjoy, my brother...

 

dB

 

Thanks Dave, I know it's going to be good. And sneaky! Never trust an MXL 990 again!!!!

[KuruPrionz]

Brief update. Friday the kit arrived. It looks nice, the instructions are clear and cover everything.

I still need to do a parts match to the instructions - gotta get a magnifier, the lettering on tiny parts is sub-tiny!!!!

Will try to get one early this week.

 

Posted an ad on local craigslist looking for a beat up or broken MXL 990. One offer for a very clean, nice one - not a bad deal but not as cheap as I would like.

Following eBay, Guitar Center used didn't have anything I wanted either by the time you add shipping and tax.

 

Meanwhile, I carefully dis-assembled an MXL 1006 BP that I found at Value Village for $24. It can't use the 990EF kit, wrong body shape. It was an opportunity to see if the Mic-Parts condenser capsules will fit in that mic and they will. I also got careful measurements of the exact size of the main circuit board (there's a little one up under the capsule too). I have center to center measurements for the mounting holes.

 

FWIW, as I disconnected various parts of the microphone, I carefully put the mounting screws back in the place from whence they came. This will be much less confusing later!!!!!

 

Matt has included a 100% full size .pdf file of the actual circuit board with every circuit board option so you can check to see if it will fit beforehand. Nice. I think I can work with anything that is exact size or smaller.

After I finish up the 990 kit and evaluate it, I'll probably get a different capsule and circuit board and build another mic. That was the main reason I bought this MXL at the thrift store, it works but it doesn't sound great and it seems to be a bit noisy. I know I'll never use it, I bought it with a Mic-Parts build in mind but the 990 kit has moved to first in line.

 

That's all for now.

[KuruPrionz]

Last night I pulled the trigger on an MXL 990. Paid a little more than I was hoping but my overall cost is still very low and I wanted to get this project going. $72 with shipping and tax. Will come Priority Mail, should have later this week.

 

Most of the offerings included an MXL 991, a small diaphragm condenser mic. I didn't want it, someday I'll get a pair of SDC that I actually want.

The one I decided on included the case, the metal mic clip, the shockmount, a Rode pop filter and a mic cable, all stuff I can use at least.

 

Build will be next and probably soon.

[Mike Rivers]

 

Most of the offerings included an MXL 991, a small diaphragm condenser mic. I didn't want it

 

Not that you need it, but the 991 is actually a pretty nice mic. A little noisy, but good for acoustic instruments in a band context. I ended up with one in one of those 990/991 deals and used the 991 in my "Recording the Plunky Old Banjo" workshops at Banjo Camp North.

[KuruPrionz]

 

Most of the offerings included an MXL 991, a small diaphragm condenser mic. I didn't want it

 

Not that you need it, but the 991 is actually a pretty nice mic. A little noisy, but good for acoustic instruments in a band context. I ended up with one in one of those 990/991 deals and used the 991 in my "Recording the Plunky Old Banjo" workshops at Banjo Camp North.

 

Yeah, it's probably pretty OK but I'm sure there are better out there. You're right though, I don't really need an SDC much.

[Mike Rivers]

[

Most of the offerings included an MXL 991 . . .

Yeah, it's probably pretty OK but I'm sure there are better out there. You're right though, I don't really need an SDC much.

 

Well, there's "better" and "better for $50," as well as plenty of similar mics for sale used for around $50. That's a tough field to play, and if you actually needed a small diaphragm condenser mic, I'd suggest that you need it enough to be worth spending more than $50 on it.

 

I'm kind of curious about those PreSonus SDCs that are $139/pair with a stereo bar to boot. Based on the most-of-the-time fact that PreSonus' stuff is worth what you pay and a little more, they might be a decent buy - if you have a use for them.

[KuruPrionz]

[

Most of the offerings included an MXL 991 . . .

Yeah, it's probably pretty OK but I'm sure there are better out there. You're right though, I don't really need an SDC much.

 

Well, there's "better" and "better for $50," as well as plenty of similar mics for sale used for around $50. That's a tough field to play, and if you actually needed a small diaphragm condenser mic, I'd suggest that you need it enough to be worth spending more than $50 on it.

 

I'm kind of curious about those PreSonus SDCs that are $139/pair with a stereo bar to boot. Based on the most-of-the-time fact that PreSonus' stuff is worth what you pay and a little more, they might be a decent buy - if you have a use for them.

 

The Presonus SDC set has been well reviewed and has some fans on MPN. I used to hang out at a studio that had a pair of AKG 451, original Austrian ones. Those were nice.

I'm tempted more by a pair with interchangeable capsules, something about having a mannequin head with a pair of omni SDC in the ears is appealing to me - possibly because I've never tried using one.

 

It might be cheaper and nearly as good to get a pair of those cheap "reference" mics, those are omni.

 

I found out yesterday that even with a piece of tape over it the microphone in my 2014 MacBook Pro is surprisingly clean and clear sounding. Good enough for songwriting and other goofing off.

