What's the most expensive Mic you've ever dropped?

[emrr]

when I drop ANYTHING, my foot automatically shoots out to break it's fall. At least 2 nice mics (one Neumann and one Gefell) were spared similar fates by the amazing sub-conscious foot reaction.

I've noticed development of my skills in this regard, and it has proven valuable!

[trodden]

Don't think i ever checked the Mackie...

Its fine.. we had a drummer who constantly was dropping the 12 channel mackie i use for shows. i'd pull it out of the soft case/laptop case it would live in.."umm why have half the mute buttons fallen/popped off?" It still works fine.. however, gets loaded into a anvil case now along with a synth..

[Judas Jetski]

when I drop ANYTHING, my foot automatically shoots out to break it's fall. At least 2 nice mics (one Neumann and one Gefell) were spared similar fates by the amazing sub-conscious foot reaction.

I've noticed development of my skills in this regard, and it has proven valuable!

Yeah, wait'll it's something really heavy...

'course even still, eventually your foot will stop hurting. But if the mic breaks, the money spent fixing it is gone forever....

But bear in mind that this may only hold true as long as you avoid a trip to the E.R...

Or maybe not. Some of this stuff is pretty damn expensive.

[???????]

My most traumatic moment involved not a mic, but my lovely 1953 Epiphone Triumph Regent.

Old Epi archtops with solid tops are braced at the F-holes with canvas glued to the top. They really should have additional reinforcement. That's why you see so many vintage Epis with the dreaded F-hole crack.

Somehow, this one had managed to escape 50 or so years unscathed. Until once when I put it in its case without latching the case, then picked the case up by the handle. Oops. The guitar's top proceeded to split virtually end to end along the bass-side F-hole after about a 6-12 inch fall (only). Gulp.

I was distraught. A very good luthier up here fixed it for me for 50 bucks(!) and it is as good as new. Sounds the same, and you have to look really close to see it. Oh but I was distraught. It is still my baby though. I think the luthier took pity on me. For as meticulous a job as he did, he should've charged me way more.

As far as mics, I think the only one that was bad was a 4033 tipping over and slamming into the wood floor from mono-overhead height. Not a mark on it and works like new. Tough!

[touched1]

A valuable lesson, and a hilarious recording.
I'd be happy to post it if anyone wants to hear it....

Please do

Sorry for the delay. And without further delay... I bring you, "Cassius Attacks!!!"
http://web.mac.com/jason.wolford/Site/C ... tacks.html

[lyman]

A valuable lesson, and a hilarious recording.
I'd be happy to post it if anyone wants to hear it....

Please do

Sorry for the delay. And without further delay... I bring you, "Cassius Attacks!!!"
http://web.mac.com/jason.wolford/Site/C ... tacks.html

oof!

[thunderboy]

when I drop ANYTHING, my foot automatically shoots out to break it's fall. At least 2 nice mics (one Neumann and one Gefell) were spared similar fates by the amazing sub-conscious foot reaction.

I've noticed development of my skills in this regard, and it has proven valuable!

Sometimes, not so much. One night I was breaking down the stage after a show, and the 421 I was unplugging popped off its clip (+1 on that!). My foot shot out to "catch" it, but I actually ended up sort of...punting it across the room into the wall. Dead mic.

I have a rich history of dropping things, from my father's Benge D trumpet (I was six and curious) to my high school's bass amp (Sunn Beta Bass, on an AV cart, slowly rolling off the edge of the stage).

Let's be careful out there!

jt

[calaverasgrandes]

of my own mics, only a MK012 dropped from about chest height to the concrete floor. The metal on those is hecka soft. It dented enought that I had a hard time unscrewing the capsule when I wanted to use a pad.
Then it died about a month after.
Of other peoples stuff;
Once I was putting up some acoustic treatment (old carpet that smelled so bad I had to burn incense next to it for a month, then the studio smelled like old carpeet and incense!) so I was standing on a ladder nailing up old carpet, then I steady one foot on my Acoustic 405 bass cabinet. I turn my head and nail another piece of carpet. Then wham! I am on my back on top of a drumset! Nice 60's Gretsch too! No real damage, I bent one tom arm a little thats all. Man that hurt!
Another time at my small west Oakland studio I had a 77DX on loan from a former employee of Lucas. Apparently he had "gotten" it from them somehow. Well he declined to "get" a suitable adapter to make it sit on a mike stand. It didnt even have the U yoke! So it was always gaffer taped to a mic stand or another. And being the heavy legendary mic it is, at least twice it hit the floor. Once I dove across the room and barely got my hand under it before it hit the ground. Skinning my knees though.

