Topic: studer/schoeps mk6 variants (D. Satz>>>>>>>>)

[jerryfreak]

so in reference to shaggy's question about dating a studer/schoeps mk6 cap where the marking looks different, that thread (http://www.taperssection.com/index.php/topic,126388.0.html) has been locked. i figured id add my two cents here

I have a pair of what i believe were originally studer mk6 caps (have since been into schoeps for reconditioning, where they replaced the handwritten serial number plates with the newer printed style. the SN plate now clearly says 'schoeps'. theyre the older, matte grey, non textured surface style

heres a (crappy) pic:



serial number of my pair is in the 2100's, the red and black dots are equidistant between the grill and the bottom of the caps.

so question for mr. satz- can you determine if these are old caps or new, and what does that mean for frequency response? thanks.

also i remember reading theres a preferred method for storing these which exerts less stress on the internals?

omni setting perhaps?

[Chilly Brioschi]

Do you fear that it could be a Russian or East German knock-off?

[johnw]

I seriously doubt schoeps would service a knock off and give it new serial numbers.

[jerryfreak]

no its definitely studer/schoeps. the serial number was an older handwritten one, it must be standard practice for them to change it out to the modern printed ones upon rebuilding (these were rebuilt by schoeps in 06, to correct the known mechanism/materials defect the older caps have.

i was just curious if we could date them as to being before or after they changed the frequency response of the cap. maybe thats a question for bernhard

[DSatz]

You could certainly contact Bernhard Vollmer at Schoeps and give him your MK 6 serial numbers. Studer, especially in the United States, had some Schoeps stock for a long time, so almost anything is possible. (I bought capsules from them, too, by the way.) The simplest way to put the question is: Did the 10 kHz response in the cardioid setting have a ~2 dB elevation? But depending on what was done when your capsules were last serviced (e.g. if new diaphragms had to be put in), their response may have changed.

I think it's fair to say that Bernhard doesn't prefer to think in terms of "old vs. new versions" of a capsule, when the nominal curve of its 0° frequency response still falls within the tolerance field as that model of capsule had been specified previously. (See the attached curve from a few years after this change occurred; an older capsule that was perfectly flat at 10 kHz would still fit it.) So I wouldn't suggest asking him about this in terms of "versions." But he's certainly aware that there have been adjustments throughout the decades, and he knows very well what they mean to the sound. He's not only in charge of all repairs, but also of quality control.

P.S.: For older MK 6 capsules that haven't had their gaskets (seals) updated, it's preferable to store them in the figure-8 setting; this can help to prolong their ability to work in all three patterns. But if yours have been serviced at the factory at all recently, it's probably not important.

P.P.S.: There haven't been any knockoffs of Schoeps capsules to my knowledge--certainly not the three-pattern capsule, which is a bear to assemble. Knockoffs of the Schoeps M 221 B tube amplifiers (bodies) were made in Hungary about 40 years ago, many of which are still seen on eBay and in the for-sale lists of less-well-informed "vintage" equipment dealers. They were made rather haphazardly with lower-quality parts (especially the tubes and transformers, which are critical), and they tend to have levels of distortion and noise that Schoeps would never have allowed. Schoeps doesn't accept them for repair since they aren't Schoeps products.

[DSatz]

Just as a cruel follow-up, and an incentive to finish that time machine you've been working on in the garage, here are some of Studer's 1976 prices for Schoeps microphone equipment:

SKM 5: $180 (= CMC 5-- 48-Volt amplifier)
MK 2: $140
MK 4: $140
MK 41: $160
MK 5: $195
MK 6: $260
KC 5 active cable: $195
SKS 501 U: $980 (= CMTS 501 U stereo microphone)

Complete microphones were priced as the sum of the amplifier plus the capsule, so a complete SKM 52 U or SKM 54 U sold for $320, for example.

--best regards

[stevetoney]

LOL, cruel indeed!  Since I'm the guy that will soon own Dirks Studer/MK6 capsule combo, which of course means that when I recover financially, I'll start looking for a mate, the previous post indeed does make me wish for a moment in the time machine, although if I had that moment, I'd probably invest heavily in Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft, which of course would make the capsule purchase at today's prices academic.

[jerryfreak]

thanks much, great info, as always