| Project by Chardt | posted 1797 days ago | 2205 views | 0 times favorited | 8 comments |  |
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While I love Wood working, I also have a home recording studio. One of the other forums I contribute to, The Studio-Central forum is full of studio owners, professional engineers and a large degree of industry experts. One of them designed a Microphone preamp that he sells in a kit. Well, I bought one, and after quite a bit of soldering, I figured I would make a case for it out of a Cookie tin. So I cut it up and installed it. I also found some vintage VU meters on eBay for $30. Then I made a face plate out of some spare 1/4 inch ply that I stained and added several coats of poly. The result is the first pic above.
The pre worked great. Incredible gain for my Ribbon mic, and no distortion. So I decided to make a 2 channel rack mounted version. However finding a 2-space rack chassis new runs in the neighborhood of $200. Which I thought was unnecessary, so I searched out eBay, and lo and behold I found an old (*broken) 2 space network switch for $14. I gutted it…
and for the face plate, I again used the 1/4 inch ply stained.
then applied the poly urethane.
And finally wired it all up.
and Here is the finished result.
I added these really cool vintage radio knobs, which aren’t included in the pic.
Oh, and it sounds fantastic.
-- When my wife ask's what I have to show for my wood working hobby, I just show her the splinters.
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8 comments so far
OutPutter
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1194 posts in 2187 days
#1 posted 1797 days ago
Very resourceful. I like the little guitar man in the background too.
-- Jim
Brad_Nailor
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#2 posted 1797 days ago
Wow..me likes! I am becoming a big fan of your stuff! What kind of ribbons do you have? I love the retro touches especially the antique VUs’.
-- http://www.facebook.com/pages/DSO-Designs/297237806954248
Chardt
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158 posts in 1798 days
#3 posted 1797 days ago
Right now, I’m using a Cascade Fat head. They are terrific and pretty durable.
I’d love to buy a Royers, but can’t really justify spending over $1K on a single mic.
I have a decent smattering of low cost mics. A couple of SM57’s, a few of the MXL Lg diaphram condensers, a few generic Cardoids. A cheap Radio Shack Dynamic that sounds great on a Kick drum. About 12 mic’s total.
My current mic box is an old wine crate that I modified with foam, and purple velvet lining. But I’m working on a really cool Oak cabinet with Spalted birch drawer fronts and brass labeled pulls (like a card catalog).
I’m sort of modelling it after an antique spice box. I’m hand cutting the dovetails, and I need to work on getting them tighter.
-- When my wife ask's what I have to show for my wood working hobby, I just show her the splinters.
Callum Kendall
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1918 posts in 1900 days
#4 posted 1797 days ago
Very cool!
Thanks for the post
Callum
-- For wood working podcasts with a twist check out http://thetimberkid.com/
Chardt
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158 posts in 1798 days
#5 posted 1797 days ago
I forgot to add, if anyone is interested in making the pre-amp you can contact five-fish Studios.
They have the specs on it as well as audio clips, reviews, etc.
http://www.fivefish.net/diy/
It’s a pretty easy project if you’re hand with a soldering iron.
-- When my wife ask's what I have to show for my wood working hobby, I just show her the splinters.
rikkor
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#6 posted 1797 days ago
Nice stuff! Please consider taking some pics of your studio. I am guessing there are quite a few of us that are interested.
Chardt
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158 posts in 1798 days
#7 posted 1797 days ago
I have some pics of the studio furniture I’ve made as well.
A dual bay tilting effects rack, a studio cubby, a rolling studio stool for cable storage, mic case, and a new amp combo case
I’m always working on new stuff. Most of it was done with less than stellar wood skills, and technique. I plan to redo most of the projects with a refined style, and emphasis on mastering joinery such as hand cut dovetails, etc.
-- When my wife ask's what I have to show for my wood working hobby, I just show her the splinters.
James Early
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48 posts in 1845 days
#8 posted 1793 days ago
What a great idea! I dream about making guitar amp cabinets—someday.
-- -- Jim E., Oswego, NY. Create, have fun, and work safely!
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