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Double Bass Used Remic Green Capsule failure

Monte

Monte

Jan 9, 2001
1,375
66
54
DFW Area, Tejas
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#1
Anyone else had any issues with this?

Pretty disappointed with their response. It failed after about 10 gigs/2 months. I asked about repair and although I know I can't expect them to stand behind something I bought used I am concerned that the response was that it was a 2019 model and they had been known to fail.

By the time they would sell me one at refurb price I will be at over $1000 US between the used one and the refurb and I am not sure to feel confident that it might fail again. Again, not their problem with the used one failing so soon after I bought it but not feeling a lot of assurance that it might happen again. My other contact mic (Ishell) is much older and no issues at all....just doesn't have as much "air" as the Remic.

Wasn't sure if anyone had any longevity experience. Thanks for any advice
 
#2
Monte, I have owned the Remics (still do) and a bunch of other mics and I had for trial the Xlson F hole mic. IMHO there is no comparison. I would not spend any more money on Remic Green, when the Xlson F hole mic is out there. It is 600 bucks but beats all the others. Why? Because it can be mounted in the F hole where it gets max volume and less bleed, it has more volume before feedback(the proprietary thing that Peter invented to do this is a huge step forward), it does not slip out of place (is not limited to place, works great on a H clamp). The Remics have the soft fabric on the cord which I think should be standard with all mics touching an instrument, but the Xlson is just a better mic for playing live. It sounds spectacular blended but does not need it for most intimate settings. (the Remic is an OMNI mic which even in the Green configuration can get squeal-y) IMHO
 
#3
flatback said:
Monte, I have owned the Remics (still do) and a bunch of other mics and I had for trial the Xlson F hole mic. IMHO there is no comparison. I would not spend any more money on Remic Green, when the Xlson F hole mic is out there. It is 600 bucks but beats all the others. Why? Because it can be mounted in the F hole where it gets max volume and less bleed, it has more volume before feedback(the proprietary thing that Peter invented to do this is a huge step forward), it does not slip out of place (is not limited to place, works great on a H clamp). The Remics have the soft fabric on the cord which I think should be standard with all mics touching an instrument, but the Xlson is just a better mic for playing live. It sounds spectacular blended but does not need it for most intimate settings. (the Remic is an OMNI mic which even in the Green configuration can get squeal-y) IMHO
Click to expand...
Thanks!

That is really good to hear. In the absence of the Remic I was just using the Ishell and getting a good sound going into a Grace Design Rex and an Empress Bass ParaEQ.

However I got the Dallas Jazz Orchestra gig and when I pushed it loud It was not a great mic sound.

Sooooo I did something I haven't done in ages and got a piezo. A Realist Lifeline.

And a Felix.

By itself the lifeline is not great although the high impendence setting really improves it as does the sweep-able mids on the Felix. I went back to my H-Clamp and Heil Pr-40 and even with the big band at high volume so far very pleased with the sound. Blending 50-70% mic depending on how loud I need to be. So far it's still new only done one loud big band gig. Helps that one the bass is behind the drums.

Really had me questioning what would the Remic even get me at this point. May have to try the Xlson i hope I can find someone in DFW area with one. I am going to borrow a remic here from a guy and see if it's any better or worse than just using the Heil.

Appreciate the "feedback"
 
#6
It might be a break in the cable. If you are lucky at or close to the XLR connector. Less lucky if it is close to the mic or inside the mic.
You can carefully bend the cable over the whole length to find a spot on the cable where it bends easier. Or amplify the mic while bending to find if works when bent at a certain position. You might shorten the cable to get the broken part out and solder a (new) connector on. To find the right connection, cut the broken part off from the cable and check cable color and connection pin with a passthrough tester (like in most multimeters).
 
#7
DoubleMIDI said:
It might be a break in the cable. If you are lucky at or close to the XLR connector. Less lucky if it is close to the mic or inside the mic.
You can carefully bend the cable over the whole length to find a spot on the cable where it bends easier. Or amplify the mic while bending to find if works when bent at a certain position. You might shorten the cable to get the broken part out and solder a (new) connector on. To find the right connection, cut the broken part off from the cable and check cable color and connection pin with a passthrough tester (like in most multimeters).
Click to expand...
This may be beyond my capability. The cable on this is a soft material and very flexible. I've never encountered it before. It's really cool stuff.

Have a friend that's an electrical engineer might have take a look at it
 
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#8
So I posted on another thread, but should update here.

My friend who worked on rockets took Remic's assertion that it was toast as a personal challenge and managed to fix it replacing the capsule himself.

When I got it back I had trouble getting as much usable volume and I tested with a local bassist here loaning me his remic with the same result. So I kept using my Heil PR40 instead.

I didn't really want to give totally up on the Remic as the Heil is so huge. Today I decided to try mounting the Remic under the bridge something I had never tried before as my 4/4 bridge is too tall. I put a piece of foam in and wow huge difference in volume.

Using the Felix 2 I was quickly able to dial out some ring/squeal and it seems to be putting out a lot more, I would say very close to what I am getting out of the Heil.

I'm going to try it on a gig tomorrow blending with the Realist Lifeline and if it goes well will try on my higher volume gig the following Sunday with the DJO big band.
 
#9
If the capsule is replaced, it is no longer a Remic. Most of the price (before marketing rises the price) is in the capsule.

A lot of cheaper electrets are in the 'not that bad' category, but the sensitivity might differ.
If the sensitivity of the original Remic is known, it would be possible to find a capsule with a similar sensitivity. If not, but the sensitivity of the replacement capsule is known, find one (can be cheap for testing) with a higher one (which might even mean a lower number).
But check to have technical data, otherwise it is purely trial and error.

BTW, capsules with only two connections need a capacitor to hot and a resistor to power to make it a 3-connector capsule.

Very few (often better capsules) miss the JFET that is integrated in the cheaper capsules so the JFET and impedance defining resistor in front of it can be selected by the circuit designer. In that case a condenser preamp but without the membrane powering is needed. But I would stay away from these ones for your application.

I know, that is beyond your understanding, but your friend might know what I mean.
 
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