DIY Condenser Microphones with Scott Helmke May 5, 2012 13:28 8 Comments
Today, I discuss the ins and outs of making your own condenser microphones with Scott Helmke, creator of the popular Alice Microphone project. Scott walks us through how he designed the Alice microphone, including some practical tips for making your own mic bodies and headbaskets.
Topics discussed:
- How Scott developed the Alice mic
- The brilliant Mic Builders Yahoo group.
- The Transound TBS-165A condenser capsule
- What happened when Scott swapped electrolytic for film capacitors in the Alice circuit.
- Tips for DIY mic bodies and headbaskets. The McMaster-Carr store is your friend.
- What to look for in a headbasket mesh material.
- "Somewhere between sculpture and audio."
- Scott's most recent project: a linear microphone array for piano.
Comments
Richard Hurd on November 12, 2014 18:01
Very interesting podcast. I’m not particularly electronics savvy but had no trouble following along with this interview. As a suggestion I think it would be great idea to list any mentioned resources for quick reference instead of having to find it in the dialogue later. I think you are onto a good thing here.
Peterson Goodwyn on November 12, 2014 18:01
Thanks, Dave! I’m working on getting it submitted to the iTunes store, but in the meantime you can subscribe manually with this feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DiyRecordingEquipmentPodcast
Dave on November 12, 2014 18:01
What a great interview! I may try my hand at that alice. Sounds like exactly what I want for acoustic guitar.
Also, if you are going to start podcasting could you set up a separate feed for the audio? I think it has to have a specific markup for most podcast software.
Keith on November 12, 2014 18:01
Hi! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any trouble with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing a few months of hard work due to no backup. Do you have any solutions to protect against hackers?
Peterson Goodwyn on November 12, 2014 18:01
Hey Dan thanks for the kind words and the heads up! I’ve fixed the link to the MP3 file, so it should be available again in the iTunes store soon.
Dan Richardson on November 12, 2014 18:01
Hi Peterson! I’m loving my Line2Amp Rev2! I’m trying to get more into DIY gear and would love to listen to this podcast on my iPhone. This episode is the only one that won’t download through the Podcast app, and the file seems to be missing on this website as well. Seems to work on soundcloud but is not able to download for later listening. I’d stream but my data plan is terrible, haha (and is obviously no fault of anyone’s but myself). Just wondering if this episode would be available through iTunes in the future. Thanks and keep up the great work!
Tommy Blair on November 12, 2014 18:01
The Alice is a great sounding mic. I built four way back in 2004 (?) when Scott was selling off a bunch of parts he had left over. I especially like them for electric guitar and have used them to good effect on singers.
Tommy.
Peterson Goodwyn on November 12, 2014 18:01
Thanks for your comments, Richard. I’m so glad to hear you could follow it well without an electronics background, that’s the idea. Nice tip on the resources links, will incorporate that from now on.
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