Beyer M88N - replacing grill - Help!!

[chris p]

I have an old M88N that has a badly dented grill. So, lets replace that sucker, said I.

Silly me, I thought that this would be easy.

Now, the M88 grill comes in 2 halves: the top part, which attaches to the lower half using two screws, and the lower half that screws into the mic body. I have two brand new spanking grill halves and even the natty little screws that hold them together, so I was all ready to rock.

The old top half was held on by gaffer tape (thanks to someone who didn't know about the screws trying to twist the top half off instead, and ripping the whole mounting ring off the lower grill), so removing that was easy. The lower half also unscrews from the mike handle easily, BUT there are two wires connecting the diagphram (which sits in the grill lower half) to a transformer (sitting in the mic handle) and there's not too much "give".

OK, turn to the bottom of the mike. Carefully try to unscrew the XLR connector to cut some slack up top. Realise that carefully won't work. Use massive brute force, swear a lot, and at last it comes off. Two wires from the tranny, note carefully, snip, and now the handle can slide off the tranny. Hmm. All very good, but I don't actually have any more room where I need it because the tranny is not going to slide through the hole in the bottom grill.

So now I have an M88 diagphram sitting in a beaten up lower half grill, connected by two wires to the transformer. Time to ask the experts. HOW DO I REPLACE THAT *&^*^& lower grill? Snip the wires? Or is there some secret to all this?

[rob]

it often seems to me that many dynamic mics are not assembled in such a way to make repairs / replacement of parts a happy experience.
I have a very hazy ( 25 year ago ) recollection of pulling apart an 88 which doesn't help your situation much. I reckon you are going to have to snip those wires from the capsule unless they solder onto the capsule body itself. If you have to cut the wires, get some small gauge heatshrink to slip over the joints when you rejoin them. Make sure not to put any strain on the wire going into the capule or into the transformer when you strip the insulation off prior to rejoining them.

Rob

[SNJ Studio]

I've blown my M88 capsule like 4 times and they are a real pain to repair.

These wires are way too short - I had sucessufully replaced the capsule only to yank off the wires when screwing the element back in. Grrr.

I took mine to a place in Brookvale I think called "NET" Network Entertainment Technology and they fixed the mike for like 30 bucks labour. But the replacement diaphram was like 300 bucks! And did you know that Beyer insists you put a BIG ASS pop filter when miking kick drums? If you don't no warranty coverage.

What a kick drum sound! But more fragile than I believed - I learned that this was a kick mike but it's actually a vocal mike! Apprantely Phil Collins likes it on his voice...
Adam R Barns

[astrovic]

Apprantely Phil Collins likes it on his voice...

That gave me a strange image of Phil Collins on all fours, singing with his head in his kick drum :shock:

Sorry. Not helping. Good luck, Chris

[tonymite]

I ended up tearing the wire from the XLR to what seems to be the transformer - by twisting the mic too many times in its body. I can not figure how to open the bottom part where the XLR connector is - it seems like it's glued ... I see no screws although some of my other M88's have a screw under teh blue epoxy near the model /serial tag.

CAN anyone let me in on how to dismantle this phucker?

[TimS]

In Feb 2005 I played a session gig at the Crown Plaza Terrigal and the FOH engineer used a M88 on my cabs - sounded great, needed no EQ'ing and I've been a fan of the M88 for guitar cabs ever since..
Captures the Oomph on a guitar cab very well..

Tim..