Topic: Korg MR-1000 Busman mod

[tilomagnet]

I did a search, but didn't get the info I was looking for.

Anyway, I'm considering a MR-1000, which Busman does offer a "transparency mod" for. Now I'd like to know if that mod makes the Korg suitable as an all-in-one box to run mics straight into it, similar to the Oade ACM mods for the PMD6XX and P2. Since the stock preamps of the Korg are very sensitive you'd otherwise need to run an external pre in front of it I think.

I know I could just pm busman, but I thought others may be interested as well and maybe some owners could comment.

Thanks!

 

[RickZ]

I just bought a MR-1000 for use with pair of TLM103's, and I'm able to use lo gain position of gain switch with these mics.

My MR-1000 arrived with system 1.0.0, and the current version is 1.5.1.  By carefully following instructions, I was able to update the 'system' without problem. 

I did some quick tests at home, recording playbacks of cd's.  After recording a few minutes of a CD, I connected MR-1000 via USB to copy the recorded files(DSD 5.6MHz) to this computer.  Then used Audiogate prog to 'Export' to 96KHz/32bitFloat.  Opened that file with Sound Forge, sounded better than any tests of recording CD's from speakers I've ever heard.  I won't be able to get a live recording for a week or so, but I'm encouraged by what I hear so far.

I think it depends upon your mics and their gain, whether you really need any mods. 

Hope this helps,
Rgds,
Rick Z

[deadheaded]

+t rick
welcome to the family.
at some point i will have my mr-1000 busmaned.
until then still sounds pretty darn good line in.
good luck
ed

[aegert]

I did a search, but didn't get the info I was looking for.

Anyway, I'm considering a MR-1000, which Busman does offer a "transparency mod" for. Now I'd like to know if that mod makes the Korg suitable as an all-in-one box to run mics straight into it, similar to the Oade ACM mods for the PMD6XX and P2. Since the stock preamps of the Korg are very sensitive you'd otherwise need to run an external pre in front of it I think.

I know I could just pm busman, but I thought others may be interested as well and maybe some owners could comment.

Thanks!

 

Hey T!

Most all pre's are pretty sensitive in my estimation. You do have the High Low gain switch  to pad the input by ruffly -20db. This is suitable for most applications. So no pre would be required.

John Stienthal used it for the Word sans Pre with great results with DPA 4022's

A

[landshark]

I got my MR1000 back from Busman but haven't tried it out yet, hoping for good things though

[Nick's Picks]

Chris told me its quite spectacular sounding...
I would like to try one out eventually myself.

[macula]

Any evaluations of the Busman mod for the MR-1000?

I've been trying to reach Chris Johnson (Busman) on the phone to no avail. Is he reliable? How long do the mods take? Are there any risks involved?

Most of all, does it sound better?

I am currently ambivalent between an MR-1000 and a ULN-2 interface (sound-wise).

[lordbelial]

Any evaluations of the Busman mod for the MR-1000?

I've been trying to reach Chris Johnson (Busman) on the phone to no avail. Is he reliable? How long do the mods take? Are there any risks involved?

Most of all, does it sound better?

I am currently ambivalent between an MR-1000 and a ULN-2 interface (sound-wise).

Busman (Chris) is one of the most reliable guys you could find in this forum. He has done me mods for the UA-5 and PMD-671 and also I bought his microphone line in the past. The mods could take between 10 to 20 days and no risk involved at all. Busman is definetely top notch.

[George2]

http://www.avisoft.com/recordertests.htm

[macula]

http://www.avisoft.com/recordertests.htm

These measurements have been widely criticized, among other reasons for have been taken with gain set to maximum. Noise and gain setting are not linearly related, so one cannot extrapolate that the comparison will be the same at other gain levels.

[flintstone]

"These measurements have been widely criticized, among other reasons for have been taken with gain set to maximum."

I don't think you can criticize somebody for testing equipment in the way he plans to use it.  The web site referenced is about nature recording, where the preamp gain is often pushed to maximum to capture quiet ambience or distant sound.

The noise floor test results on the Avisoft Bioacoustics web page match experiences reported in this list.  For example, quietest at full gain are the Sound Devices 722, Tascam HD-P2 and Fostex FR-2LE;  the Microtrack II performs worse than the Microtrack 2496; the Sony Hi-MD minidisc test results are very good; the Tascam DR-1 1/4-inch mono input has a very high clipping level; and so on.  This sort of result increases my confidence that the tests show real differences between the gear.

The Avisoft Bioacoustics web page is the only place I know where you can find most portable recorders, tested in the same way under the same conditions.  If somebody knows about another web site like this, please tell us!

Flintstone

[Nick's Picks]

I dont care what the paper says.  my ears say these decks sound spectacular ...even stock.

[George2]

Someone told me the $10 per ft. silver milspec cables make all the difference in the world, much more than a mic, pre or recorder! And I believe it, although I can't hear any difference.

[esteyes]

i own an MR1k having previously taped with RxR, cassette, pcm-beta, dat and a 671. i have run the korg sans pre with busman mics as well as using a Shure FP33 and Sony DMX-P01 mixers. i just taped a Banyan Show (Mike Watt - fIREHOSE, Porno for Pyros, Iggy Pop and the Stooges , Nels Cline - Wilco, and Stephen Perkins - jane's addiction) where the house was LOUD. 2x busmans w/ wide cards and 1x AKG 463 > Sony mixer > line in > Korg. gain was set to LOW, Limiter OFF, all levels peaking at ZERO. no distortion from the korg pre's.

last time i taped the same lineup, i ran the busmans directly into the Korg and ran the levels hard and again got an undistorted tape w/ amazing sound quality.

all in all, i am getting some great tapes with this unit stock. however i have not run all my mics into the pre's...

so i concur with Rick Z, it depends on your mics.

neil

[ArchivalAudio]

Any evaluations of the Busman mod for the MR-1000?

I've been trying to reach Chris Johnson (Busman) on the phone to no avail. Is he reliable? How long do the mods take? Are there any risks involved?

Most of all, does it sound better?

I am currently ambivalent between an MR-1000 and a ULN-2 interface (sound-wise).

Chris is super knowledgeable and a genuine person, he has told me that he *tries* to keep his mods to about 1-week (that's in and out from his shop I think)
he guarantees all his work,I believe his mods for 2-years?
His philosophy is to keep his offerings affordable, to enable tapers the best value for their$
I think we all want that!
(on a side he also has a wife and 2 kids,which may or may not contributive to his availability)

After I re-coop from taxes,I'm getting him to mod my FR2-LE

trust him! his is honest.
thanx

-- Ian