Mic Elements
Hi Greg - almost a follow up to Dave Hall's question but the way you explained it on the MBH forum (here's how I characterize the various Shure elements) is so clear I thought it would be worth repeating here for those that don't read that forum.
Although the prices may not be appropriate here, I'd also like to see a 'carry on' that goes into crystal and ceramic elements with regard to tone differentials and positives and negatives regarding crystal/ceramic.
And finally (for now) for those that haven't read it, Greg has a great downloadable PDF on his web site that really does cover a lot of territory regarding mics and amplified harp playing. Highly recommended reading and just in case Greg is too 'shy' to mention it, it is:
http://blowsmeaway.com/all%20about%20harmonica%20microphones.pdf
My questions are actually mostly answered in that document. Hope you don't mind my posting the URL Greg.
Hi, Hank
First, this question was posed here a while back and Fritz' thorough answer is here: http://www.bluesharmonica.com/ceramic_elements
That answer describes the technical differences and his take on tonal differences.
I will now add my two cents.
I agree with Fritz - the original crystal elements, designed and manufactured by Brush and manufactured under license by Shure and Astatic DID have a different sound than dynamic elements. 99% of those elements are now dead - a few survive, they fetch very high prices. But that is what you need if you want that distinctive "honky" crystal sound. The last of the "old" crystals was the MC-151 made by Astatic, which was produced up until the JT30 became the Hohner BluesBlaster - I believe this was in the late 80's/early 90's but not sure. Hohner absorbed the last of the MC-151's and used them up, later substituting a more modern and much cheaper crystal in the BluesBlaster. THOSE MC-151's represent the largest population of surviving "old school" crystal elements. But to my ear, they do NOT have that "honk". They just don't sound that different from dynamic elements, which, due to their construction, tend to have lasted much better.
So now let me tell you the disadvantages of crystal and ceramic elements. They are fragile, susceptible to damage from both temperature and shock. They are super high impedance which means they are very sensitive to the impedance of the system they are connected to - that consists of the amp's input and any other resistor in parallel, such as an in-line volume control - so without some attention to this their tone can be sucked dry at the drop of a hat. (I make an extra high impedance version of my vintage volume control for that reason.)
SO.... I generally try to steer people away from older crystal elements unless they KNOW the sound they're after and what it takes to get it - which will be a surviving Shure, Astatic or Brush crystal from the early days. And they have to know that such an element, even though it might be strong today, could be dead tomorrow. "You pays your money and you takes your chances."