Monday, November 8, 2021

Save $2970! Build this $30 DIY Microphone!


There are a number of good ideas in this video.  We've known for a long time that many expensive mics are really simple, cheap mic capsules in fancy packaging.  This video takes a $12 mic capsule (which looks a bit like the ones we are using for the podcast), adds come amplification, a USB interface, and some really cool looking bronze packaging to come up with a very nice microphone. 

I liked his use of solder wick as a shield for the DIY mic cable.  Who knew the wick was hollow!  I also like the cooking torch for use in soldering the brass.  I need one of those. The little Murata DC voltage booster with positive and negative output seems useful. 

It seems that anyone working on this kind of project quickly gets pulled into the use of "audio speak." Late in the video Matt says his mic has nice low-end "presence."   A quick look at the comments section shows one person saying that one or the other of the mics sounds a bit "moist."   

There are many other similarly interesting projects on Matt's YouTube channel:

4 comments:

  1. This is very interesting find, Bill. Thanks for the post.

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  2. Low-end "presence" is an oxymoron. As "presence" in an audio context has traditionally just meant "Upper Midrange".
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presence_(amplification)

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  3. Presence - the magical Heil 2500 Hz peak.

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