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Hi

I was at the flea market today and I had a lucky encounter with a Beyer M610 mic that was buried under a bunch of electronic junk.
Since they asked 5 eur for it I picked it up without further questions.

What I've found on the net is that this is not a very common moving coil dynamic mic, and if in good shape it goes for about 150$.

Problem is that the mic isn't in very good condition. The upper part of the grill is a bit crushed (see pics).
I wonder how could have it been smashed like this, since the metal is VERY hard.

I tried to dismount the top of the drill (like in the newer model) to see if I could somewhat re-shape it, but
no way, mic is sealed like a German submarine.

The 3 pin connectors (Tuchel type) have some tin/lead remains on it, meaning they were soldered in a do it yourself fashion.

Is there a right way to re-solder the pins to a standard cable?
Do you think this mic is seriously damaged?

here are some pics

http://img175.image…

http://img204.image…

http://img244.image…

http://img224.image…

http://img176.image…

Comments

Spears sound Sun, 09/23/2012 - 22:57

Find some way to test it before pulling it all apart. As a ribbon mic it is among the most fragile so you will be very fortunate if it still works well. DON'T apply any phantom power to it as inadvertently powering one side and not the other would be disastrous.

EDIT ******* I thought you said M160. So much for my FIRST post LOL. And I thought to myself "I'm being so helpful" duh

detlef Mon, 09/24/2012 - 00:03

Hi Spears sound
From what I can gather this is not a ribbon, it's a moving coil (dynamic?). This kind of mic is generally more durable and can withstand physical impacts.
Of course many here have more knowledge on the matter.

curious how this one for sale seems affected by a similar problem
http://www.ebay.com…

Most sellers describe it with a bass switch by I don't see any switch on the one I have.

Spears sound Mon, 09/24/2012 - 00:42

detlef, post: 393991 wrote: Hi Spears sound
From what I can gather this is not a ribbon, it's a moving coil (dynamic?). This kind of mic is generally more durable and can withstand physical impacts.
Of course many here have more knowledge on the matter.

curious how this one for sale seems affected by a similar problem
http://www.ebay.com… Beyer M610 microphone | eBay

Most sellers describe it with a bass switch by I don't see any switch on the one I have.

ooops - I saw it as M160! Well, if it's a dynamic it very well may still work great! I used to have Beyer Ribbon mics, (500 and 160) and liked them a lot. As well as my M88. Hopefully yours is still studio worthy.

Boswell Mon, 09/24/2012 - 04:35

Is http://emillo.net/d… this http://emillo.net/d… the same connector as is on your M610? If so, it's likely that pins 1 and 3 are signal (outer pins, + and - respectively) and pin 2 (centre) is shield. However, there were more than one pinout variant.

You really need to find a cable with an original Tuchel plug that has the screw-lock ring. Standard DIN connectors, although they may have the correct pin spacing, tend to fall out under the weight of the cable.

I've never seen an M610 with a separate body-side muting switch, but I believe that the version that Beyer supplied to Dynacord did have a switch. The normal switch option on the M610 is a rotating ring at the lower end of the body which switches in the high-pass filter ("M" position = music, i.e. full-range, "S" position = speech, i.e. HP filter enabled).

Boswell Mon, 09/24/2012 - 06:56

Do you mean that there are remains of wire strands that have been soldered on to the microphone connector pins? If so, it's not good news, as the pins can never be returned to a state where they will make proper contact with the cups of a socket.

If there is a lot of solder left on the pins, you might at well run with it in the state it is and solder on a short length of standard microphone cable with an XLR male connector on the other end. You would have to devise a way of strain relieving the cable to the microphone body, but at least it gets around the problem of having to find a genuine Tuchel connector.

detlef Mon, 09/24/2012 - 13:02

[quote=Boswell, post: 394008]Do you mean that there are remains of wire strands that have been soldered on to the microphone connector pins? If so, it's not good news, as the pins can never be returned to a state where they will make proper contact with the cups of a socket.

Yes I do.
If it's just tin that were used wipe it away shouldn't be a hard task.

Anyway I tested the mic on a cheap amp with a temporary connection and it works just fine! It has quite a lot of bass freq.

I already have a 3 pin DIN connector that should work (ok no lock). Would you raccomend a TRS or a XLR for the other extremity of the cable?

Spears sound Wed, 09/26/2012 - 02:03

detlef, post: 394016 wrote:

Anyway I tested the mic on a cheap amp with a temporary connection and it works just fine! It has quite a lot of bass freq.