[Mike Rivers]

I have four C451 cardioids plus two omni capsules for them. They served me well in the 80s and I still don't hesitate to pull one or a few out when they seem to be appropriate and I rarely end up swapping out something else for them. In my banjo camp workshops, I put a C451 next to my MXL 991, make a little recording, and compare them. The AKGs are the winner every time, but when I can gather a few other players and record the two mics together in the context of a band, the apparent differences are smaller and the MXL would have worked just fine.

 

As has been said many times, "best" depends on a lot of things, and sometimes what's best doesn't always matter as much as we'd like to think.

[KuruPrionz]

As has been said many times, "best" depends on a lot of things, and sometimes what's best doesn't always matter as much as we'd like to think.

 

Quoted for truth.

My primary focus right now is vocal mics. That is one place where a mic can make a big difference and which one works varies according to your circumstances and the singer.

 

Second concern is acoustic guitar, the Neat Worker Bees do a good job on my Rainsong so I'm OK with just staying where I am for now.

 

Percussion? Any mic can record some sort of usable percussion, some are better at certain things than others. I haven't tried it yet and will never need the headroom at home but the CAD D-90 I picked up for $22 delivered boasts a 150db upper limit on volume. I don't want to be around anything like that level anyway!!!!!

[KuruPrionz]

Update - the mic is here. I checked it out, it's not a great mic, yet. It is a solid body though, I can see why they chose it.

 

I've been preparing in other realms, I need better soldering equipment, a more powerful magnifier and some thin rosin core solder. All of those things will be arriving soon.

 

I've also been reading all the information on the Microphone Parts website, the next step will be to watch and bookmark the tutorial videos on there, including the one that I commented on and won the upgrade kit. I've seen that one once but now I've a mic in hand and a board to populate and finish.

 

Last thing on my list is 98% isopropyl alcohol for cleaning the rosin goo off the board. I'll hunt some down tomorrow. Hmm.. and some of the "paint' they use to coat the high impedance connections for long, quiet operation.

 

I am not rushing into this, I want to be prepared and do the best possible job so the mic works the first time. It won't bother me at all if it takes a few weeks to get it all together.

[KuruPrionz]

Friday I set up to start in on the build. I got 3 or 4 resistors soldered and worked on other things needed done. It did take a while to get the setup done so there's that.

Saturday, I worked for a while, got more of the board populated.

Sunday (today) I went at it a couple of times and it's done.

 

The instructions include tests you can make but I skipped ahead and fired up the mic. It works and it sounds great.

There's more, I'll be back in a day or two with tales of correcting my own mistakes, overall impression of building a mic kit and how this mic compares to some others I have and like.

 

I can hear how the high frequencies are there but they are in a nice subdued place instead of blaring out. VERY smooth for my voice, I like it a lot and I barely tested it and with headphones only.

Cheers, Kuru

[Anderton]

Very cool! Looking forward to the follow-up.

[Mike Rivers]

Friday I set up to start in on the build. I got 3 or 4 resistors soldered and worked on other things needed done. It did take a while to get the setup done so there's that.

Saturday, I worked for a while, got more of the board populated.

Sunday (today) I went at it a couple of times and it's done.

 

The instructions include tests you can make but I skipped ahead and fired up the mic. It works and it sounds great.

There's more, I'll be back in a day or two with tales of correcting my own mistakes, overall impression of building a mic kit and how this mic compares to some others I have and like.

 

Great! I've found that I've become so fumble fingered that whenever I assemble something even as simple as as a 2-conductor shielded cable, I always check it for correctness and inspect the soldering before putting it into service. That usually takes only a couple of minutes, but if it takes half an hour of crawling around behind racks in order to plug in the cable, I don't want to discover that I've crossed the wires or made a sloppy solder bridge and accidentally connected one of the signal leads to ground.

[KuruPrionz]

I haven't plugged the mic back in since the initial test Sunday evening. Too busy, will do it soon.

 

I thought I would share some things about building the mic. First up, the support from Microphone Parts in terms of the included instruction manual and the build video for this specific project that is posted on their website, is excellent. In fact, it's so good I didn't see any point in photographing the process. Here is the build video.

 

 

As you can see, Matt has considerable experience building mics. I can tell you it was not as easy or as fast for me when I built mine but I was patient and got it done. I had a couple of fairly minor mishaps, nothing that couldn't be fixed with a triggered vacuum type solder sucker. I poked around in my stuff and did not locate the solder wick I know I have but that would be good to have on hand.

 

I planned on using the Weller soldering station I just bought but the tip wasn't the best choice. I ordered another tip, it arrived today. A little clean up on the station and it will be good for a few more decades, longer than I'll be around. Meanwhile, I was searching for something to hold and stabilize the circuit board, a light and a magnifier that could be adjusted to stay in an ideal position. SEE ATTACHED PHOTO.

