How do you take care of your microphones?

[nurfen]

I just got a Pearlman TM1 microphone, and I'm now wondering how you guys take care of your microphones? Do you take them off the stand and put them in a box as soon as you don't use them?

I read somewhere that the microphone should be put in a sealed plastic bag as soon as it wasn't used anymore, to protect it from dust / foam particles.

True or false?
How do you keep your microphones clean & fresh?
Can the microphone "break" if it's kept on the stand (up side down) 24/7?

[Dr Gris]

This link is from Klaus Heyne´s mic lab, a very informative forum.

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/415/18628/

Kind regards
Magnus

[nurfen]

Okay, thanks for the link, great info :)

But I would still like to start some sort of discussion regarding how you people take care of them?

Do you take down the microphones from the stands as soon as they aren't use?
Do you cover them with plastic bags while they're still on their stands?

[Stitch333]

Originally Posted by nurfen

Do you take down the microphones from the stands as soon as they aren't use?
Do you cover them with plastic bags while they're still on their stands?

I tend to use plastic bags from the super market that contained produce.
Much better than the bread bags...

[Tapeworm]

When I'm finished tracking an instrument (and am sure all is fine), I tend to put all the mics / cables away.

#1 things don't "walk" that way
#2 it keeps everything tidy and that makes my workflow easier in a small space.

[Kyle S]

i put them back in their zipper pouches if they have one and put the pouches in a locked work case with a few bags of silica gellies and keep the case somewhere dark.

if im lazy ill throw the pouch over the mic while its still on the stand and zip it up as much as i can.

[Kyle S]

Originally Posted by Stitch333

I tend to use plastic bags from the super market that contained produce.
Much better than the bread bags...

how do you clean the bags out?

[vodka gimli]

Right now a purple Crown Royal bag with a silica gel packet is fastened over my Sputnik mic.

[Stitch333]

Originally Posted by Kyle S

how do you clean the bags out?

my environmentally conscious girlfriend makes sure that ALL plastic in our house is cleaned and ready for recycling. I just recycle it in a different way.

[Kyle S]

i used to live alone in a big house and had an entire room dedicated to plastic brunos bags. i called it my bag room. i would just open the door and sling the bags in so they were laying around haphazardly and puffed out. i had mice once and they got stuck in the bag room and i found them a week or so after death stuck in the bags. cant remember if the bags got recycled or thrown away.




just be careful about citric acids and fertilizer residues as some of them can eat/corrode metal.

[mbvoxx]

I keep most of my mics on the boom stands ready to go. There is one mic that I use daily so it's always ready to fire up and record VO's. After we wrap on a music session I usually disconnect and coil the cables and hang them up just to keep cable clutter off the floor. The room, being climate controlled, does a fine job of keeping the mics in good working condition and dries out any moisture that may have accumulated on or around the capsules, plus it promotes less handling of the mics to leave them on the stands. I cover the foam covered mics like the SM7 and SM5b, and the RCA 77 DX with Crown Royal bags to help keep dust out of the foam and ribbon components. But the condenser mics are always boomed and ready. IF I had a mic locker I'd probably use it, but don't have room for one in my studio.

[Jimbo]

A box of generic sandwich bags (the fold-over type, not ziplock) will last you forever, and you don't need to clean-out vegetables prior to use.

I throw a bag over the capsule and close it up with a womens rubber band hair thingy.

[Jidis]

Originally Posted by mbvoxx

I cover the foam covered mics like the SM7 and SM5b, and the RCA 77 DX with Crown Royal bags to help keep dust out of the foam

Speaking of which- Does anyone have an idea on what the ideal storage environment would be for that sort of foam, or any periodic maintenance/treatment tips which might keep it from hitting the crumbly or gooey stage? I'm mainly referring to the removable types like those fancy Shure 57 pop filters,etc.

I hate buying crap that I already had, and didn't personally destroy.

Thanks!

BTW- Another gel pack in Ziploc bag user here, but I'm a bit less careful with some of my dynamics.

[mbvoxx]

I've replaced the foam on my old Shure SM5b three times since 1977...last time was after I removed it from a storage box, where it had been for a while, in a climate controlled environment, and the foam just fell apart in my hands. fortunately you can still get the foam replacments from

Mooretronix broadcast & industrial electronics

...after about ten years, either on the boom or locked away in storage, the foam gets old and just disintegrates and falls apart. Dust is a big culpret on foam degredation so anything to keep dust off/out will help, but in the end you'll have to replace it. You can also get SM7 foam from Mooretronix. The only issue with using plastic sandwich bags is that they tend to collect moisture, which-over time-will degrade the capsule and diaphrams more than the foam windscreens.

I'm no expert, but I have about 35 years in the studio biz and my experiences are just from trial and error. Hang on to those little bags of silica when you unpack new stuff and use them in your mic protection bags...they can only help.

[Jimbo]

I'm not really sure how a plastic bag would collect moisture unless it is somehow colder than the surrounding air but...

...If you cinch the plastic bag to the the capsule of the mic, then no moisture gets in.

I always use a fresh baggie each time.

