Microphone Choices:

SONIC TRUTHS - AND CONSEQUENCES...

I know how you feel... Looking back, it seemed so easy, so straight forward, so-simple! All you were really looking for was GREAT TONE, yielded from a harmonica, a microphone, and an amplifier, blended gently with a few obtuse incantations and a clean supply of A.C. power. Now look at you, staring at the innards of some chunk of Philistine audio technology from the '30's that wasn't even meant to outlast the tailfins that Detroit foisted upon us. You say that you can't help it, that it's a compulsion. You say that you MUST try and try and try, and that you KNOW you could revive those bits and pieces of microphonic junk in front of you (just like a modern day Victor Frankenstein)-IF you could only uncover those SONIC TRUTHS for which you've searched... Friend, we in the MIC DUNGEON hear your pleas-and we feel your pain.

Didn't you learn anything from Bob Barker? For the itinerant sonic tinkerer - the harp player who's GOT to monkey with his/her microphone gear, there's TRUTH, and there's CONSEQUENCES. Very often they are closely associated, and the lessons they yield can be profound, enduring... and expensive! The following case in point provides us with one of those indelible SONIC TRUTHS-AND CONSEQUENCES...

"HEY FRITZ! I really wanted to upgrade the sound of my stock (read new) Blues Blaster, and I happened to find a vintage Shure R7 crystal at an electronics repair shop in town. The tech hooked it up to an old amp with alligator leads to test it-and it sounded GREAT! I bought it, took it home, and wired it into my Blues Blaster. I plugged it into my amp-and got nothing, no sound! I took the R7 out of the mic and tried it connected with just bare wires to my amp. Nothing! What's the deal? Did the amp tech rip me off?" signed, MISERY.

Dear MISERY: This is a sad, expensive lesson you've learned: Vintage crystal elements are very sensitive to impact, moisture, and HEAT. Although you may have handled that crystal element with the greatest of care, I'm going to guess that you soldered your new/old R7 to the leads in your mic with a really hot soldering gun, maybe even taking a little extra time to get the connections just right. The TRUTH is, that unless you're extra-cautious with the soldering iron (Please! PUT DOWN that big Weller gun and use a soldering pencil designed for use with delicate electronics) and protect the crystal elements' innards by clamping hemostats or heat sinks to its terminals, you might as well shout "Welcome to the barbeque!" because that's the unfortunate CONSEQUENCE of applying too much heat to a crystal element. And while you're at it, say "Sayonara," because unlike many other issues that elements might develop, there's no physical repair for a damaged crystal-short of replacement. You'll hear stories of similar experiences from any number of tinkerers and mic techs who've learned this SONIC TRUTH the hard way. Once they're gone, they're gone. It's enough to make you play the Blues-for real!

HAPPIER SONIC TRUTHS AND MIC SECRETS REVEALED! Next time we visit... THE MIC BENCH

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED (Email them to me at HARPMICMAN@earthlink.net).

For pictures and descriptions of most of the microphones listed visit http://www.harmonicamasterclass.com/vintage_collection.htm

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