Congrats on your find then! I could tell a lot of stories about flea market deals. Like when my friend traded a cheap cheap acoustic guitar even for a '72 Telecaster deluxe. The vendor even offered to add cash to the deal because the Fender "didn't have all the strings" like my friends junker. facepalm

RemyRAD Thu, 09/27/2012 - 21:12

That microphone is not overloading the mid-highs. Your level is set too high. It's also possible that this microphone has been dropped from a fairly high distance to the floor? The screen has not been flattened. The microphone normally looks that way. It's a gift from God. The saturation you might be hearing may be a loose or damaged diaphragm? It may have actually been compressed from a fall? The screen is glued on just like my M-160/130/69's. Of course that doesn't mean the microphone hasn't been damaged from water damage, whether damage, et cetera.

It's like manna from heaven.
Mx. Remy Ann David

detlef Fri, 09/28/2012 - 05:49

Hello Remy

Signal level is ok, no overloads.
All other questions are legit, but I have no tech knowledge for answer.

Other beyer 610 I see around have a regular shaped grille (except the one at ebay link above).

It almost seems it has been hammered (I can't imagine such a criminal act tough).

RemyRAD Fri, 09/28/2012 - 13:02

No, it's just the way the model looks. The grill has not been flattened. It's the way that model looks. It's not just the one on eBay. Sure it may have been lightly compressed? But it was actually designed with a flat looking grill. Many people will just post a similar picture to a similar microphone by the same manufacturer. So it's understandable that you may be confused on how the microphone was originally designed. They don't even have a reference of this microphone on the Beyer Dynamic, site. Not anymore at least. I expected better within their archives. So I guess they don't want to be taken as seriously as Neumann? Not sure why that is? They've been around long enough and make some great equipment. Their site stinks. It's missing too much. And it's a gaggle of various stuff without much emphasis placed on their microphones. Too bad. Their reputation is built mostly upon their microphones and transformers. They are now pushing mostly industrial junk. They call that diversification. I call that confused distinction. So now they are known as nothing more than run-of-the-mill industrial junk. And otherwise lowering of the bar of one of the best microphone lines ever made. It's a shame. Even Neumann basically went out of business and was absorbed by Sennheiser. Another fabulous microphone company known for their fabulous microphones. And a company concentrating mostly on those.

That's right it's not a criminal act. It's just the way the microphone was designed. And perhaps another reason why it's popularity was not as high as some of their other models? It just didn't look right. It looked like somebody dropped it. So it does not present the appearance we expect, from a fine microphone. Which is perhaps another reason why it has fallen into oblivion? So this was created as a general-purpose dynamic microphone and it looks like it. The M-88 has a similar flattened grill appearance. And that's one of their finer dynamic microphones. I'm not even sure if your microphone is an Uni or Omni directional microphone? It may in fact be Omni? Like their 210? Perhaps the 3 numeric nomenclature indicates omnidirectional microphones whereas the 2 numeric nomenclature indicates Uni correctional microphones? That, might/would be another reason why the grill would appear flat? This may just be a more highly windproof omni? Omnidirectional microphones present less wind noise problems than do directional microphones. Kind of like Electro-Voice 635 compared to a RE 50. Essentially identical but different packaging, form factor. Both nearly indestructible omnidirectional dynamic microphones. Their M-69 is like a poor man's M-88. (Not really) Kind of like a SM 48 as compared to the 58. Looks pretty much the same. Doesn't sound pretty much the same. The 48 is a poor man's 58. Kind of like a Fiat 850 spider in comparison to a Corvette Stingray. Both are two seats with a convertible top. But that's where the similarity stops. One cannot compare to the other even though they can be.

I've thought about picking up a Stingray with a blown engine? Then dropping in a little four cylinder engine. It would still look like and roll as a Stingray. Sure wouldn't perform as one. I'd be laughing all the way past the gas station.

34 mpg in a Stingray?
Mx. Remy Ann David

RemyRAD Fri, 09/28/2012 - 23:53

Yup, yup, like I said, it looks stupid. OMG! Did you see the price on that M-160? I think back in 1980 my M-160's cost me around 350-$370 each, new?

I think they made the microphone look that way so that when it did fall on the floor, it wouldn't look any different and nobody would know. I think I'd be embarrassed to use a microphone that looks like that? Can you imagine the flak you would get from people asking why you want to use a broken microphone on somebody so important? That microphone looks like the Gary Larson suck knob adjustment. No wonder it fell into obscurity. What was their advertising campaign for this microphone? The new microphone that looks like it's gone down too many times? I guess I could be appealing? Or perhaps..." Ladies, when you are singing on stage, you don't want to look like you're going to eat your boyfriend..."? Almost looks like a butt plug? Are you sure the microphone works?

Any working microphone is a good microphone
Mx. Remy Ann David