Brother Phil
6 posts
Oct 31, 2013
8:48 PM
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I'm hoping some microphone technician can help me understand what is happening with my 520DX mic. Last week it started cutting out on me during band practice and then eventually quit altogether. I took it home and concluded there was a short in the wire close to the mic itself so I cut back about 6 inches of cable and soldered everything back, protected the splices to the volume knob with shrink tube and it worked fine again. This week at band practice it played fine for about 45 minutes or so then started stuttering, or going in and out of audible sound rapidly and then quit completely. I connected a meter to the red wire at the plug and to the red wire in the mic to check continuity and when I moved the mic the tone on the meter would go on and off, so I assumed I had not cut enough wire off to correct the problem with the short, so I did the same process again. When I reassembled the mic, same issue, but I noticed when I rotate the element sound goes in and out. I'm thinking loose connection inside element itself. Am I correct? What do you think? Looks like Im using my other mic this weekend.
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Greg Heumann
2433 posts
Oct 31, 2013
8:58 PM
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The cable is poorly strain-relieved where it enters the mic. They fail there. A lot. The best solution is to install a screw-on connector where the cable used to be. Makes storing the mic and cable easier; failures will be restricted to the cable side and its easy to carry backup cables and/or a Switchcraft 332A adapter which lets you plug in a guitar cord.
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***************************************************
/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
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Brother Phil
7 posts
Oct 31, 2013
9:50 PM
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Thanks for your suggestion and I will change out the cable but I still have the question as to what may be happening with the mic that is causing it to cut in and out.
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didjcripey
652 posts
Oct 31, 2013
11:30 PM
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Probably a bad connection (inside the shell, where the wires connect to the element, or where it enters the mic, as Greg suggested). That will cause it to cut in and out.
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Lucky Lester
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Brother Phil
8 posts
Nov 01, 2013
4:20 AM
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I have cut about a foot total, or maybe even a little more since I have done it twice and resoldered the wires back on, even bypassed the volume knob. Wouldn't this solve the problem if there was a failure in the area of the strain relief? With the top of the mic taken off if I hold the element in my hand and rotate it around, there is a position that it will work. I have tried to wiggle every wire that is exposed, including the ones that come from the coil to the solder terminals on the back of the element, and I can't get it to work. It's only when I rotate the element to a certain position that it will work. I was thinking that gravity is moving some part or connection inside the element itself to a position that it makes contact and then the mic works. I don't know much about elements but wanted to confirm this before I replace it.
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jbone
1397 posts
Nov 01, 2013
6:51 AM
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There is an off chance that the other end of your cable- the 1/4" connector- has a bad solder joint, which seem unlikely if the short happens when you move the element. To me it's pretty obvious. If you have done a good job with stripping back the offending couple of inches of cable and then soldering well and shrink tubing well, that leaves the element.
I had Greg mod a mic for me a few years back and it has a screw on to 1/4" connector. It has been 100% trouble free since he modded it. He does great work. He also has some good elements from what I've heard. When I run across something i can't handle well he is my resource.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
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Brother Phil
9 posts
Nov 01, 2013
7:44 AM
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I did check the plug. I resoldered the connections there when I forgot to bring the mic cable through the mic body the second time I worked on it. It was easier to cut the cable at the plug then redo the solder joints inside the mic body.
Last Edited by Brother Phil on Nov 01, 2013 7:52 AM
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Greg Heumann
2436 posts
Nov 01, 2013
9:53 AM
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The problem is that the strain relief really isn't one. There is nothing that prevents the cable from spinning inside the spring, and it will want to do that every time you coil the cable. That stresses all the connections. Eventually a wire or two will break free from the cable shield and start to intermittently short to the center conductor. The insulation on the center conductor will begin to fail and/or THAT will create intermittent shorts as well. Then finally some connection will sever entirely. It's just a lousy design - it was never meant for harmonica players. The best defense is to understand the failure mode and modify your behavior to reduce the human causes. If you don't, it will just fail again.
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***************************************************
/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
Last Edited by Greg Heumann on Nov 01, 2013 9:54 AM
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Brother Phil
10 posts
Nov 01, 2013
10:59 AM
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Well my brother got me this mic and I was trying to repair it before a gig. He reminded me that he bought a lifetime warranty where they will replace the mic if it stops working so that's what I'm going to do. I have dropped it several times and I remember one time stepping on the cord and it propelled it out of my hands and hit the floor hard but kept working. I see what you mean about the cord spinning in the spring. It would be nice if Shure would modify the design and use a screw on cord connector instead. It's a good mic and durable otherwise.
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Greg Heumann
2439 posts
Nov 01, 2013
8:22 PM
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"It would be nice if Shure would modify the design and use a screw on cord connector instead."
