...Hi Brothers and Sisters no need to spend to much money on your next vintage microphone Check this WHAT THE!!!!!you say Vintage Shure Bullets for Under USA $200 WHAT WHAT WAHT THE!!!!a Vintage Silver Bullet USA $86 Bucks,,,Give it a go You could win the mic of a Life time i Have,,Ps this vidio is From my Own experience by posting this vidio i meen no offence to persons or MBH members,,this vidio is to Show how to get a good deal on Ebay in the current economic enviroment Money is Hard to come By,,this is a good way to get a Great deal on your next microphone From My owen experience Shopping Online with Ebay..If you Have no way to fix your new mic there are many Respected Mic Builders here in MBH to help you get that new Gem kickin and you still save dollars,,this thread is only related to Shure Bullet mic's not JT-30 or other Model Crystal Microphones and is of my own experience Buying Microphones from Ebay..
Last Edited by on Jan 22, 2010 11:57 PM
A few yrs back I bought an untested Turner BX brushed nickel mic from e-bay.I paid $64.I needed a shell at the time,had the coin and took a shot.Upon receiving it,I opened it and it had a W-7 crystal in it.Bottom line its hotter than my C.Balls with the 151 in it.Its a crap shoot,fortunately I won that time.
A "black back" is a black controlled reluctance element. These were only made for a few years and are deemed (rightly or wrongly) as highly desirable.
The "white back" is a white controlled reluctance element these were the successors of the black CR just as the CM element succeeded the white CR, which in turn has been replaced by the current 520DX dynamic element.
One thing you do need to be aware of is that so many people are wise to this now, that you are quite unlikely to get a decent one at a real bargain price. Those really are few and far between now. You may possibly save a few dollars (or pounds) but not much.
The fact remains that if you really want a good mic (without buying into an auction lottery) that you know will be dependable. Then your best option is to buy from a reputable dealers like Ron Sunshine, Jeremy Snell, Jeff Spoor, Chuck Gurney, Dennis Gruenling or Greg Heumann.
Last Edited by on Jan 22, 2010 8:41 AM
Jon, the element in that JT30 is an MC101. It'll more than likely be shot or very, very weak. You may be lucky and get a strong one (although I doubt it) But the shell is great and you could just fit a CM/CR in it.
Yes Jon it's a crystal element. A bit smoother sounding than an MC151. But they do tend to be either dead or very weak.
It could be good for recording, but for live gigs I wouldn't rely on one.
Here's an MC101 in a T3 shell that I got. It lost about a third of it's power a few weeks after this!:-( So I have it on standby for recording, that T3 now has a smoking CM in it and also an amphenol connector fitted.
Hi Bro's & thanks Kingo 4 your onfo,,Bro's if ya can spend $300 $400 by all meens shop from any of the above sellers,,I bought my 1st mic from Chuck Gurney Back then he was Ebay seller MRSAX i asked via ebay email for a old beat up mic good for stage,,don't need to be Fancy looking,,He Put 1 together for me USA $280 still got it it's all fancy looking now,,I buy and sell on ebay do custom chops & mods for my Bro's downunder,,sell to my clubies if there looking for a mic but sell more of line in the local Rags and by word of mouth,,1 wanted to know Hay!? how do you Bro's do all that fancy Custom work well i emailed the Pro Builders questions,,told them who i was where i was and what i wanted to know,,well bugger me Blue they told me every thing i wanted to know,,i would Like to Openly Give my Grats to those Bro's Epecialy DAVE WREN aka Technobird,for all his help i was like a email serial pest this Bro is Solid,,The microphones above are selling for the prices i have stated in the vidio on a daily bassis in Ebayland,,so get to it Bro's and Sisters win a cheap classic if you can't do the work your self send it to one of the above mic Builders to fix,,you will still save monay i can only Recomend the 2 Persons i have had work done in the USA these mic Builders are Chuck Gurney and Dave Wren,,Thanks Bro's
Last Edited by on Jan 22, 2010 5:34 PM
Concerning the JT30 elements, the MC151 is a crystal element with a midrange presence rise (highly desirable), the MC101 is a crystal element WITHOUT a midrange presence rise, the MC127 is a ceramic element with a midrange presence rise, and an MC126 is a ceramic element WITHOUT a midrange presence rise. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
A few years ago I bought an untested JT-30 on eBay, and when it arrived it sounded like a baby rattle when I shook it. The crystal was shot. I learned my lesson. NEVER by items such as microphones when the seller says something like "I have no equipment to test this or plug it in, so I don't know if it works." Big red flag.
