How to restore and mod a Microphone! Modding mics can be easy! This Marantz mic was in rough shape and needed some tlc. I removed the old unnecessary mesh from the inside and cleaned all the electrical points of contact. This is a very popular mod for most MXL condenser mics. These mods would apply well to those, too.
First of all, this mic is somewhat interesting to me, because it's a battery powered condenser made by Marantz/Superscope. It's a small diaphram- but it's not tiny. I've recorded songs with it before, so I know it has a good overall sound. But, I know it can sound better.
The first thing I do is disassemble as much as possible, without taking apart the circuit.
Then, I clean every electrical contact point with a high quality cleaner and a cotton swab.
Next, I remove the grill.
Now, I remove any thin mesh from inside the mic(except for the sides).
Also, I take out the felt guard and micromesh covering the condenser element. This is designed to help consumers get a long lasting product. I won't be needing it.
I remove any debris from near the capsule. I'm very careful not to touch the capsule, however. If there's any dust on your capsule, you could use a very soft camel hair brush to remove it from your element, but there's none here really, so I just move on.
I like to use a contact enhancer called Pro-gold. It can quiet your entire signal path. I use it often, and on this mic i used it on every electrical contact point.
Finally, I replace the grill and reassemble . Time to test the microphone!
Spoiler: It sounds Great!!
First and foremost, the mic sounds cleaner. The noise floor is lower and there's added detail in the mids and highs. Everything sounds tighter. The mic used to have a bit of hiss and a tiny bit of very low hum. Both are now gone.
The mesh mod also really helped here. I took out all the mesh in front of the capsule including the tiny felt dust cap. If this mic were going to see lots of plosives from people singing or speaking into it, I'd consider leaving some of the micro mesh. But, it won't.
Before the mods, this mic sounded pretty mushy- and kind of boxy. Now, it's really clear and open(as you can hear in the video!) There is still a fair amount of low mids, but it's easy to reposition/eq if needed.
The mic also takes high eq a little better. I can add a bit of sparkle if needed and it works. Before, adding high end usually accentuated something bad as well..
I hope you liked the video! And I hope these mod tips helped!
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