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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > Droped my mic. Repair tip...
Droped my mic. Repair tip...
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Barley Nectar
317 posts
Mar 12, 2014
4:21 PM
I dropped my microphone and now it sounds so weak.

I dropped my microphone and now it barely speaks.

My favorite mic is bad, and now I feel so sad.

Tore it down an fixed it, man I'm really glad.

Mic is a Turner shell w/ a Shure 99A86 element, 1Meg pot. After being dropped the output was about 10%. Upon disassembly I discovered that the dab of glue in the center of the diaphragm had come loose. This glue connects the pushrod to the diaphragm and drives the the steel armature which moves inside the coil/magnet assembly and produces the electrical signal. I place one drop of superglue on top of the old glue spot and wiggled it around with a small pointed tool. This allowed the superglue to wick under the old glue and reattach the rod to the diaphragm. Then set the mic in a warm spot overnight for the superglue to cure. The mic now works as well as ever. Fixed!
So, if you have a weak Shure CR/CM/R type element or similar, take a look at the glue spot in the front center of the diaphragm and see if it moves around when gently pushed with a small tool. You may be able to fix it in the same manner. Good luck...BN

Last Edited by Barley Nectar on Mar 15, 2014 3:25 AM
capnj
212 posts
Mar 12, 2014
9:08 PM
I like those turner shells with the shure elements,had one stolen at a jam,bought another.Thanks for the tip.Nice rhymin.

Last Edited by capnj on Mar 12, 2014 9:11 PM
didjcripey
720 posts
Mar 12, 2014
11:35 PM
Great tip.
Good to be able to figure out how to fix stuff yourself.
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Lucky Lester
DoubleJ
48 posts
Mar 13, 2014
9:48 AM
Nice lyrics as well...
Barley Nectar
321 posts
Mar 15, 2014
3:24 AM
I'm bumping this one up so a few more folks can read it...Just trying to help.
didjcripey
723 posts
Mar 15, 2014
3:51 AM
Careful.. you might get a visit from the harp mic tech guild.
Trade secrets and stuff...
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Lucky Lester
blueswannabe
431 posts
Mar 15, 2014
8:21 AM
Whoa, close call! I have learned not to mess with delicate microphone components because I have made them worse. But sounds like you didn't! I wondering though, is superglue the better application for that or would another glue be better. The diaphragm is always moving, is superglue too rigid? Does anyone know.

I have dropped mics on the floor and had to send two elements to Chuck Gurney for repair. When I go to his website now, it says that he's on medical leave and I don't know if he still makes repairs.

If you go to the green bullet site, you can contact Dave the creator of the site. Very nice guy..and very knowledgeable about CR/CM elements. He is also very reasonable. I haven't had the chance to use Dave to fix a mic yet but I definitely will when the need arises.

There are other issue that develop with a dropped CM/CR element. Sometimes the armature pin is moved out of place and sticks to the magnet and has to be reset.

Also, sometimes you need special tools to work with these elements. If you try to pop the cap off with a pin but you could damage the diaphragm if you're not extremely careful. You may also have to clean the cap and diaphragm before reglueing. You only need a tiny bit of glue. If you use too much you could make it much worse than it is now.

Last Edited by blueswannabe on Mar 15, 2014 8:24 AM


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