Heumann Mic Mods (+ Cheap Vintage Japanese Mics!)



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Here’s 3 microphones I just got back from Greg Heumann after he modified them. I just wanted a Switchcraft connector put on all 3. The green Shure 520D was no problem. The brown Turner Challenger had all this glue and stuff from a previous volume control modification and took much more work (the photos show him boiling the shell to get the glue out, then on a lathe). He had to replace the pot too. He didn’t want to do the blue one at first for fear of destroying it as he had never worked on one before, but I told him I see these for $25 all the time so he did it (he liked the blue one so much that he asked where he could get one for himself, I relayed some eBay listings for this mike and he bought one for $25 + shipping). They are sooooo much better without the cables, worth the money. To see and hear the ferocious blue one in action type in “Blue Meanie Microphone” anywhere and the YouTube video will come up (that’s what he called it).

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Fascinating! Sounds really cool. How much did he charge you for the mod, if you don’t mind my asking?

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@KeefDeBluesHarpRobot what do I type into eBay to find that lil blue mic?

I’m looking for low cost mic solutions for people who want to play amplified but are on a tight budget, and sadly Bottle-o-Blues is out of stock right now!! :disappointed_relieved:

Please share or can anyone chime in with ideas for low cost harp mic options?

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$49 for the mod, when the mike itself was only $43 total cost. Nonetheless it was worth it.

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Yeah gotcha right on @KeefDeBluesHarpRobot. I’m super intrigued by this because Bottle-o-Blues went out of business and I’m looking for cheap entry into mics that I can recommend to folks on a tight budget.

That mic + mod is about the cost of what the Bottle-O-Blues were.

But WHAT CAN I SEARCH FOR IN EBAY to find it???
:pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3::pray:t3:

It’s usually called a CE-102, occasionally it might say WM-2006 (made by Panasonic, who knew?). Took a quick look on eBay and I don’t see any. There is a Calrad DM-7 for sale, I have one, ferociously similar sound to the CE-102 but smaller and a removable cord. The approx $55 total cost is definitely a bargain but I got mine beat up but working in the box for a total of $22, however the one now listed is working and mine was untested. Reliable seller that I have bought several mikes from. Rule of thumb: if it’s Japanese, early '60’s and alot of ohms (10,000 or more) it’s probably a great harp mike.

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If you go to YouTube and type in “Godzilla Harp Mikes” you’ll see a video where I demo 10 good old Japanese mikes. Prices range from about $10 to $50 total cost each.

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Oh my gosh, thank you SO MUCH for sharing this! I’m going to share your video in my next newsletter for people to check out. (In addition to just being cool :sunglasses::studio_microphone:, this could be a GODSEND for folks on a tight budget who wanna get amplified!:metal:t3:)

Honestly, they all sound pretty good, especially for the money! But is your personal favorite the CE-102?

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It is now that the cable is gone. The DM-7 is about as good.

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For a cheap set up you can go down the road to using a Sure 57 copy and Joyo American Sound peddle

These are peddles and mic prices in UK:

Here’s a guy testing this rig out:

Another set-up using expensive mic but cheap amp:

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@Luke Just came across this video 5 minutes ago. It uses Audacity and the Rollamp plugin.

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So cool @dai - good looking out man. Joyo definitely looks legit. And I think this Pyle 57 copy may be even better than the Behringer for harmonica because 600 ohm output vs 300. Just a guess.
https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Handheld-Moving-Microphone-Built/dp/B005BSOVRY/ref=asc_df_B005BSOVRY/?tag=&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312151212938&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4798700015187108485&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9052215&hvtargid=pla-405660927048&ref=&adgrpid=65054436434&th=1

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@Luke you’re probably right. When I bought mine my only consideration was price.

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