xaval
1000+ Head-Fier
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Quote:
Nice Pineapple
WIN!!!
This thread just keeps getting better an inspirational feedback guys - great looking piece of work Alchieng
Nice Pineapple
Nice Pineapple
Quote:
The lucky devil lives in Florida, he likely grew it on a bush outside. Heh.
Nice Pineapple
I started thinking about all those people who can't afford the exotic tonewoods, students and others who, for one reason or another, want to dump the plastic but just can't afford to grab the brass ring. That's when it occurred to me that poplar might be a good place to start.
Popular is an inexpensive wood that skews toward the softer side. Its light weight and light color make it an interesting alternative to the more expensive tonewoods.
While it doesn't hold a candle to mahogany, cocobolo or Brazilian rosewood, poplar is still a better choice than plastic. What's more, because of its lower price, there's less of a need to stick to a single color pattern. The nearly broke could still display high creativity in coming up with new looks for Grados.
These are not completely finished. They need another three coats and some additional sanding to be anywhere close to complete, but the sound on these - while not as defined as it would be in the mahoganies, cocobolos and Brazilian rosewood - is still a step up from the original plastic.
I'm not presenting these as the acme of woodwork. I just think they represent some of the many possibilities waiting to be explored.
Will someone please remind me how best to "lift" the "crinkles" from the liberated drivers?
Thanks in advance, Bill.
Quote:Will someone please remind me how best to "lift" the "crinkles" from the liberated drivers?
Thanks in advance, Bill.
Electrical (PVC) tape works wonders.
I agree. I like it a lot more than, say, cellophane, which is too sticky. You want the sticky surface of the tape to grab the Mylar but to also release it afterwards - and release it gently. You want to lay the tape over the affected area and pull out the wrinkle, much the way someone doing bodywork on a car would "lift and pull" the dent out. Grado has a bit of a dilemma. Its drivers are so detailed because they have such low mass. But thin Mylar is so flimsy that its subject to crinkling. I've never been unable to pull these crinkles out. It's not like the Mylar ends up stuck that way, but Mylar is also a bit coquettish. You may find yourself teased and laughed at by your drivers as if you fix one dent - only to produce another. It takes patience and persistence. Be gentle. Believe it or not, the Mylar is quite sturdy stuff. It will tear only if you puncture it. On the other hand, if you get too exuberant, you will pull the voice coil loose. It's only lodged in-between the magnet and the magnet plate by a slight friction. If you pull it out, all is not lost, but then you have to push it back in - and the only way to do that is to push on the Mylar.
The unforgivable sin is to mess with the thread-like wires feeding the voice coil. Get careless there and you're back to shopping for headphones.
One thing I do when I use electrical tape is to loop it, with the sticky side facing out. I pinch the ends and apply the sticky outward face. Doing so gives me more control and more of a "sensation" regarding the amount of force I'm using. As I mentioned before, there isn't a ding you can't pull out. As long as you haven't created a rip or tear, you can make just about any old driver look good as new.
So I', just curious has anyone ever tried contacting gradolabs to see if they can buy just the drivers?
Anyone want to go "halfsies" on a set of 60's with me so we can "split" the drivers, or does anyone have an extra driver they would be willing to sell me???