What do you get when you combine the guts of a Porsche 911 with the body of a VW Beetle? You get a high-performance sports car that does not look like one. This is analogous to what is offered by Microphone Parts. They sell upgrade kits for inexpensive mics. I tried two of their modified MXL 990 condenser mics, and built a third one myself.
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One of the mics they sent was modified with an RK-12 capsule, which is their version of an AKG CK 12, the capsule in the venerable C 12 tube mic. The other was modified with an RK-47 capsule, which is their version of the Neumann K 47, the capsule in the revered U 47. Both mics utilized the Microphone Parts upgraded circuit, which completely replaces the circuit board in the MXL. Since the RK-47 is a dual-diaphragm capsule, the Microphone Parts circuit provides an omni/cardioid switch on the board - more on this later. Like the U 47, the Microphone Parts circuit does not support a figure-8 pattern.
Before building the kit, I used these two mics to record a female duo. I used the RK-47 in cardioid mode on the lead voice, and the RK-12 on the supporting voice. The RK-47 needed a pop filter, because the two inner screens were removed.
This gives the mic an impressive look, as the dual-diaphragm capsule is readily visible. I always use pop filters anyway to keep singers from getting too close to the mics. The results surprised and amazed me. On playback of the first takes, I was stopped in my tracks, staring at the speakers. On listening to the lead vocal, my first unedited thoughts were, 'I must have this,' and 'this sounds expensive.' The vocal floated above the instruments without sticking out. The sound was a glossy, electric, slightly larger than life, 'sounds like a record' tone that I associate with expensive pop productions.
Not natural-sounding, but supernatural-sounding - and freaking beautiful. The RK-12 was a great performer as well, but to me, it was more realistic and less exciting than the RK-47. For the initial takes, we recorded both voices at once, facing each other, and recorded electric guitar and bass through DI. There was considerable bleed, but it was good bleed and worked well in the final mix. Then we did acoustic guitar tracks with the RK-47, which also turned out great. We decided to do old-school backing vocals, with both singers simultaneously singing into the RK-47 in omni mode. Since the polar pattern switch is on the circuit board, to change patterns, one must open the mic by first unscrewing the collar by the XLR connector, then unscrewing the mic body.
The MXL bodies are not machined with great precision, so this was always a squeaky, awkward affair. I quickly learned that you must also remember the setting - or you have to do a soundcheck, or open the mic again, the next time you use it. I'm not sure what the best solution is - perhaps sticky notes on the mic before you put it away? Still, I applaud that this did not stop them from including the switch.
Already being sold on the mics, my next task was to see how easy they are to build. I was sent the 990B, a multilayer circuit board with solder pads on both sides. This sandwiched style of board improves the routing of the ground plane as compared to the 990A, but a downside of this is you can't see the traces. The build manual, which includes color photographs, is excellent and is probably the best DIY instruction set I've seen. Still, I don't recommend this as someone's first soldering project, mostly because you can't afford to make a single mistake, unless you have a de-soldering station. Warnings in bold warn the builder against soldering wick or a solder sucker, which is all I have. Microphone Parts told me that customers have assembled these boards with inexpensive soldering pencils that plug directly into an AC outlet, but personally, I can't imagine doing this without a temperature-controlled soldering station equipped with a precision tip.
I went very slowly and carefully, sorting the parts first before beginning the build. The parts are high- quality, including WIMA capacitors and Vishay Dale resistors. The resistors do not use the standard striping system; numeric values are printed on the parts themselves, which I found challenging to read. I often had to use the magnifying glass on my 'helping hands' clamp to identify them.
The labeling on one of the diode sets was so obscured that I could only determine the value by process of elimination - it's a good thing I could read the other values. The manual says the circuit board takes about an hour to complete; it took me about two, though I think I'd be faster on a second attempt. Many of the components are tightly spaced, and I was being very careful not to connect solder pads. In one case, I thought I had mistakenly shorted two components, but it turned out that they were connected in the circuit; because of the hidden traces, there was no way to confirm this until I finished the mic. During one part of the assembly, a few components are left unsoldered on one end, to be attached to the polar-pattern switch later.