[Han]

I keep the mics in a safe, every time when a gig is done I put them in the safe, even in the middle of the night.

[Jidis]

mbvoxx,

Yeah, my bagged ones always have a silica thing in there with them, and I usually squeeze out as much air as I can.

My foam does "OK", but I've seen one of my 57 filters just break in half at the part where it hits the collar. I think it was just a few years old, but my Uncle's band had it, so it could have been smoke,etc. I'm just wondering if you could soak them in something once in a while that might have an affect like that pinch roller rubber rejuvenator crap, or if the ultra dry mic storage atmosphere is actually worse for the foam parts.

Great... now you guys have got me noticing how dried out the arms on my high dollar RE20 shock mount are looking.

George

[GordZilla]

Unless I am actually tracking with them, I always put my mics away in their cases (I bought some Zebra Cases for the ones that did not come with one). Although excess humidity is not really a problem for me here, I do toss in a couple of silca-gel packs into each case to help keep things nice and dry.

I will rarely leave a mic on a stand, unless I know I will be using it again in short order, and if I do I will drape a small clean towel or facecloth over it to keep any dust out. I try and stay away from using plastic bags.

I have heard that deteriorating foam in older cases can be a problem.. but none of mine are old enough to worry about this yet.

[larrykane]

About once a month I run them through the dishwasher

[Jidis]

Originally Posted by GordZilla

I have heard that deteriorating foam in older cases can be a problem.. but none of mine are old enough to worry about this yet.

Be thankful, and keep a close eye on them. I have a shock proof Anvil road case and a whole set of drum cases that I have nightmares about. Dried out or crumbly foam is one thing.. these transform into this black "gunk" that sticks to everything like hot tar. You may want to keep tabs on yours if you're not using it a lot, so you can pull it early and swap in some new if it starts feeling weird. Wish I had.

It must be some sort of composition thing, because I've got cheap-ass egg carton foam and scraps of orthopedic foam which, aside from some color change, are almost exactly the same as they were about twenty five years ago. You would think Anvil would have seen it coming.

Take Care,

George

[Jidis]

Originally Posted by larrykane

About once a month I run them through the dishwasher

You serious? I may try that on something cheap. That's coincidentally what I was imagining would help (something like liquid dish soap in water). I've seen it recommended for rubber.

-Thanks!

[larrykane]

Originally Posted by Jidis

You serious? I may try that on something cheap. That's coincidentally what I was imagining would help (something like liquid dish soap in water). I've seen it recommended for rubber.

-Thanks!

absolutely. But first I clar off the worst debris with a belt sander....

[larrykane]

Question what about the foam inside windscreens ?. I have an older beyer that lost it's internal foam even before the stuff in the case went. Is it UV's that does it?

[mdjice]

as I mentioned on another thread, this is how I keep my mics:

[Jidis]

Larry,

I asked about that stuff a while back, but didn't get any answers. I'd imagine it's different depending on manufacturer, but a piece I pulled out of a CAD drum mic here looks almost identical to some cheap "cut your own" air conditioner filter stuff I bought. The filter stuff may even be a bit more acoustically transparent. That was from a local home center place BTW. Some of the stuff I've ripped out (an SM58 maybe) seemed to be more "molded" to the inside of the screen, but the CAD one (pictured) looked to have just been cut from a flat piece, with some notches cut out where it folds into the dome shape.

Take Care

[larrykane]

excellent thanks Jidis

Originally Posted by Jidis

Larry,

I asked about that stuff a while back, but didn't get any answers. I'd imagine it's different depending on manufacturer, but a piece I pulled out of a CAD drum mic here looks almost identical to some cheap "cut your own" air conditioner filter stuff I bought. The filter stuff may even be a bit more acoustically transparent. That was from a local home center place BTW. Some of the stuff I've ripped out (an SM58 maybe) seemed to be more "molded" to the inside of the screen, but the CAD one (pictured) looked to have just been cut from a flat piece, with some notches cut out where it folds into the dome shape.

Take Care

[dbjp]

I use the same model as this:




Electricity cost around 1 cent a day and it keeps a controlled environment in there, where it's dry, same temp, gets rid of germs/mold etc.
These camera cabinets are great.

[guitar7171]

Funny that you mention Pearlman. I have a TM-1 which is great.

When I met Dave Pearlman he said when the mic is not in use put it back in the plastic bag but leave the bags end Open. He said a completely closed plastic bag could cause condensation. Then put the open bagged mic back in the case. He said even the foam in the case could have small particles that could get onto the capsule so the bag is neccessary even if going right into the case. He also noted that after using the mic the capsule is still electrified (not the exact technical term) and as a result could attract more dust and other particles. Dave knows mics so I follow his instructions on mic care.

[thedommer]

I only own a few so its not a hassle to put them away. they always end up back in their boxes upright on a shelf. some of them have fabric bags (royer) so I put it in the bag first.

[Jidis]

Originally Posted by guitar7171

He said a completely closed plastic bag could cause condensation. Then put the open bagged mic back in the case.

Thanks. Will do.

Should make it easier to get them into the cutouts in the case as well. I wonder if there's still any condensation issue with gel packs in the closed bags.