PM1000 Racked- Pictures!

flapmaggot · Post by **flapmaggot** » Sat Oct 01, 2011 2:24 pm

I am thrilled to say that Joe Kramer finished racking my PM1000's. I'd like to share the pictures if you don't mind. If you have any technical questions, I'll prompt Joe to come aboard.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/U ... directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/z ... directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/L ... directlink

rhythm ranch · Post by **rhythm ranch** » Sat Oct 01, 2011 3:03 pm

Nice!

snatchman · Post by **snatchman** » Sat Oct 01, 2011 6:57 pm

Looks very nice..So........how does it sound..?...

flapmaggot · Post by **flapmaggot** » Sat Oct 01, 2011 8:16 pm

It sounds as good as it looks - Thus far, it sounds great on bass. With the input cranked it had a pleasant distortion. I did a quick recording with two modified radio shack PZM's (also modified by Joe) and it brought about dimension and separation. Very robust and even sounding. Next step is snare and kick followed by fuzz guitar. Once we're done with rehearsing for a show, I'll get to posting some sound samples in a couple o' week.

Nate Dort · Post by **Nate Dort** » Sun Oct 02, 2011 9:22 am

Any reason why you kept the stock caps?

germaniac · Post by **germaniac** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:10 am

Nate Dort wrote:Any reason why you kept the stock caps?

Hi!

Mostly the reason was just to get the units up and into service. As it was, it took almost four months of tinkering to put them together (two complete rack units), so I was happy to let replacing the caps wait. But the way they're built, it won't be hard to upgrade later if needed.

A few strategic caps were replaced with larger values: the main input cap (Panasonic bypassed with Wima), the cap between the head amp and EQ section, the cap between the EQ and line amp section, and the main output cap (Panasonic & Nichicon). Most of the other caps in those sections are PS bypass, feedback, and so forth. Those and the caps in the EQ can be changed out if they start to sound weak, but so far no complaints. The rest of the caps on the board are for the two Echo Send amps, both of which I disconnected from the PS.

Cheers!

Joe

PS: For technoids, a cross-link in DIY Gear: http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... 351#646351

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:28 am

Hey Joe,

That is beautiful work. I think those might be the best looking PM1000's I've seen. I can't recall more "professional" looking ones.

Would you mind sharing what you did to the PZM's? I've never found my PZM that useful, I think it has a weird metallic resonance that probably can't be fixed electronically, but I think the electronics are also weak. The main reason I probably don't use it is because it's battery powered, I'm always afraid I'm going to leave it on.

I don't mean to hijack this thread.

germaniac · Post by **germaniac** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 10:09 am

Thanks Snarl for the kind words!

As for the PZMs, they're basically rebuilt from the ground up. The only original parts left are the metal plates and the plastic mountings for the mic elements! The electronics were converted to the phantom-powered "Shoeps" circuit, which I got from an article by Scott Dorsey in "Recording" magazine a while back. Also the mic elements were replaced with Panasonic WM-60 capsules, which turned out to be a DRASTIC improvement over the stock capsules. Another thing I'd like to do eventually is replace the metal plates as well, because as you say, they're just a pieces of steel that ring horribly. Probably masonite or plexiglass would be better.

Thanks again!

Joe

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 10:47 am

germaniac wrote:Thanks Snarl for the kind words!

As for the PZMs, they're basically rebuilt from the ground up. The only original parts left are the metal plates and the plastic mountings for the mic elements! The electronics were converted to the phantom-powered "Shoeps" circuit, which I got from an article by Scott Dorsey in "Recording" magazine a while back. Also the mic elements were replaced with Panasonic WM-60 capsules, which turned out to be a DRASTIC improvement over the stock capsules. Another thing I'd like to do eventually is replace the metal plates as well, because as you say, they're just a pieces of steel that ring horribly. Probably masonite or plexiglass would be better.

Thanks again!

Joe

OK, that's beyond me. Can you even get those WM-60's anymore? I guess I'll just try to finish the 9volt/replace the cap(s?) mod I was working on. I've heard that simply afixing them to a piece of plexi or masonite helps a lot. Maybe I'll try that, I don't really have much to lose, since I never use it anyway.

germaniac · Post by **germaniac** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 11:01 am

Snarl 12/8 wrote:. . . Can you even get those WM-60's anymore? . . .

I think you're right, the WM-60 was discontinued, so now the equivalent would be the WM-61 (from Digikey). Essentially the same part AFAIK. Even without changing anything else, just replacing the stock capsules with those will be a vast improvement in the sound.

Joe

Teacher's Pet · Post by **Teacher's Pet** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 11:23 am

I inherited a hand-me-down pair of the "Optimus" PZMs so I got two of these mod-kits. I hadn't really used them prior to the mod (and only a tiny bit since) so I can't offer much in the way of before/after.

But I like to think I expanded the usability and longevity of these 2 homely mics, and I learned and practiced PCB assembly / soldering / drilling holes for the enclosure, etc. And I don't have to worry about batteries anymore.

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