I found myself wishing I had made the switch connections first, before soldering to the board, because some fine, jewelry-style wire-twisting with needle-nosed pliers was required before soldering to the switch, and breaking a leg of a transistor would have been tragic. Fortunately, Microphone Parts will replace user-broken components for a flat fee of $5, but since I don't have a de- soldering station, and the transistor was already soldered on two legs, I would have had to send the whole board back.
The kit comes with extra capacitors to use for optional filtering, but these were not recommended for the RK-47. Once the board was done, it was time to remove the MXL board. I almost stripped one of the screws but eventually got it out. The capsule comes in a plastic container.
It was difficult to remove. Tips on the website say to tap it against a table, but mine wasn't budging. I resorted to what the website said in bold not to do: I used a screwdriver. It was nerve- racking, but I eventually eased it out undamaged.
When I did, a small piece of un-shrunk shrink tube came out. This was what was keeping it firmly in its container, as mentioned on the website. If it had been a little longer, I could have used needle-nosed pliers to pull the tube out first. Attaching the capsule to the base was also nerve- racking. One must hold the capsule without dropping it or touching the diaphragms, then thread some very small screws into it, along with a terminating wire with a small eyelet. I found myself wishing for some kind of plastic cover that could protect the capsule during installation.
Also, I would have appreciated more hints on how to position the circuit board when attaching the capsule wires. You're instructed to make the capsule wires 'as short as possible,' but it was not clear how to do this.
At this point, you can't actually attach the circuit board to the mic body, as that requires the screen. So it was awkward, but I eventually got the board to sit partway in the body while attaching the wires. Fine-tuning the polarization bias of the capsule backplate required many turns of a small potentiometer on the board, and then checking voltage at a particular point in the circuit, while the mic is phantom powered. If I had been instructed to leave the component lead at this connection intact, I'd have had something for an alligator clip to grab. Every time I touched a probe to this spot, it pegged the VU meter on the preamp that was supplying phantom. The manual explains, the more voltage to the capsule, the greater the sensitivity, until there is so much voltage that the diaphragms collapse. (The Microphone Parts circuits won't allow you to raise the voltage enough to make this mistake.) Less voltage means less sensitivity, but higher headroom.
So one benefit of building these mics is you will know how to adjust the backplate voltage for different scenarios. This makes me wonder why we don't see more commercial mics with adjustable backplate voltages. In the end, the mic worked - and worked great.
From opening the box, to having a completed mic, I spent about four hours total. I opted not to remove the two inner screens. It was not clear on how to do this neatly, and they looked well glued.
This gave me a chance to compare the fully-screened version with the open version. My build sounded slightly pinched by comparison, and the screens cause some resonance in the highs according to my measurements. Speaking of measurements, mine seemed to corroborate everything Microphone Parts reports about frequency response and noise; the self-noise of these mics is astonishingly low. I don't have a practical problem with the noise floor in the original MXL, but the Microphone Parts mods blow this away.
For both the MXL and the RK-47, using the same mic preamp channel, I set levels with a test signal, then moved each mic to a silent room, covered it, and recorded. The results showed a remarkable lack of hiss from the RK-47. There was some popping down there, but so low that it would have been completely obscured by the hiss in the MXL.
Total outlay for the mic I built would be around $320 - including the purchase price of a new MXL 990 - plus about four hours of my time. Is there a commercial equivalent at this price?
Not that I know of. Plus, even after you pull them, the MXL mic parts still work. The MXL capsule is covered with a screen (and looks suspiciously like the Monoprice interchangeable capsules Tape Op #98 I recently reviewed), so you can just re-use it as is in another project. Heck, you could just cover the circuit board with epoxy and glue the capsule to a length of pipe - or whatever.
There's a lot of information on the website that I did not cover. You'll want to make sure you have the required tools before ordering. You can check the tutorials. You can get matched capsules and circuits. Advanced shockmounts are even available for purchase. It's clear that the people at Microphone Parts really want you to get the most out of your DIY experience, and if you've mod'ed mics or assembled a preamp kit in the past, you would have a pretty easy time with the Microphone Parts kits. Despite some of the frustrations I describe, the whole experience was hugely educational and rewarding - and I'd do it again and again.
There's at least one matched pair of RK-47s in my near future. (RK-47 & RK-12 capsules $109 each; 990B PCB Kit $129; www.microphone-parts.com).
