Mostly based around the same Panasonic WM-61 electric capsule, which can be bought for a couple of quid each (eg at http://www.madaboutsound.com/prod_cat.asp?ctid=8&sa=cf)
http://www.speakerbuilder.net/web_files ... icmain.htm
http://www.mp3forkidz.com/mic/
http://www.wildlife-sound.org/equipment ... icdesigns/
https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/type/www/au ... ounts.html
DIY mic-making info (inc binaurals)
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- Beware the Quoth
- 35449 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
Last edited by whyterabbyt on Wed Oct 21, 2015 11:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
An idiot on Set Theory:
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
I've just finished chapter 10 of the Nic Collins book (Handmade Electronic Music) which is also about homebrew mics, so this is very timely.-
- KVRAF
- 2728 posts since 25 Aug, 2003 from Bournemouth, UK
The Nicolas Collins book is absolutely fantastic, and after building a few of his contact mics (which sound surprisingly good sellotaped to an acoustic guitar) I'm in the mood to tackle something a little meatier - thanks!
Architect, the modular MIDI toolkit, beta now available for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
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- KVRAF
- 1895 posts since 13 Oct, 2002
If you're serious about DIY mic building be sure to join the Yahoo Groups Micbuilders forum.
Over the years, they've covered practically every angle of DIY mic building and the file and doc archives are filled with practical electronic and physical designs and modifications as well as parts sources and documentation, and the group is populated by everyone from complete beginners to really competent electrical engineers. I built a few mics based on the info I found there, and the cost-to-performance ratio is surprising.
FYI...
Over the years, they've covered practically every angle of DIY mic building and the file and doc archives are filled with practical electronic and physical designs and modifications as well as parts sources and documentation, and the group is populated by everyone from complete beginners to really competent electrical engineers. I built a few mics based on the info I found there, and the cost-to-performance ratio is surprising.
FYI...
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- Beware the Quoth
- Topic Starter
- 35449 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
Prompted by a post elsewhere I thought I'd add some more up-to-date info.
Note that a lot of these depend on the kind of powered 3.5mm mini-mic sockets that minidisc recorders and the like have, rather than the normal inputs. Field recorders like the Zooms often have them in addition to the regular 1/4" sockets.
Cheap electrets can be less than a pound the pair, you can get them anywhere including Amazon, but if you want better quality, there are some good capsules kicking about that are still pretty cheap.
As per my first post, Panasonic WM-61As are a staple choice; they're significantly superior to the unbranded ones, but they seem to be getting slightly hard to find now, as they're discontinued. They're very small, though, so a bit harder to solder. I got a set of ten for about £30.
If you want to go one step further, Primo elements are better still, and easier to solder than the WM-61A. Think I paid £20 for a pair of them, with wires presoldered. Same place I got them from does kits for not much more than that. Looks like they now even do ears for binaural heads.
New links
The basic construction method I use, based on cannibalising existing headphones.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Binaura ... c-3d-ster/
Zach Poff gives some useful info, including the Primo capsule
http://www.zachpoff.com/diy-resources/l ... imo-em172/
More DIY links
http://diycamera.com/audio/audioindex.htm
https://www.musicworks.ca/diy/how-make- ... icrophones
UK supplier of the Primo elements and kits
http://micbooster.com/primo-microphone- ... sules.html
A decent set of binaurals can be fairly easily DIY'd. You can build a set from a cheap pair of electret capsule elements, and cannibalise a set of external headphones (the classic 'walkman' on-ear type) and the headphones for the cabling and headband if you want them wearable.Jace-BeOS wrote: I'd REALLY like to have a binaural microphone setup for field recordings...
Note that a lot of these depend on the kind of powered 3.5mm mini-mic sockets that minidisc recorders and the like have, rather than the normal inputs. Field recorders like the Zooms often have them in addition to the regular 1/4" sockets.
Cheap electrets can be less than a pound the pair, you can get them anywhere including Amazon, but if you want better quality, there are some good capsules kicking about that are still pretty cheap.
As per my first post, Panasonic WM-61As are a staple choice; they're significantly superior to the unbranded ones, but they seem to be getting slightly hard to find now, as they're discontinued. They're very small, though, so a bit harder to solder. I got a set of ten for about £30.
If you want to go one step further, Primo elements are better still, and easier to solder than the WM-61A. Think I paid £20 for a pair of them, with wires presoldered. Same place I got them from does kits for not much more than that. Looks like they now even do ears for binaural heads.
New links
The basic construction method I use, based on cannibalising existing headphones.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Binaura ... c-3d-ster/
Zach Poff gives some useful info, including the Primo capsule
http://www.zachpoff.com/diy-resources/l ... imo-em172/
More DIY links
http://diycamera.com/audio/audioindex.htm
https://www.musicworks.ca/diy/how-make- ... icrophones
UK supplier of the Primo elements and kits
http://micbooster.com/primo-microphone- ... sules.html
An idiot on Set Theory:
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
-
- Beware the Quoth
- Topic Starter
- 35449 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
Just a couple of added bits of info;
The trickiest part of doing this is the step of soldering the electrets to the wiring, and the smaller they are, the trickier it is. (They can be damaged by excess heat). The WM-61As are the smallest Ive tried, and I bought more than i needed for that reason.
Prewired elecrets are obviously far easier; to me the fact that I can now get the best capsules (the Primos) prewired, makes the decision easy, even despite the price jump.
The other thing that can sometimes be tricky is that some cheap headphone cables are 'coated' with some kinda lacquer-ish stuff to insulate them from their ground, rather than 'shrouded' with plastic.
That means you have to burn the coating off if you want to solder them, rather than just strip them. The lacquer/residue can mean they dont solder that easily unless you clean it off completely. If they dont tin(*), they're not clean enough.
(* 'tinning' basically means coating a wire/surface in a thin wash of solder before soldering it to some other part ; makes the join easier)
The trickiest part of doing this is the step of soldering the electrets to the wiring, and the smaller they are, the trickier it is. (They can be damaged by excess heat). The WM-61As are the smallest Ive tried, and I bought more than i needed for that reason.
Prewired elecrets are obviously far easier; to me the fact that I can now get the best capsules (the Primos) prewired, makes the decision easy, even despite the price jump.
The other thing that can sometimes be tricky is that some cheap headphone cables are 'coated' with some kinda lacquer-ish stuff to insulate them from their ground, rather than 'shrouded' with plastic.
That means you have to burn the coating off if you want to solder them, rather than just strip them. The lacquer/residue can mean they dont solder that easily unless you clean it off completely. If they dont tin(*), they're not clean enough.
(* 'tinning' basically means coating a wire/surface in a thin wash of solder before soldering it to some other part ; makes the join easier)
An idiot on Set Theory:
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."