Are there any precautions that need to be taken with any kind of foam in contact with mics or any other accessories?  I recently found the perfect-sized box in which to store my mics inside my gear bag and plan on cutting some foam to fit it, and then cutting out some slots to hold the mics (KM140s).  I have some nice foam that came inside some Western Digital hard drive boxes, but the drives were in their own antistatic baggies.  Is this foam likely to be fine to use, or is the foam used in Pelican cases, etc., a special foam suitable for electronics?

get anti-static foam and trash the stuff from the hdd boxes. I don't remember the technical term for it, but there is foam that doesn't build or retain a charge. Paging tgakidis...

I'll plead ignorant agnosticism on the static issue, but what I can tell you from bitter experience is that foam breaks down over time (10+ years) and becomes an extremely sticky goo which can ruin the finish of whatever metal objects you may have stored in it.

Also, I've heard (but not seen) that before the meltdown stage is reached, the foam can give off tiny particles of itself, which could settle on the membrane(s) of a microphone--particularly given that condenser microphones work on the same principle as electrostatic air cleaners.

So don't store anything in a foam-lined case long-term, or at least wrap your anything in a plastic bag inside the case.

--best regards

Alternate tack is to cut foam to fit, with a bit of extra room, then spray a thin layer of 3M adhesive on the foam (or on the lining material, or both) and line with synthetic suede or velvet material so foam never contacts your gear.

So I ended up placing an order for the CD30 foam from http://www.foamorder.com/packing.html.  They had a minimum order of some strange amount (around $13, but not exactly), so I ended up getting more foam than I need.  With the ridiculous shipping charges, I paid $26.47 for 6 pieces of foam, each 8 inches square and 2 inches thick.  I think I can use 3 of them, but would be willing to sell the other 3 if anybody is interested.  They're $4.41 plus shipping/paypal each.  I imagine it'll cost a couple of bucks at least to ship each of them.  Obviously, all 3 could probably be shipped for significantly less than 3 times the cost to ship one.

If anyone is interested, speak up and I'll dig around for the best/cheapest way to ship them.

So I ended up placing an order for the CD30 foam from http://www.foamorder.com/packing.html.  They had a minimum order of some strange amount (around $13, but not exactly), so I ended up getting more foam than I need.  With the ridiculous shipping charges, I paid $26.47 for 6 pieces of foam, each 8 inches square and 2 inches thick.  I think I can use 3 of them, but would be willing to sell the other 3 if anybody is interested.  They're $4.41 plus shipping/paypal each.  I imagine it'll cost a couple of bucks at least to ship each of them.  Obviously, all 3 could probably be shipped for significantly less than 3 times the cost to ship one.

If anyone is interested, speak up and I'll dig around for the best/cheapest way to ship them.

I'm interested! What are you putting your mics in? I've got some pelican case to store mine in, maybe the 1060 series.

For my church mics, I found something very similar to what you're describing work quite well. I don't use any foam/padding in it since its so small and it would probably end up getting in the way.

For my SDC mics, I like the pelican 1060. I would only need one piece and here is the case with the interior dimensions:
http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=1060

Quote from: Gutbucket on May 28, 2010, 04:01:35 PM

I put mics in ziplocks with small desicant packs thrown in for good measure before storing in the typical cut-foam or pick&pluck foam padded cases.  Cheap insurance against moisture and potential foam rot.

^
+T - Excellent suggestion.

Yup, I like this.  Easy and much smarter than just keeping them directly in my Pelican case.  Thanks for this simple but elegant idea.