Good luck. That mic is what you call a "cash cow" for Shure. I doubt they'll change a thing. (And I hope they don't, because it is good for my business!) It trades on the reputation of a "green bullet" being a great harp mic, period. Nobody tells all the newbie buyers that the current generation green bullet doesn't sound nearly as good as the original one, or that it's too big for people with smaller hands to cup effectively, or that it is way heavier than its competition and will cause hand fatigue - OR that the cable is going to fail inside the mic sooner or later.
Learning the above is like a rite of passage for harp players. I too bought a 520DX early in my playing career. So do a lot of others.
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***************************************************
/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
Last Edited by Greg Heumann on Nov 01, 2013 8:23 PM
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Mirco
16 posts
Nov 01, 2013
9:59 PM
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So Greg, what's the best mic for a new player?
Buying a Green Bullet is a rite of passage I have not passed through. But I'm looking for a good first mic right now.
What's a good, reasonably priced mic for a beginner?
Last Edited by Mirco on Nov 01, 2013 9:59 PM
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SuperBee
1508 posts
Nov 02, 2013
4:07 AM
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I came very close to buying a 520dx...but the $320 price tag made me hold off and drove me to look online for a better deal...whereupon I discovered this site, and began to learn about the brand-new online world of harmonica. Among other things I learned that the DX really wasn't where it's at and that I could buy a vintage mic from Ron Sunshine and ship it to Australia for about $60 less than buying a DX. Of course, I didn't really save any money though because I couldn't stop at 1 vintage mic...
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JellyShakersTipJar
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jbone
1398 posts
Nov 02, 2013
4:59 AM
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There is an off chance that the other end of your cable- the 1/4" connector- has a bad solder joint, which seem unlikely if the short happens when you move the element. To me it's pretty obvious. If you have done a good job with stripping back the offending couple of inches of cable and then soldering well and shrink tubing well, that leaves the element.
I had Greg mod a mic for me a few years back and it has a screw on to 1/4" connector. It has been 100% trouble free since he modded it. He does great work. He also has some good elements from what I've heard. When I run across something i can't handle well he is my resource.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
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Greg Heumann
2440 posts
Nov 02, 2013
8:53 AM
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@Mirco
Depends on your budget. Check out http://www.bottle-o-blues.com
The Hohner JT30 Roadhouse has good tone for the $$ but it is really cheaply made and won't last well. The screw on connector is a copy of the Switchcraft made in China by people who apparently can't measure very well and as such often won't fit products made with standard Switchcraft connectors such as cables, adapters and volume controls.
For a little more $$ you should be able to get a used JT30 with a Shure CM in it from Dennis Gruenling or another builder. Or an Ultimate 57 from me.
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***************************************************
/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
Last Edited by Greg Heumann on Nov 02, 2013 8:54 AM
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MagicPauley57
126 posts
Nov 03, 2013
12:03 AM
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I had my old 520 modded to take any 1/4 jack.it was done so I can slot any guitar cable straight into the bottom instead of a switchcraft screw on, it works very well, you just have to be aware not to step on your lead. But if you did, it doesn't snag and create problems with misconnections, I'm looking into getting another Mic as a spare, possibly a shaker dynamic or s nice custom harp from Johnny ace
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jbone
1399 posts
Nov 03, 2013
2:32 AM
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There are several different and decent choices out there. Turner, Astatic, and Electrovoice come immediately to mind.
I have an Electrovoice m43u that Greg redid for me and is a great hot dynamic mic. Greg put a transformer in the shell to boost it to hi-z, added a screw on connector, and a volume pot as well. One of my mainstay mics.
I bartered some years ago for a Ruskin custom crystal mic, built in a motorcycle tail light bezel. Great mic. Like any crystal, not so much bottom end but still a great clear signal, more for a jazz or swing app imho.
As for other crystal element mics Astatic built a lot of the 332 model in the 60's and one can be had pretty inexpensively these days. While it's not a hero on the bottom end it serves very well for low key harps like bari C and G chromatic and low D and low F as well.
I do have a former brown bullet which is now a flamed bullet with a hot cm element in it. Bare bones, hard wired cable, no volume pot, but sometimes it's just what the doctor ordered. The element is pre- DX so it's a good Shure 99 series.
A lot of the time lately the Shure 585s "James Cotton" style ball mic is in the stand and being used for both rehearsal and gigs. It just reproduces so well.
The venerated sm57 is a great mic to use straight into the p.a. Clean and clear signal but can be made to bark with tight cupping and the price is right.
In the past I have had a Hohner bluesblaster and a Nady Bushman torpedo as well. Both sported nice shells but the elements were dismal in my book, and if I'd wanted to go to the trouble I'd have gutted them and installed good cm or crystal elements in them. I sold the Nady and since the Bluesblaster was given to me I gave it away.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
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