 

I found this Radio Shack soldering station on eBay, it is also available elsewhere: https://www.ebay.com/itm/174688455970?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-213727-13078-0&mkcid=2&itemid=174688455970&targetid=4580496732614417&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=&poi=&campaignid=418233788&mkgroupid=1230353745471221&rlsatarget=pla-4580496732614417&abcId=9300542&merchantid=51291&msclkid=f81ae4e12e10167d6a3d85e1830e708e

 

It even came with a 15 watt soldering iron with a great tip for this type of soldering. See the attached photo, that is the board I took out of the MXL, not the Mic Parts board. Note the wood block underneath it and the clothespins that I clipped into the alligator clips. I knew the clothespins could not harm the board or components in any way and the block keeps the pc board solidly in an easy to work on position.

I did use the included soldering iron for the entire but being left handed I kept it in the holder on the Weller station, to the left of the board. If you are right handed the iron holder supplied with the Radio Shack kit should work well for you.

 

I used Kester 44 .032 solder, thin and you can buy a small amount for just a few bucks. The two tools I got by without that I really wish I had were A. a good wire stripper and B. a small, flush cut pair of diagonal cutters.

 

Ventilation is recommended so I chose to work on my stove top since there is a vent fan right there. That worked fine.

 

Bending the leads is something that took a couple of tries at first and then I got the hang of it and did well.

You do want to bend the leads in a way that shows what the value of the resistor is, the magnifiers are very helpful here.

 

FWIW, after cataract surgery I no longer have the closeup vision I used to have. The lenses in my eyes are for distance and my prescription close-up glasses are not intended for these short distances. Good magnification is something I've learned to work with but that was disorienting at first.

 

I think most of us with decent hand to eye coordination and a little experience soldering could build one of these kits. You do need patience, especially if you make a mistake. For me the best thing to do at that point is to stop, set it aside and do something else for a while. This allows a sensible solution to seep into my brain.

 

I will also note that I happened to buy one of the mics that has the circuit board spaced in a way that you will need to flip it over to fit it inside the mic. Both sides of the connections from the capsule and the XLR are marked so it isn't that difficult. I would leave a little more wire on the capsule leads if I ever did this again, it's just a bit easier. 1/2" more would be plenty.

 

It may be a couple of months down the road but I am all in for another build and I already have an MXL 1006BP I found at Value Village for $24 so all I need is a board and a capsule. I've chosen those but I plan on learning more about the kit for the MXL2006 since it looks like the same body and the board might be a good choice.

[Mike Rivers]

Working on a circuit board in a microphone is quite a bit different from making 1/4" or XLR cables or replacing components on a terminal board in a point-to-point wired amplifier - things that are probably second nature to you. Having the right size soldering iron tip is important to avoid burning pads off the board or creating a solder bridge if it's too large, and taking too long to get a connection hot enough if you have a tip that's too small. Good thing you recognized that before doing any damage,

 

As far as bending resistor leads, where there's a need, there's a tool. This little jig from Jameco will get you a clean bend with the right lead spacing every time, and it's only five bucks. You might want to pick one up before you start your next mic modification,

 

Hope you continue to like the sound of the mic, That's the important part.

[KuruPrionz]

Thanks for the tip on the Jameson jig, I will need to surf their site and see what other fine items they have available to go with.

 

The instructions and the video both cover aspects of soldering small components on delicate boards and I took heed.

It IS completely different than the sort of soldering I've done in the past, guitar wiring is usually 100% point to point with robust terminals.

I wonder how many people know that guitar manufacturers back in the 50's would go to the military surplus stores and buy all sorts of great parts that were intended for heavy use by our armed forces and Ma Bell? You need a communications system on a battleship or half track that can endure all manner of abuse and continue to function - stuff like Switchcraft 1/4" jacks which you can easily solder with a large, high wattage soldering gun without any damage whatsoever.

 

It's an appropriate use, as an electric guitarist myself I don't want to have to worry about delicate switches and jacks. We might have been better off to go XLR but 1/4" phone plugs are called "phone plugs" for a reason and worked very well for Ma Bell for decades. I'll bet there are still some in use in remote areas.

 

But yes, totally different than working on this mic kit. Gotta use the right tool for the job!!!! Dad taught me that, he was a master craftsman in large part because he planned his projects well and didn't snarl himself up. These mic kits have already gone through that, the build is straightforward because the instructions are sensible and orderly.

 

We've got a busy weekend coming up, tonight I learn the songs my friend Brittany wants to sing at her wedding reception, Friday night we are playing a graduation event out of town and Saturday is the wedding reception. I plan on recording with my new mic soon but it will probably have to be next week.

 

When I do, I'll get back with a report. First impression is that the high frequency response has been carefully tailored to deliver a clear but not harsh or brittle result. More like a ribbon mic in that aspect but cardioid so less bleed from the back but more from the sides. I liked what I heard, most lower cost condenser mics I've tried are too bright and in the wrong frequencies for my voice.