DIY: DPA-style gooseneck mount for Audio Technica microphones

Buco

Ok... didn't realize it only works with their stuff.
Thanks.
Shoot.
There's gotta be a fairly straightforward way to inject a 5V on the mic side only with a diode in line to prevent current going to the Para...I think.

Anybody with a good electronics background?

I was always able to use the Myers microphone with the ZT lunchbox and get a good level before the feedback kicks in. It's the only setup I use. Only once a sound guy in a large club didn't even want to deal with it so I said fine I'll use a magnetic pickup (Krivo). I'll use Krivo once in a while but only because I miss it, not because the situation is forcing me. Though it wouldn't be possible without the Para and the tweaks it offers to prevent the feedback.

Thanks again.

MichaelHorowitz

@Buco I wouldn't say the K&K is proprietary as such, but like most mics it does require phantom power and most preamps won't provide it. So there's nothing too unusual about that. The Para DI is just that, a DI box so it's designed to take a high impedance pickup (usually piezo or magnetic) and send it via low impedance XLR cable to a PA. It wasn't really designed for a condenser mic.

However, you can just buy the Meridian preamp which is not too expensive: http://www.djangobooks.com/Item/k-and-k-meridian-preamp

Buco

@Michael Horowitz I remember reading about the high input impedance before but it always worked for me using the Myers mic. I'll see, I might just switch to K&K and get their preamp.
Thanks!

Buco

By the way I found you could use the FX loop on the Para as an input, (with a simple modification) where the impedance is a 100K. You loose the gain control but signal is probably already strong enough. I'll test this tomorrow, I'm curious.

Buco

Since this is going in different direction with my Meridian mic musings, feel free to split it off to a new thread.

I found out that these k&k mics aren't so picky about the voltage they accept, sounds like even up to 18V will power it up with no issues. I'm sure K&K makes a good preamp but I'd like to use something more versatile and universal. I realized the Headway preamps put out 9V (EDM1) or 18V (EDB1 or 2) on the 1/4" input, either will work (disclaimer: didn't try personally) with the Meridian Solo mic. There was a bargain priced EDB1 recently on the forum, wish I picked it up.
Also DTAR Solstice will do the same trick.

If I go K&K power supply/preamp route, the drawback is it doesn't have a 1/4" out, only XLR, so I'd have to use a transformer/converter for most preamps including Para DI. Probably ok but I try to have as little as possible in a signal chain. I found a conversation on another forum where somebody was trying to do pretty much exactly the same as I was thinking, build a custom power supply, and at some point they had a schematic from DPA doing very similar thing but the link is now dead.

I tried the Para using the FX loop as input with my microphone, not enough gain. But I didn't hear much of a difference in the quality of the sound this way vs a regular input (FX loop is low impedance, input is high impedance). So in the end I'd still like to keep and use what I have.
I could swear that I even commented on the forum at some point regarding this impedance difference business. I forget the details but, what I think I concluded was; bottom line was that the high impedance design at the input of Para was done so that it welcomes the piezzo pickups but it works just fine with a variety of sources including low impedance microphones. The issue is if you send a high impedance source into a low impedance input.

We'll see once I get it, hopefully, I've still to receive any kind of shipping info or anything outside of automatic order confirmation...

richter4208

sorry to veer a little (more) off topic. Can anyone tell what kind of mic Adrien has on his guitar in this video? I assumed it was a DPA but it looks like a different model than the one that started this thread. It is really tiny and has a little gooseneck that is barely visible. They seemed to capture a really nice sound with minimal equipment here. Something I'm trying to do with my little practice space recordings.
edit!!! i just read in the comments section of this video that it is a DPA 4060 + ZOOM H4