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My CMIT went bad...


Chad Peter

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Dropped off my Schoeps CMIT 5U at LSC today for service.  Had used it recently with a Roland R-44 (no mixer in this case), and about half way thru a simple one-hour long recording, the mic GRADUALLY started to produce a low-level crackle.  Had hoped it was just a bad R-44, but the mic performed the same on another recorder when used.  Unfortunately, LSC confirmed it was the mic.  

Given the mic was performing fine early in the same recording, and gradually got worse, I feel like I'm going out on a short limb to assume the R-44 phantom power damaged the mic?  Has anyone else experienced this sort of damage?  I couldn't find anything regarding the R-44 damaging a mic.  The CMIT has an early serial, so it's been around for a bit - I purchased it used over two years ago and it has been a workhorse for me ever since, until this.

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1 hour ago, Philip Perkins said:

How humid was it where you were working?  Do other mics work ok with that recorder?  Can you look @ the P48 voltage on the input connector of the recorder?  Mic components do go bad sometimes--it happens, bad luck for you that day probably.

This was in LA about a month ago, so not bad on the humidity side of things.  If anything, it was a little chilly/dry in the house that day.  I'll check the recorder and make sure it's distributing phantom power properly - cautious to test any other mics with the R-44 until then.  Certainly a bummer.

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Yah check your voltage....long shot but worth a look re your other mics.  Still, most likely a cap etc in the mic gone bad.  Most of the Schoeps repairs I've had done were done by Schoeps themselves in Germany.  Redding Audio has a program for sending batches of mics to Schoeps periodically--saves a lot on shipping etc, and Schoeps repair, while not cheap is a very fair deal and the mic comes back looking and sounding like new.

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4 hours ago, Christian Spaeth said:

You probably already sent it away, but if strange sounds come out of a Schoeps, put it in its box in a dry and not cold room for a day or two and then check if it still sounds bad. Hot/cold/humidity affect Schoeps more than other mice but the effect is often not permanent. 

Interesting.  Yeah, I had listened to it on three different days over the course of three weeks and it was still producing the same problems.  The mic is in the mail at this point, so presumably we'll see.  Constantin - I can only hope it comes out as free, but alas... who knows!

Thanks gang.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

i've read about the schoeps being susceptible to humidity and such. that they're not really robust in that sense. i really don't understand it at all. i've used my CMIT in super humid weather (bornean jungle, mexican jungles, etc and in DC where it is a big humid swamp in the summer!) and have never had any performance issues. i've even had it in the rain with the cinela piano/kelly cover without any issues whatsoever. same can be said about my CCM M/S setup. no issues with weather. pretty solid. 

that sucks that your CMIT went bad. i'm sure LSC and schoeps will take care of you(perhaps at the cost of some $$$). it's part of the deal. my buss compressor just started giving me a transformer hum out of the blue. now i've got to send it in to Elysia to see what the deal is.......but yes, repairing and maintenance sucks for both hardware and plugins. 

 

keep us posted on the repair. hopefully it won't take too long to get back into the mic locker

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  • 2 months later...

Finally got this back from Schoeps, after Location Sound Corp sent it out for me.  Works fantastically once again.  Still not sure exactly what was fixed or replaced on the CMIT (not even the folks at Location Sound were sure), but Schoeps fixed it free of charge, regardless.  Pretty awesome, considering I was expecting a pricey fix for an early serial number mic.

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Three months to turn it around is a long time to be without a mic.  I send mine back two or so at a time for preventative maintenance, but it's one reason that I am more likely to use a Sennheiser (Connecticut)  or even a DPA (2-weeks to Denmark and back).  That's a long time.  Not much of a choice, alas.

D.

 

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7 hours ago, Constantin said:

Three months is also way longer than Schoeps usually need. 4 weeks is the longest I've had to wait. That's without the shipping time, of course. Maybe Chad simply didn't post right away?

Haha well I did wait about a week to go in and pick it up after Location Sound called me... so unless they've been sitting on it... ;) 

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  • 1 year later...
12 hours ago, fatfatjames said:

Anyone know the link for repair? I am thjnking of sending mine in direct to Schoeps. Thanks!!!!

 

support@schoeps.de

 

To keep import/export duty at a minimum or avoid it completely, I‘d recommend going through your dealer. Unless you know exactly how to label your package for repairs

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