Dog, I'm happy it worked out for you but my experience was otherwise.
Hi Bro's thanks for the input,,R-Dvs this is all about Shure Bullet mics guiding Bro's and Sisters how to buy an untested Shure Bullet microphone and what they need to look for and the above information is helping out bigtime,, You are correct about buying untested Crystal Mic's,if i was asked i would say NO!!!!Big red Flag,,don't do it leave crystal mics alone JT-30 or any crystal microphione from any where person shop or Ebay,.evan when it say NOS New Old Stock,,Think of a NOS JT-30 or any crystal mic like a NOS Car inertube it's been sitting around 60 yrs pull it out the box WOW Looks new time to inflate it every thing looks ok untill pressure starts to build the rubber starts to crack and break apart as do the crystal elements,,this can happen in a few months years weeks or minutes a big No to Buying Crystals NOS used or has week output,,
You got very lucky. I buy enough of these mics on eBay to have learned that "untested" is USUALLY code for "I know full well it does NOT work". Most people with the savvy to own or collect microphones and sell them on eBay have a way to test them. You ARE right that your best odds of getting a good element are to buy a CM or CR.
A multimeter test does NOT prove it is working. If it read 0 ohms or open, it proves it is not working, but all proper ohm reading tells you is that the coil wiring is intact. There are other things that can and do go wrong. The most common among these is corrosion in the area where the pin goes into the coil. Also, the front screen of the mic can be crushed onto the diaphragm and prevent it from moving, and this is extremely difficult to see in an eBay photo, especially if you don't know what you're looking for. The ONLY way to test an element is to play it through an amp. I have a cable with alligator clips on the end specifically for that purpose.
Finally - the models you show have no connector or cable - so that has to be rigged as well to make it a good harp mic.
I'm not saying you can't get good deals on eBay, and it can be fun. But if you average it out, you're going to get some crap - even if its Shure - you might not do as well as suggested in the video.
Hi Greg non taken,,Yeh mate real lucky,,the other problems you mention you make a very good point,,I'm sorry i do know these faults but thanks for pointing it out to the MBH Crew the more information the better please feel free to reply anytime,,i find the tips you offer other MBH members has been of great help at times..i read in one thread you answerd a question about How you could Blow out a Crystal element by cupping it to tight,,Please relate that to the members that have asked questions about crystals in this thread Good Onya Mate,,
Hi John you have got me wrong Bro when i reffer to a big red flag No to buying Jt-30 or any other crystal element microphones,,i was not reffering to you on a personal thing just if any body asked me if it is risky buying a Vintage Crystal mic i would say no mate ya better bet would be a shure Bullet,,nothing personal intended toward you Bro,,it's cool you have found a Harp builder you can trust to do your work i like his work and the Mics you have just Bought and won on ebay thanks for your Reply..
The thing is when some people get crystal or ceramic elements (MC151/MC127/MC101/MC126/R7) from ebay today. A lot of them have never heard a good crystal or ceramic element to begin with, so they think they have a good one just because it works. This is a wrong assumption.
A good crystal will easily rival a CM for output and have really good bottom end, strong mids and cutting highs.
A common thing you hear nowadays from newer players is "with my crystal mic I just need to my amp up higher". This means your crystal (remember we are talking MC151/MC127/MC101/MC126/R7) is weak.