Then there was the Minimoog I borrowed from a friends dad. This is a little story unto itself. My buddy's dad is a contractor, specializing in archaic carpentry methods for old houses. Often he finds things in attics and basements that are just going to get tossed. So he has a collection of neat things at has house. This is how he came to own a pair of tympani drums, a Minimoog, piano, several guitars and a clavichord. The killer is he doesnt play music! Well anyway I had this Mini for about a year, making all kinds of music with it. Did some hip-hop, some industrial, even did some sound effects for a website. One day the external input light startd freaking out. So being handy with a soldering iron and bold as hell I just crack it open and make a go of it. Well anyone familiar with old Moogs can tell you they dont really help you out. Nothing is labeled, and like a modular, everything is on its own card. Well I did my best, and then it no longer worked at all! Then the dad came looking for that nice keyboard with the funny knobs. I am told it sits in his den. Not plugged into anything at all. And he is fine with it!

[soliton]

414: I've dropped this mic a few times. I also have a quick foot reflex so not too bad.

RODE condenser: Bent the grill and made it even brighter! Horrible - had to sell it as-is.

421: Because of these stupid mic clips I've probably slid these off and down to the floor around 10 times. No harm done.

Out of the mic category: I'm in my room (not studio but there's still instruments around) and it's pitch black. I'm walking slowly in the dark across the room to turn on a light switch and I hear a HUGE deep crack. It wasn't an expensive acoustic guitar, but boy did I put a nice hole in it with my bare heel. Timber!

Jamming with some friends the other day, a few things in my blood stream, playing the Clav on my Nord Electro. My dotted 8th pattern was so cool my beer had to lean over and see where it was coming from. I quickly tilted the keyboard on its side and let the beer rain down.

[losthighway]

When I was 20 I saved my bucks for a month and a half to get a BLUE baby bottle. It was the most expensive mic in my humble collection. I accidentally pulled it down when it was at about five and a half feet on a stand- I was following a cable snafu and pulling apart a cluster of xlrs on the floor and totally pulled it down on the concrete. Second day I had it. Dented the grill, still works fine.

[themagicmanmdt]

one of those rsm-2's from Nady.

heavy.

boom extended most of the way.

the stand wasn't tightened enough - it tipped straight forward, planting face first into the concrete.

(this is after I removed all that blast filter protection, so it's just the bare ribbon exposed under the metal grille)

worked fine. BIG dent.

actually, it sounded a bit better.

[RefD]

one of those rsm-2's from Nady.

heavy.

boom extended most of the way.

the stand wasn't tightened enough - it tipped straight forward, planting face first into the concrete.

(this is after I removed all that blast filter protection, so it's just the bare ribbon exposed under the metal grille)

worked fine. BIG dent.

actually, it sounded a bit better.

Nady mics often sound better after a bit of abuse.

they need to be threatened.

[saldiamond]

this thread made me ill on a spirtual level.

[Jay Reynolds]

My Selmer Super Action 80 Alto Sax (which I've played since I was 16) took a dive once when the crappy, buckle-style latches on its flight cased popped open while I was carrying it. The bottom of the stack was all out of alignment and only half the notes would play. I felt physically ill.
Needless to say, I've got a Walt Johnson case with butterfly latches now.
I watched a friend of mine drop one of my 414's while he was setting drum OH's. He'd just graduated from a recording school and I'd asked him to come assist on the session. Before the 414 took a dive, I'd noticed he was struggling to get both mics up on a stereo bar into an xy congif. I thought about asking him if he needed help, but i figured he was being overly cautions.

[jmiller]

So one day I'm putting up one of the 251s, securing the mic with one hand while I make an adjustment to the stand. The mic literally comes apart in my hand.

This exact same thing happened to me. I managed to save the capsule but the body fell to the floor.

It's scary to be the guy holding a $10k microphone that, out of nowhere and for no apparent reason, blew up in your hand.

It is, and it was even scarier when it also happened to the second 251 I put up to replace the first (at least I kept it from hitting the floor that time).