. All solid-state design, using chipsets from THAT Corp and Burr-Brown.
Soft-start, slow ramp-on +48V phantom power. Option to use input transformer for added sound “flavor”. Gain range from +12 to +72dB, in 6dB increments from +12db to +42dB; 4dB increments from 46dB to 72dB. Onboard Power Supply Regulation, adjustable +/- voltage rails.
Robust 48Volt short circuit protection (from accidental phantom power shorts). LED-lighted push buttons for phantom power, -20dB pad and polarity reverse. VU Meter, 5-LED bargraph. Relay controlled Pad. Relay controlled Polarity Reverse.
Hole locations compatible with our X-12 Mic Preamp. Note: The SC-1, SC-1mk2, SC-1mk3, SC-1mk500 (now renamed SC-501) all have the same audio DNA, and share the same audio path circuitry. This is just a small sampling of customer testimonials.
To read more, If you want a good sounding preamp with little risk or ambiguity, the Five Fish SC-1 are wonderful meaty units for little money. Garrett Haines, Recording Tips Editor, Tape Op, Chief Mastering Engineer, Treelady Studios The pre-amps both worked perfectly from the first time and seem to sound very good.
I've already had questions about buying more of these kits 'wholesale' in numbers. Good Luck with your kit.
It's a solid product and I had fun building it. Barry Rudolph, Recording Engineer/Producer - I'm using my Five Fish pre amps exclusively for all tracks done from my studio. Thanks again. Dave Cleveland Well my SC-1 project is done and in use. I just wanted to rave a little. The nutshell is that this is an incredibly clean and quiet pre-amp, even at massive gain levels.
The signal you put in is the signal you get out without coloration - which is what the doctor ordered for me! And it was a ton of fun to build too. If you are not afraid of a little soldering (its not a difficult thing to learn - if you can glue a model airplane together you can learn to solder) I highly recommend an SC-1 or two or eight. scottso I tried the SC-1 pres up against other high-end preamps with great results. They really open up the ribbon mics I have made. We were kinda shocked (big improvement) but your pres sounded much better than my other pres. So much so that my buddy kept them!
The othe preamp had a different full sound-not good or bad. We used your pres instead for the drum overheads. I have another producer who is going to use the pres and the ribbons on a horn session next week.
We tuned the trim all the way up and just used the gain. If this is any indication of what the new version will be I can't wait to get some time to make and use the newer SC-1mk2. We were under a time constraint so we did not have time to delve into the super-specifics but under pressure, the SC-1s performed flawlessly.
Ed P., USA (Ribbon Mic Manufacturer) I don't have any experience building gear, just soldering cables. So when I ordered your SC-1 kit, I didn't know if I could do it or not. But your PDF guide (great read BTW) made the process easy to understand and has been a great help for a newb like me. And the best thing is I couldn't believe it worked! I'm impressed (not only because it sounded very good) but the fact that I built it myself. I built this thing! And it was not as hard as I thought it will be.
This project has opened up a new world for me. Now, I want to build your other kits. Thanks again. Public Post on TapeOp Forum: Those FiveFish units (SC-1) rock. An engineer I deal with a lot has a 'preamp on a stick' (4 of those preamps on a small piece of plywood) that he's been using as 'go to' units for months. I went there for a 'shootout' last fall - They sound great on everything.
And they seem so simple. Although I'm not exactly an electrical engineer. Keeping in mind that he has Amek, Langevin, Neve, hot-rodded this & thats lying around also. And he's using these kits more than any of them now.John S, Massive Mastering, USA I bought your SC-1 preamps months ago. Have only opened this to set up and assemble it.amazing wont describe the sound quality, my friend.its actually awesome sounding preamp.I am more than impressed.I have a range of new and old preamps also have many emulation preamps.but none was sweet as this pre.
Best money invested. M.Nambi, Ireland The SC-1 pre is awesome. It is so good, no noise, very clear, nice dynamics and all that without a trafo. I'm very happy and i will recommend that unit to anyone who is serious. You have sonic perfect mic pre amps, it knocks the others off the shelf, and leaves them running a close second, but in very many cases they're two laps behind you. This is the best money I've spent this year. Great product.