Just ask people like BBQ Bob, Piazza, Dennis, Rick, etc, a good crystal really is a thing of tonal beauty.
I bought some "untested" mics on ebay over the years. some of them were real great (one of my favorite mics, an EV638) some were weak and one of them was stone dead (EV605) - ok, at least i had a shell. So buying untested stuff on ebay is lottery. If you're happy with that, why not? However i never buy crystal mics that way. Chances are pretty low to get an intact element that way.
i think jon is trying to corner the market in mics. in the future, when anybody needs a mic they will have to go thru jon! what is this your 4th? 5th? hope this one is a honker for you!
lol ya this will be my 5th vintage mic. really what it is, i want one of each. cause then i wonder...well whats that mic like? an i have to know. like i have a shure brown bullet small shell mic. but iv never held a regular sized shure bullet shell. people talk about the little ears on the jt30 bothering people. well i wonder what its like. i want every type of mic an every type of element. but so far i like my slim-x the best. ----------
@Nasty - I agree 100% about crystals from eBay - your chances are WAY worse than they are for CM/CR's.
The diaphragm of a crystal like an MC151 is a dome of foil - at its center is a pin which is glued to the crystal. If you get a very good seal and draw hard, you can hyperextend the diaphragm and stress this glue joint to the point of failure. In a totally new one, I suspect everything is strong enough to prevent this but I have indeed ruined a few crystals by creating too much vacuum in front of them. ---------- /Greg
Even when I bought spare crystals and ceramics brand new in the 70's and 80's, you could get 5 of them and each one could be different in terms of output alone, especially with those crystals, which used rochelle salt in them. Some could be almost too powerful and some just decent and damn, I used to get them brand new for as little as $7.00 apiece US.
I actually got a JT30 some years back from someone who had no idea what it was and thought of it as an outdated taxicab dispatch mike and I bought in from him thru Ebay for $40. When I got it, I looked inside it and my jaw dropped when I saw a black label CR cartridge in it and it was smokin'!!! Talk about dumb luck and just the elements alone in good condition are often over $250 apiece. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Bob, you did get lucky! Charlie Musselwhite told me he (and everyone else) bought JT30's back in the day because they were... $7. For the complete mic! He suggests that's why JT30's are popular at all. Personally, he prefers (and uses) a good CM. ---------- /Greg
Don't know if this is the appropriate thread or not, but here goes!
I've heard you can get a Kobitone crystal for less than 10 bucks from Mouser, and get the same element used in the new BluesBlasters. Here's Lee McBee playing through one. He actually bought the BluesBlaster and took the element out, and put it in an Astatic biscuit. He's playing through a Fatdog 1A, miced to the PA.
There's a few lessons to learn from this.
Different amps like different mics.
What sounds good at home may not sound good on stage, and vise-versa.
Perhaps most important, there's an old saying- "It's not the bow, it's the Indian". (My apologies in advance to Native American viewers).
When I started out in the early 70`s, a brand new JT30 came with an 8 ft. cable and mounted on a desk stand cost me $14.00 US brand spanking new. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Joe, I agree with you on the fact that different amps like diferent mics. As an example, tweed Fender amps from the 50's mate up better with Astatic crystal/ceramic mics because the impedance at the input jacks are higher than what Fender had put out on their amps in the 60's. Crystals/ceramics are Ultra hi-z mics and the black face Fenders like the Twin Reverb and Super Reverb better mated up with CM/CR type mics like the Green Bullets because the impedance at the jack end is lower and the impedance of those mics are lower as well.
However, on the black face Fender amps, if you plugged a crystal/ceramic into the normal channel (the one without the effects), those actually did mate up well with crystal/ceramics because the impedance at the jack end was higher.
Some amps also work better if the mic does NOT have a midrange presence rise. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
"when i first started smoking cigarettes it was like $3 a pack. now there like $9 a pack. its a good thing i quit." now we know how you are feeding your mic addiction!!
