Saw this on eBay and wanted to pass it along. He provides rewind services for CM/CR shure mic elements. I don't know what his work is like but maybe some of you do. The name is LeWilson Microphones. There is a large void in the harp community -- there is no one that I know of who is presently repairing these shure elements, with the exception of Chuck Gurney, who according to his website is on temporary medical leave. There needs to be someone who can step in and repair these elements given their widespread demand and use by harp players.
This is an interesting sideline for the LeWilson proprietor as his re-created tube microphones look amazing. Pricey too!
http://www.lewilsonmicrophones.com/index.html
Lastly, I have visited Mr. Gurney's website for over a year and he has been on medical leave all that time. I do hope he is fighting the good fight and beating his medical issues. Let's hope the blues will take him from hurtin' to healin' . ----------
I had 5 dead Shure Black Label controlled-reluctance elements that I sent to Lewilson. Dammed if he didn't bring every one back to life, and they still have that fat Black Label Tone.
marine1896 - It's not that it's difficult. It's just not financially viable for anyone to make them. Once you figure in all the set up and production costs and the size of the market. It's simply not worth it. Otherwise people like Greg Heumann would be making them.
It's such a pity the CM/CR are just so synthetic sounding (to my ear) as opposed to crystals.
As an after thought some players sound ok depending on their amp match, technical ability etc.
Also, was there not something I read years ago on greenbullets site about those Rochelle salts crystals or something? Not sure would need to find that again.
Last Edited by marine1896 on May 23, 2015 10:30 AM
@larrystick, that's good to know. there is a definite need for this type of repair. @kindgly and marine 1896, i have mentioned this before on this site, someone who is in this type of business should approach a crystal element manufacturer and ahve them duplicate an astatic element. If harp amp builders can outsource their amp builds, why can't a mic builder?
There simply isn't enough money to be made on elements to make it viable. The amp business is a far bigger market because of guitar players , so parts are readily available and cheap. Making crystal elements the way Astatic or Shure made them. Would entail huge outlays of cash just to get things up and running. The market for the product is only in the thousands and is only harp players. So unless every harp player was willing to pay hundreds of dollars for each element and buy handfuls of them. It's a non starter from a business perspective. It's just simple economics. I wish that weren't the case, but the fact is, it is.
Again, it's a pity for those of us who like banging, big fat assed crystals! I have never done any research or a business plan to look into this so I can't comment on if it's a viable venture or not, damn it's a pity....oh, I feel a slow blues coming on.
Rewinds? Awesome! Both ventures got my vote. Crystal manufacturing, and rewinding elements. How feasible is the crystal idea, Greg? You'd be the logical choice to re-manufacture the original design for the Brush or 151 crystal element. ---------- Yes, there are blues in Hawaii.
Here's what Greg Heumann said last time the subject came up:
Making a crystal - you have to "grow" big crystals in a laboratory environment and then you have to slice them up precisely. Modern crystal elements use really tiny slices and more modern composition so they're unlikely to sound like the old ones. Tooling up to make the old ones involves not only the crystal formulation and processing, but making a housing - which involves making a mold and casting, making a diaphragm which involves a custom stamping die and a tool to run it, and then an assembly tool which rolls the lip of the housing over the diaphragm, not to mention the assembly of something to connect the diaphragm to the crystal, and the crystal to terminals on the back of the housing. An investment of several hundred thousand dollars will get you there.
The market for a $100 element that costs more, has poorer frequency response and less headroom than a $2.00 one from China? Good luck if you can sell 500 a year.
So, could you not even use your existing element and only replace the crystal .... I'm ignorant here...? But also, I guess that the estimate of of several hundred thousand dollars means that it has actually been costed or is that just a guestimate ?
Getting back to the issue of CM/CR rewinds. I am told by Lewilson that he is aware of the frequency responses of these elements and is experimenting with windings to boost lows and roll off the highs. Apparently, there is a lot to these elements and likley small variations of the coil, its diameter, and the internal structure of other components likley add to the tone.
Also, Lewilson indicated that he needs more CR elements to sacrifice for testing. So if you got one that it's working, and for the betterment of all, please send him your CR elements.
Last Edited by blueswannabe on May 25, 2015 5:34 AM
@marine1896 "So, could you not even use your existing element and only replace the crystal " - No. My element doesn't use a crystal at all.
Now might be a good time to point out that, until now, there has NEVER EVER been a microphone element designed for harp players. The Heumann Element is, in fact, the only one. And it rocks. I've now sold about 100 of them and the feedback is excellent from pros and beginners and everyone in between.
If you're unfamiliar with The Heumann Element, it is a high impedance dynamic element developed by BlowsMeAway Productions specifically for harp players. It is made from a modern vocal mic element to which I make both mechanical and electrical modifications. It has big, fat tone with plenty of bass. Ronnie Shellist says it reminds him of a Ceramic element but with more output. It sells for $159 and is available now. I have gaskets to fit it to Shure bullets, JT30’s, T3’s, Turner "+2"/254 shells and my wood mics. Gaskets are $15.
You can hear it in these videos:
http://youtu.be/CWInbGhOmD4 <— Jake Friel and Nic Clark - Memphis Mini https://youtu.be/HBflXFYi1kE <— Nic Clark performing - Memphis Mini http://youtu.be/7vHVCBl9RVs <— Ronnie Shellist - 1975 Fender Silverface Princeton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKwGbJW5-Xc <—RJ Mischo - Sonny Jr Avenger http://youtu.be/Q0lnx_bvRhg <—- Andy Just - Sonny Jr Avenger
P.S. I sent Mr. Wilson some old CR elements to repair. I am satisfied with the results.
Yes, lets hope Chuck gets well soon At the moment I some have extra time to repair broken elements. You can contact at marklwilson2@msn.com or my website at lewilsonmicrophones.com
Last Edited by Lewilson on May 27, 2015 6:15 PM
@Greg Heumann ; "So, could you not even use your existing element and only replace the crystal " - No. My element doesn't use a crystal at all''
Actually Greg, sorry just the way I worded that I was not meaning YOUR elements specifically I was meaning any dud crystal element casing.
I do not doubt the quality or tonal quality of your elements nor the quality of anything you produce etc.
So, this vid below (there's lot's on TY) is that the type of crystal you would need to use for a crystal element and could one of those crystals be retro fitted to an old crystal element ?
I sent four CR elements to Mark at Lewilson mics and he did a good job of repairing all four, including one rewind.
marine1896, I don't think a dead crystal element can be repaired. First off, I doubt that you could duplicate the Brush, Shure or Astatic mojo of growing and shaping the crystal in your kitchen. Japanese crystals never really came close and they're generally pretty good at that sort of thing. Second, I don't think you can get to the internal mount for the crystal wafer without destroying the diaphragm - at least on any of them that I've taken apart. I'm sure there are many other obstacles but that's enough for me. Enjoyed the science video though.
@Bilzharp ; Thanks for that , I don't really mess with elements, I have a touch like a baby elephant (I'm a steel erector lol) so apart from soldering, which I'm good at, little fiddly things like elements, re-tuning reeds etc. I give a wide berth!
