This doesn't seem to fit with any of the other AT853 threads, but as my first post, I'll grant myself the 'luxury' of a new thread...
I've been lurking around here for a little while... it's nice to read some of the stuff here although alot of it goes straight over my head 'coz I only have a nice, basic setup
Anyway, I've been having problems with my gear recently and hope that someone can give some advice...
Firstly I'm in the UK where stealth rules - bands might allow taping but practically every venue doesn't - I have yet to see a proper 'rig' at any show. At least (for the gigs I go to anyway), we don't get subjected to searches (apart from bags) or wands, so it's not too hard to get stuff through.
Anyway, in 1999 I bought a SP AT-853/Batt box (SP-CMC-3 + SP-BPF-2) setup to go with my MD recorder, and after the Sony MS907 I'd had before that, it was a total revelation, and remained so until this year when it seems to have crapped-out completely.
I made the mistake of letting the battery die - the then current batt had been in for just over 18 months but since I'd not even done 100 hrs I thought it would be alright, but then I went to a loud concert and got a recording that was almost unlistenable because of the dirty/distorted bass. I pretty much guessed that it might be the batt but called SP to talk to them and the first thing they said was have you replaced the batt, but also said it was highly unlikely that I'd damaged anything with my stupidity.
So I replaced the batt, and at the next gig it was LOUD again, but I still ended-up with nasty sounding bass. Even when it wasn't so loud the bass was still iffy. So I called SP again, thinking I must've blown the caps or something when I'd recorded with a dead batt.
To give them credit, they didn't go for the easy money and told me that the mics were more or less indestructible, and if I sent the mics/batt box back to them in the USA, they'd check everything and send it back for free if there was nothing wrong (Can't complain about that sort of service 3 1/2 years after purchase). I didn't take them up on the offer 'coz with a few gigs coming up I wanted to try and at least get something.
The only thing I've changed in recent times is that I used to only use the roll-off on the first setting (69Hz) but had been using 107 (third step) when I was getting the problems. So on Saturday I went back to 69Hz and it was better but still not 'perfect', and I'm thinking if I apply any bass-cut in post-processing, that the harshness/dirtyness/distortion will reappear.
So after all that (sorry) these are my questions:
Is it possible that there is something wrong with my Batt box - should I just buy a new one - it's well out of warranty, and SP have more compact versions available now anyway. Should I just use it with no roll-off and hope for the best?
Have I damaged the caps - should I think about replacing them?
Reading about powering problems with the SP boxes (and probably applies even more here in the UK - in my experience gigs are much louder here than USA), and how much better phantom powering is, what do I have to do to modify them? Is it just a case of buying the phantom power connectors, choppping off the old plug and wiring them in? And exactly what other bits do I need? I've read about the AD-20 and it looks like a good future upgrade (or even a current one), albeit not especially cheap (by the time you get one to the UK). But would I need to put a phantom power supply thing in-between the mics and the AD-20? I'm totally confused as to exactly what is needed, and associated costs etc. SP said they can re-wire the mics for phantom but said it would be expensive, and shouldn't be necessary anyway - they said they've had few problems with this 'powering problem'. Could *I* rewire the mics. Basic soldering isn't beyond me, it's just a question of what bits I need.
Could it even be a brickwalling problem with my MD recorder? I've not read anywhere else in these forums about probs with MD so...? It's a Sharp MD-MT888 (MT770 in USA).
I've been happy enough with the AT853s that I'd like to keep them, but I'm at a loss as to why this year their performance has gone off. It's quite frustrating having something that used to be fine changing for no apparent reason.
Thank you