It's an upgraded 410/SuperSonny. If I could depend on getting into the PA I'd probably be playing my Kalamazoo. Lee uses a Bose system with limited channels, so I pretty much need to plan for anything if I'm popping in like that night.
.....Check it out Bro's i fitted a 5/8 switch craft conection took all of 40 mins to do you see these mic's selling from $250 + Dollars in Ebayland,,i lent this to my Bro over the weekend for a Blues Festival he loved it..
I see trouble already. Experienced builders that I work with grind off those splines that have been left between this connector and the mic shell. You spent 40 minutes installing this improperly. This is how you get grounding problems and failed connections. Why not take a few minutes and read this handy article: http://www.harpmicgaskets.com/howto-bullet-screwon.html
Thanks for the tip Ron i will check it out..but it's put together with great care there will be no grounding problems.PS Dave Wren was most helpfull with me when i first started out building mics i was a serial pest but he was most helpfull with all the info i needed,,i bought my first Mic Of your good Friend Chuck and still have it.i will check out the link thanks for the tip..
Any time. With the splines taken off, the connector can be seated properly in the shell. With a proper fitting you will also experience less feedback, as fewer sound waves and less air will enter the sounding chamber. That connection is where most problems will occur. I shouldn't say that your mic WILL have grounding problems. But if it did, that would be the first place I would look. For both of those reasons, I favor filling the inside of the connector with liquid glue or silicone, not only to hold the wires in place, but also to provide a little sound insulation. That's how Chuck does it, and I swear by his work. I hope he wouldn't mind me mentioning that, but all you have to do is open up one of his mics, and there it is. If I were to see your mic on Ebay with the connector installed that way, I would either not buy it, or buy it with the knowledge that the connector would have to be removed and re-installed the right way. No big deal. I've seen much worse.
Hi Ron mate in Australia we are real Blokey type men and it's just not cool to mention i own a Glue Gun,,there goes my rep how can i be a nastyolddog and own a glue gun..i checked out the link Fantastic i will redo my mic when it fails me but for now it's working Fine i did the Glue thing after checking out Chucks work i see where ya comeing from and it makes sense,,Im all for takeing in info you did the right thing by setting me into the link it's allways great when someone picks up a fault they may see and then offer a solution to help out great work,,feel free to comment on any of my Posts..Ps but now you mention it and i checked out the link every time i look at my Mic it Bugs me but Im not going to pull it apart i put it toghther never to fail,,it will eventuly torment me to a point i will disconect the Fitting and fancy up the mic to get it right i only wished they made the conections longer on the thread so we could put a grub screw in and screw into the shell alot further..
Last Edited by on Feb 18, 2010 12:29 AM
Nasty & Ron takin the splines off is a real pain in the butt ,..When ,.man I can't think of his name ?? (Sometimers)sometimes I rememeber sometimes I don't,>LOLO
The guy who originally owned Harpmicgaskets?? Ron help me out here!???
Anyway He & I were talkin and I explained that unless Ya own a Tool an Die shop the only way to rid those splines is with a file ,..
What I do is countersink my hole the depth of those splines,.then Tap the hole ,.now ya don't have to play with the file as the splines will disappear into the countersunk hole,..
He sold the business before that was updated as he liked the idea,.
Another way is to make your hole a Light pressfit,..usin a soft block of wood an a hammer/press,.gently tap the connector into place,.ya Don't want to screw up the 5/8 threads,..before doing this file a flat on the threaded portion of the connector,..once in place you can now use your set screw that will lock the flat,.LIL' locktite on the setscrew & YA should be flush with the shell outer surface. Hope this info helps?? ---------- Simply Unique Kustom Mic's By Rharley
Last Edited by on Feb 18, 2010 12:25 AM
Yea I try ,..trust me that file will kill ya fingers holdin on to that 5/8" end,.. It's the best an only way I do it ,..never had a ground problem,..one way or the other,..get er done!!