![Mic Mic](https://jualkit.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/toa-2.jpg)
Warren, Spain I use the SC-1 and it is absolutely fantastic sounding. Clean, transparent, and exceptionally musical. Daniel R, post on Gearslutz.com I have a Shadow Hills Mono Gama, Avedis MA5, Five Fish SC-1mk500, and Chandler Germanium.
While I love the other pres for other things, the Five Fish is my favorite on my voice with the SM7b. It seems a tad more open and it sits in the mix better for some reason. post by PlayRadioPlay!
On Gearslutz.com I bought 2 channels of the fivefish pre's, and they were the simplest build ever. The circuit boards are TOP-NOTCH. Fully through-plated vias, incredible component layer silkscreen. I barely even needed to look at the directions.
All parts were individually packed and labeled. Put together the power supply board in about 1 hour.
The preamp boards took about 1.5hours for the first one, and about 1 hour for the second. forum post on Gearslutz.com And after another round of trials, my SC-1's were used by the touring engineer for John Doe (from the seminal LA punk band 'X').this was an acoustic show at the Great American Music Hall, and the pres were used on the vocals. Big, warm and detailed - that's how i would describe the sound and feel. No noise issues whatsoever - very, very nice. Tyler S., Audio Engineer, USA I've just finished the first SC-1.
What can I say: WOW Very Happy The amount of CLEAN gain is unbelieveable and that's with everything in the open on my makeshift worksurface! No hum, buzz, or whatever, just clean! Now it's time to build the other one. Can't stop smiling Very Happy - Geert G., Netherlands Awww yeah, this has been a super cool experience, building and learning, and then listening. I gotta give it to FiveFish Studios - the kit is ridiculously well packaged, and the support is spot-on.
Mine worked beautifully from the moment I powered it up, too. So I put it in a radio shack project box mainly to see how close I can have the preamp card to the transformer and PS card - the project box is 8' deep, the same depth as the metal rack case that will ultimately be home to four SC-1 pres. This is obviously enough space, as I can't seem to make the thing hum, buzz or otherwise reveal AC/RFI noise. Trock, USA I've been meaning to let you know how much I appreciate your whole DIY thing. It's a great service to all the DIY audio freaks out there and the PSU's rock.
Very nice attention to detail also, which means a lot to me. I'm a furniture maker by trade, so elegance in design is something I notice. T.Philp There are. SC-1 Preamp on Everything - Farview Recording Studios Special thanks to Jason Walsh of Farview Recording studios for providing these audio samples Note: This is an UNMASTERED mix recording created by Jason Walsh of Farview Recording Studios. SC-1 preamps was used on everything.
Drums, ryhthm and lead guitars, and bass. In Jason's own words: 'The guitar sounds I use throw off a ton of low end, the bass was recorded hrough an Ampeg SVT set at war volume, my drums are giant heavy metal drums from the 80's.there is some low end going on. The cool thing about your preamps is that they capture that low end without pooping out. The bass was both DI and mic'd cab. The guitars were double mic'd. A 57 and a ribbon for the rhythms, and a 57 and 421 for the lead. I like these things for guitar better than my Amek 9098 preamps that have been my go-to's.'
SC-1 Preamps on everything. Mic and signal chain detail as follows:. The acoustic guitar is an Ovation LX series. The DI used was a Radial J48 active DI. It was mic'd with two Shure SM81's in an XY configuration. Drum mix:. The kick was recorded with a AKG D-112 inside and a Shure Beta 52 in the vent hole.
The snare was recorded with a Shure SM57 on top and an Octava MK-012 on the bottom. The toms were recorded through Sennheiser E504's. The overheads are Shure SM81's in an XY pattern. The bass was run through a Radial J48 active DI and an Ampeg SVT Classic miced with an Audio Technica 4033. The rhythm guitars were a PRS Mc Carty with stock humbuckers into a Bogner Ecstasy 101 b fitted with EL34's and a Marshall cabinet mic'd with a Shure SM-57 and a Cascade Fathead II ribbon mic. The lead was a PRS Mc Carty with soapbar pickups through the same amp and cabinet mic'd with a Shure SM-57 and a Sennheiser MD421.
CREDITS: Written and performed by Jason Mallow, www.myspace.com/kingsizeotis Recorded and mixed by Jason Walsh, Farview Recording, www.farviewrecording.com.