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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: T-LO on January 14, 2021, 11:20:48 AM
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Greetings-
I have a set of MK4s that I have determined after 3 hours of checking gear have a buzz (short) in them. I've had the wires in the back of mics repaired 2x before, but I don't recall who I sent them too. Who would be up for that task. Thank You. Tom
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schoeps?
what kind of preamps/adapters are you using the caps with? have you tried swapping them to isolate the problem to caps or bodies?
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I run a Grace V2 and a Naiant Littlebox as a back up. I swapped out every combination I could think of and the last thing I thought was maybe its the MK4's (Schoeps). Where the mic cable goes into the mic, its loose and when I touch it that alters the noise.
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Both mics or one? Can you get another cable(s) for testing? If its a standard cable and you have a guitar center near by, pick one up since you can return it or if you have amazon prime order and return.
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if it’s a cmc 4/5/6 those are easily opened to inspect for loose components.
this guy is in the states and is an affordable alternative to sending it to germany.
http://cmc4upgrade.com/cmc4upgrade.com.html
while only schoeps should service caps, mic bodies are a lot more basic
if it’s a ccm series it’s probably going back to schoeps thru redding audio
have you ruled out the xlr connection on the cable itself?
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T-LO, I'd like to help but I'm finding it hard to figure out what you have exactly. A Schoeps mike capsule, such as the MK 4, doesn't have any wires. Maybe you have a pair of complete Schoeps microphones that have MK 4 capsules? If so, the bodies of those microphones should have a type such as CMC 5-- or CMC 6-- engraved on them. Yes? No?
Also, when you say "wires" I don't know whether you have an active cable between the capsules and the mike bodies, or whether you attach your capsules directly to the mike bodies (amplifiers) and you're talking about XLR microphone cables that may be loose, or connecting in an unreliable way to the microphones.
Could you please try to be very clear about what exactly you have, and where you think the problem may be? Thanks.
--best regards
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Here's a few pics. I don't recall who made this originally, but I've recorded several hundred shows with this set up. Thanks for looking guys.
https://we.tl/t-Xhx3hZEp53
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likely built by nick. would be easy to send him the cables less caps for him to test
you can send him a message here (https://taperssection.com/index.php?action=pm;sa=send;u=5476)
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OK, that's a pair of Schoeps capsules with a non-Schoeps stereo active Y-cable (the original Schoeps product was called "KCY" but it's now discontinued). No amplifiers.
I agree with Jerryfreak--the cable is the prime suspect, and should be looked at by whoever made it. Some connections may need to be resoldered and/or broken wire replaced.
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PFA's?? Deff known to fail. Check them after caps and connections. Ed
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PFA's?? Deff known to fail. Check them after caps and connections. Ed
+1. Had one fail in hot weather after owning it for less than a year.
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/\ Big time bummer.... I use the heck out of 'em, that's for sure. This has happened before, probably 4 -5 yrs ago.
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For $120 to $150 why wouldn't you have a back up set at that price? I currently own 5 pairs of PFA's with no issues. I've probably owned at least 10 sets and never had a failure. All electronics have a shelf life. I had a Schoeps VMS 5U go bad, but I wouldn't blame Schoeps. Considering how many PFA's are in the wild I have seen very few failure reports. Failure in less than a year sucks, but that isn't a common issue that I'm aware of.
PFA's?? Deff known to fail. Check them after caps and connections. Ed
+1. Had one fail in hot weather after owning it for less than a year.
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I don’t see PFA’s in his description of issues.. or in the photos.
Seems like the “collette” end of a pair of KCY terminated nbob cables from description.
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I feel different about PFA'S than most. I consider them for "back up" only. Great to have especially for the price. If he is doing a lot of hat mounting, most likely the wires going into "collets". Ed
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I have three sets of actives for just that reason. If I hit an expensive arena show, I don’t want the surprise of a bad cable, and don’t want the down time.
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Same here. If we use this gear out in the wild shit happens. Also makes troubleshooting easy as I can swap out every component to find the bad one. Only problem was once I sent to Nick to repair and he couldn't reproduce. He did humor me and rebuild the cables.
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Umm, "Colette" isn't a part of a cable; it's a person's name. Long-ish story how it came to be associated with Schoeps' remote-capsule arrangements. But it sounds similar to our word "collar" and I guess some people think it refers to the neck of the capsule end of the cable, or maybe some other part--I can't always tell.
What I do know is that I've used Schoeps active cables on literally hundreds of live concert recordings since the 1970s and have never had a failure with any of them. I haven't always treated them like porcelain dolls, either.
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:iamwithstupid:
Never had one fail either, although the wiring has disintegrated and had to be rewired.
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Thanks for all the input. The item has been mailed to Nick for repair. It was like sending a kid off to summer camp for a few weeks.
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Thanks for all the input. The item has been mailed to Nick for repair. It was like sending a kid off to summer camp for a few weeks.
Nick will take good care of it. I call him Dr. Nick.