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Help: No Sound from Condenser Mic, help me troubleshoot!

ThirstyMonkey

ThirstyMonkey

Jun 27, 2011
252
245
#1
So I was tracking today for a new project for a friend, getting scratch trackss down (acoustic guitar/vocals) so we could start working on arrangements. I had the Slate ML-1 as main vocal mic. After finishing the seventh song, it just stopped working. No sound what-so-ever. There were zero issues before it stopped, no pops, no hiss, nothing. And nothing in the signal chain changed. I tried different cables, different channels, and it's completely dead. I have no idea what happened. I replaced it with a different condenser (an AT2020 that I replaced electronics and capsule on with a kit from Microphone Parts) and we finished.

I really like the ML-1, it's been a good reliable mic, so I'll likely try and get it repaired. But before I do that, I thought I'd reach out to the collective wisdom/knowledge here at TB to see if any of you have thoughts as to what went wrong or how I might be able to fix it myself.

Any and all feedback is appreciated. Thanks.
 
#3
No, I plugged in another condenser to the same channel with the same xls cable and it worked fine. I also tried the non-functioning mic in other channels with different cables and nothing. I've had a mic fail after a drop, but never one just stop working.
 
#4
To be honest, I'd never heard of Slate mics, so I just searched for them, maybe trying to find a manual for your mic so I can make a more educated guess for you. Although I didn't download or read the manual, they seem to be designed to be used with their "VMS" external modeling software. Is it possible that there's a switch in the mic somewhere, either hardware or software-based, that got aet improperly?

And now...the "unhelpful, unasked-for" response. Their stuff looks like the Behringer of the mic world, now that I've looked at it. Steal designs and appearances of well-known and respected products (Neumann, Telefunken, Royer), including altering their Slate logo and housings on differing models to more closely resemble the logos on the aforementioned great mics, sell cheap, and claim their modeling software gives the same result as having a mic locker populated with $100k worth of top notch mics. There's no way it can.

I have NO personal experience with Slate,so for all I know they may very well be great tools. Their approach bugs me.
 
#5
Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, no switches on the mic and it can be used with or without the software, so I don't think that's the issue. I'm tempted to take the mic apart and inspect it for any broken solder points or disconnected wires, but wanted to make sure I'm not missing something obvious as the cause.

As for the mic itself, you're absolutely right. No one mic and software set up is going to perfectly recreate the sound of mics costing thousands of dollars more. I use it when doing initial tracking because the software lets me quickly play with the mic emulations to get something that works best on the source. I don't have the time or big enough mic locker to do it any other way. As for the software/emulations, Slate has some good stuff. I obviously haven't A/B any of it with the real gear, but reviews from reputable sources like Sound On Sound are generally positive.

That said, if I suddenly come into a big windfall...
 

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