Flatpicker,

I need to get with the program and mod this pair of 012's I bought for the sole purpose of modding. I own the article (I gotta go dig it up) but do you suppose you could walk me through it here so everyone can learn from it? If not, I'm sure I will make it through on my own but just thought it would be nice to have an experienced voice of reason

I'll try to find the mag and start a parts list.


Jason A.

[This message was edited by Jason A. on 03-21-04 at 01:29 PM.]

Sure, Jason. Email me at flatpicker(at)comcast.net.

Found my article. It has a parts list with Digikey numbers. I will try to order my parts on Monday. I'll let you all know how it goes.


Jason A.

Parts ordered and on the way. Ordered all but the FET from DigiKey. The two sources for the FET mentioned in the article were out of stock. I did a Google search and came up with an electronics repair supply place that had some for a good price but in the end, a cool forum member (who shall remain nameless) said he would give me a few.

Parts should be here by Saturday. I haven't even cracked the cases on these yet. Maybe I should do that and have a look around first.


Jason A.

Just got all the parts in my hand yesterday and got sick last night.

Hopefully, I can do one of these over lunch break in the lab at work so I can use their solder sucker.

Just checking in.


Jason A.

I'm curious about this mod, can you tell more?

Jason,

I'm interested as well. Can you tell us what mag has the article?

Thanks,

Joel

The article was in the September, 2003 issue of Recording magazine. I'm pretty sure you can get back issues from them.

I'm going to do my best to chronicle my difficulties and successes without giving away any information that might be protected by the magazine, so please don't be offended if I can't answer all questions that might pop up.

Flatpicker did some comparison threads a while back with the stock vs modded. I'll try to dig them up and post links.


Jason A.

http://studioforums.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s;=1436041581&f;=1826095781&m;=7216064544&r;=7466069694#7466069694

http://studioforums.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s;=1436041581&f;=1826095781&m;=3396003255&r;=3396003255#3396003255


Jason A.

First noteworthy item: The screws thread in, not out. I read that somewhere (probably RAP) but had forgotten until it was too late. You are supposed to thread them in until they just barely clear the case. I tried to thread them out and ended up breaking the slots on all three screws. Thing is I wasn't even really turning them that hard. I ended up having to drill them out on a drill press.

I could have really screwed things up drilling them so I was happy to find that it still worked afterwards. I haven't actually gotten to any mods yet. I stopped for the day so I could bring it back home and test it.

I hear these things aren't as cheap and readily available as they have been. But in my mind, doing a mod is always a risk. You better be willing to scrap something once in a while.

Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.


Jason A.

Replaced two resistors. I don't remember what they were labeled in the article but they are the ones Scott mentions will dramatically improve the sound. He was right. I put two 1G resistors in series in the place of each of the old ones. It was a tight fit and required some looping leads covered with shrink tubing but it fits.

Tried it out tonight and not only does it still work, it sounds 10X better already. Can't wait to try the rest of the changes.

Jason A.

Haven't updated this one in a while so here goes.

As Scott pointed out in the article, sometimes Oktava will sub parts out with whatever they have in stock. In my case, one mic actually had small caps instead of the 680M resistors. Another interesting item is that the FET's closest to the capsule are displayed backwards from the way Scott has pictured and the leg orientation is different. I asked Flatpicker(who graciously answered all my questions) and he said that he put his in per Scott's picture. So that's what I did and it turned out fine. The whole mod was dirt simple and the second mic went very fast.

Got done with both mics. They sound much better and are fairly well matched. I wouldn't call it a perfect match but definitely close enough for me.

I highly recommend this mod due to its ease and the quality of improvement. Oh yeah, and it costs next to nothing too.

A big thank you to Flatpicker for all his help.


Jason A.

Forgot to mention one other thing to look out for. I was testing each stage of mods on my first mic as I worked on them to better isolate problems I might have. At the final stage, my output dropped significantly. I checked all my connections and didn't see anything glaring so I emailed Flatpicker. He suggested I look at where the resistor solders to the post up by the capsule to see if my solder joint was too big and touching the case. I checked that and that actually looked fine but where the two resistors in series joined was raised slightly so I pushed that back down and did a quick reflow of my solder joints. I put the case back on and problem solved. I'd lay odds it was that resistor touching the case.

Just something to watch. It is a bit snug in there.


Jason A.

Just curious - do you feel the time spent was worthit, vs buying a different mike in the first place?

Octava is well know for a QC dept. that was subbed out to Elbonia...

Dasher

quote:

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Originally posted by thesoundsmith:
Just curious - do you feel the time spent was worthit, vs buying a different mike in the first place?

Octava is well know for a QC dept. that was subbed out to Elbonia...

Dasher

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I think it was. The cost of parts is less than $15 for a pair and it was very simple. I got my second one done in less than an hour including setup and tear down time.


Jason A.

quote:

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Originally posted by Jason A.:
...A big thank you to Flatpicker for all his help...

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You’re welcome Jason. Glad you got it going! It’s amazing how much faster you can do the second one, isn’t it?

BTW, the resister post shorting problem was actually Marik’s idea (don’t know if he’s ever posted here or not). I believe he had the same thing happen to him once.

Sorry I missed this thread, just been so busy lately. I’ll try and participate more.

I couldn't resist experimenting, so I ordered all the parts. Sadly, my solder skills suck. Solder doesn't love me, I don't love it. I sent my pair off to a good tech and am awaiting the returned mics. I can't wait. I've got an unaltered matched pair so I can A/B the mods. If the change is big enough, I might do the second pair.

Thanks for all the tips. I printed this post along with the article. Should really help the tech.

Glad to hear Shortyprs. I think you will be happy with the change. I don't know how much your tech charges but it was certainly worth it for me.

I know Scott was talking about how fragile the solder pads were but I don't consider myself a solder expert and I didn't have any issues. As long as you use your head and don't heat the crap out of anything I think you will be OK.

Let us know what you think.


Jason A.

Shortyprs,

It’s not all that difficult once you get the hang of it, and the way to do that is to practice. Get yourself a soldering iron, a roll of “solder wick”, a solder “sucker”, solder, and some extra flux. Find an old junk radio or something and start removing the parts and re-soldering them. You’ll become experienced in no time!

quote:

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Originally posted by Flatpicker:
Shortyprs,

It’s not all that difficult once you get the hang of it, and the way to do that is to practice. Get yourself a soldering iron, a roll of “solder wick”, a solder “sucker”, solder, and some extra flux. Find an old junk radio or something and start removing the parts and re-soldering them. You’ll become experienced in no time!

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I will say that if I do much more of this I'm going to invest in a solder sucker. I use the one at work and it is 1000% better than trying to use solder wick.


Jason A.