One Thing’s for Shure

2019/02/252020/08/26 Doktor Ross Sewage1 Comment

I bought a used Shure Beta 58 off of craigslist some time ago. The damn thing just stopped working one day. I tried to see about fixing it, but it was a ding dong mystery and the insides of that thing do not reveal secrets easily. Plus, a bunch of it is just glued in. I finally read about sending it in to Shure for “repair,” where they charge you half the cost of a new mic and you get… a new mic, in the box. No warranty or receipt required.

I can reveal, friends, it is true. Shure has a great product replacement system and sent me a brand new Beta 58A in the box with all the peripherals. All I had to do was fill out a form and provide CC payment info. I also sent in a GLXD1 wireless transmitter that’d gone wonky which they fixed for free! Again, no warranty! They just did it!

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Mic Hunt: Shure SM7B

2014/02/28 Doktor Ross SewageLeave a comment

I have an Amazon Wish List a mile long. They’re dreamy items because I dream of having disposable income to spend on them. Maybe some dreamy billionaire who reads my blog will think I deserve a present. On Christmas Day, my brother surprised me with what he dubbed a “baller gift” from said list. He’s had a good financial year, so he gifted accordingly with a Shure SM7B. Fuck to the yeah.

IMG_1584a — I’m even more excited to play with the box.

I don’t own much in the way of equipment that’s not been used. Like, almost nothing. It’s a big deal for me to get something like this without a hunt on craigslist. I’ve wanted a really good vocal mic for some time and the Shure SM7B fit the bill. If it’s good enough for Michael Jackson, then it’s good enough for me. That same logic is how I also got addicted to prescription drugs and why I’m always trying to hang out with Macaulay Culkin.

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Oh, Snap! Sennheiser MZS-421 shockmount

2012/09/142015/01/12 Doktor Ross Sewage8 Comments

In my Low End Theory 1 article, I expressed my overwhelming satisfaction with the Low End Theory 2 article, I explained the custom mounting of my sweet MD-421 using a Bass Hangar from basshanger.com, a common microphone gooseneck, and the Sennheiser MZS-421 shockmount. In all their wisdom, Sennheiser did not make the MD-421 fit in a standard mic clip. But at least they did make this mount that would isolate the microphone from nasty bass vibrations. It is perfect for my “on the cab” mic set up.

That is, until one of the rubber bands broke while I was on tour. Then a second rubber band broke. The remaining bands held the mount together until the end of tour, but the shock absorption was nil. Luckily, one of the broken bands was stuck in the divots of the mount. With that and the help of some photos, I was able to trace its original path and re-thread replacements.

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Grabber music: Drum Mic Mount

2011/09/242015/01/17 Doktor Ross Sewage3 Comments

Dino used to do some vocals in Ghoul. He’d also done vocals for his previous bands, Asunder and Dystopia. It’s rare to find drummers who can also vocalize, and rarer that they aren’t ugly like Jimmy Marino of the Romantics. Well, one outta two ain’t bad. Dino can growl with the best of them while playing drums, and he wasn’t doing it anymore. I really wanted him back to singing on our upcoming tour.

Now if only we could get him to stop talking

At least one reason he gave up was the mic stand. For years, Dino had to have a big ass boom stand, balanced with the arm stretched all the way out, and placed oddly somewhere amongst his jungle of cymbal stands. This just doesn’t make sense and it’s a pain in the ass to set up. I’ve seen it lots of other times with other drummers mucking shit up and the mic flailing about.

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