#65 Focusrite Saffire PRO 40 teardown & repair

Ok, time for some nostalgia. My first "big" interface (as in, not just a little 2in/2out jobbie) was a Saffire PRO 40, that i bought retail, brand new, back in 2011 - spring, if memory serves. I mostly used it as an interface at home, tracked a couple rehearsals with the band i was in at the time, then later it got "demoted" to additional-preamp to a Saffire PRO 26io that i briefly owned, before it got sold off when i got my MOTU 896mk3 Hybrid.

This one i grabbed as faulty off eBay, yet again. Another one of those "too cheap to pass up" sort of deals. The listing contained a confession that the seller had (unsuccessfully) attempted to replace the Firewire chip, and he also provided a photo of the affected area. I won't lie, it kinda hurt a tiny bit to see a couple of torn off pads, and a few others lifted and mangled, but at the same time, it also didn't look to be entirely beyond hope. I figured with some determination and a bunch of patience (for "cosmetic / reconstructive surgery"), it could be returned to full functioning.

#64 Vocaltone D7 microphone (Shure SM57 clone) teardown & measurements

Literally last week, a local friend gave me a heads-up on a ridiculous sale that a big electronics retailer nearby was having, on some knockoff Shure microphone clones (of the SM57 and SM58, specifically) - normal price 39,90e; discounted price 10e(!!!). I grabbed three, right off the bat, with the intent of borrowing a legit SM57 and doing some measurements. But then i figured, why not make an article out of it?

But i've got big(?) plans for these, more or less. There's method to this madness, though...