What happens to the crystal element if I dropped my mic?
Hi Mr. Heumann-
I am farily new to playing amplified using microphones with crystal element inside.. so this might be a dumb question... A lot of people say that the crystal elements are fragile, sometimes one drop can kill the element. So what would happen if I dropped my crystal mic on the floor, will it not sound at all afterwards or will it just give a weaker output?
Thanks!
That is a very informative answer. Thank you.
Is it a good idea to store old crystal mics with silica gel packs (as a dry agent). Will this help to prolong the life expectancy of the crystal?
Thanks!
In theory, if you had stored the mic inside a plastic bag with one of those packs for its entire 50+ year life, it would have prolonged the life. The chances of making much difference now is a lot less. Don't forget those packs can only absorb so much moisture. If the mic is wet from your own playing and condensation of your breath in the grill cloth, etc - it might be better to leave it OUT where that moisture can in fact evaporate.
Thanks again! These are all very good points. I think I might just go with CM/CR in the future since there is far less hassle to deal with.
Well - people choose elements for tone. But in general I agree with your decision, for the points above and two others.
First, the original Brush, Shure and Astatic crystals, such as the Shure R7 class and Astatic MC-101 - had a characteristic mid-range boost or "nasal honk" that weas very distinctive and resulted in what I think of as "that classic crystal tone." Although you can still find those elements they are now extremely rare and hard to find, and therefore run north of $300. The last of the "old school" crystals were the Astatic MC-151's. When Astatic sold the JT30VC molds to Hohner, they also sold the last production run of MC-151's so the last of those elements can be found in early Hohner BluesBlaster mics. (Hohner subsequently exhausted the supply, and, without telling anyone, switched over to a cheap Japanese modern crystal which doesn't compare tonally.) Of the MC-151's still around and at 100% output, those late productions models are the most likely to be found. However in my experience they do NOT have "that classic crystal tone."
Second, crystal elements are very high imepdance. If they encounter much load resistance, it sucks the tone right out of them. That means that the input impedance of volume controls, amps, wireless transmitters, pedals - ALL can have an impact on the element's tone to a much greater degree than a CM or CR, which are much less imepdance-sensitive.
For those reasons - I generally recommend against crystal elements unless you KNOW the tonal difference very well and are specifically after "that classic crystal tone."
I LOVE the tone of a good CR - and lots of pros, inclufing Musselwhite, Hummel, Kashmar, Mischo - prefer them as well.
It is true that crystal become more fragile with age. They slowly absorb moisture which weakens the internal molecular bonds. That alone can cause them to become weaker- and a drop can make it worse. Whether it does nothing, lowers the output, or compleetely destroys the crystal depends on the age of the element, the conditions under which it was stored, and luck!