recstar24 Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 Gotta give it to him, still rocking the business at 90. http://joegradosig.com/index.html
morphsci Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 Interesting. I did not realize that Joe had relocated to Rock Hill, SC.
Dusty Chalk Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 Great. I already have a microphone problem, now this. :\
manaox2 Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 He has been really cool to talk to at the Charlotte meets, even when he gets to be a bit confusing for me. He is extremely psyched over that microphone.
Tyll Hertsens Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 David Chesky and Tom Jung is high praise, indeed.
sschell Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 Perhaps this has already been linked elsewhere, but I think it deserves a re-posting.
Wmcmanus Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 David Chesky and Tom Jung is high praise, indeed. Bob Ludwig is no slough either.
recstar24 Posted June 23, 2011 Author Report Posted June 23, 2011 I am interested in the HP1000 UpGrado. I am fearful of the cost. A man on his last days wanting to tweak? Scary combination.
grawk Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 im sceptical about the mic setup compared to something like a soundfield st350 or other b-format mic, or even a good mid-side or blumlien pair. sure, itd be better than "100 mics" but really no one close mics an orchestra.
GPH Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) Oops, wrong thread. Edited June 23, 2011 by GPH
jvlgato Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 I am fearful of the cost. A man on his last days wanting to tweak? Scary combination. Just called him: $1250 for new 'functional parts', including cable and drivers among others.
morphsci Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 Just called him: $1250 for new 'functional parts', including cable and drivers among others. Seems high, especially if he keeps your "old" drivers.
jvlgato Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 I agree. I was planning to do it, if it was a few hundred dollars. I seem to remember Ryan saying he had his done for a few hundred, and Joe applied some unknown magical substance to the cups, did some other stuff, waved his magic wand, and it seemed to improve things. I called and said I was interested in the HP1000 upgrade, and he said here's how the upgrade works: they had to be in reasonable condition, you'd mail in your headphones and $1250, and he'd replace functional parts including the drivers and cable. I didn't have time to ask if there was an alternative service in which he'd keep the old drivers in, if they were working fine. But he didn't offer such a service, either. He said there may be a delay of a few weeks, since his wife was sick with cancer and he had to focus on her care for the next 2 weeks. I said I was sorry to hear that she was sick, and he said, 'c'est la vie, whaddya gonna do? But I need to focus on that for now, so I may not get back to you for a 2-3 weeks.'
recstar24 Posted June 23, 2011 Author Report Posted June 23, 2011 Seems high, especially if he keeps your "old" drivers. When he replace and upgraded mine when it was still $300 ish he actually includes your old drivers when he ships them back.
bozebuttons Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 I would actually like to know what is actually done to upgrade them other the replacing the parts ,are they differant from the origionals,is it renewing the dampining paste he used in the cups. I have a spare pair of new HP1 drivers & Hp1 standard cable & 2 sets of flat pads & HP1 buttons I bought from Joe just before he moved from NJ. Cost at the time was $525.00 & he would have included installation for free,but I bought them for spares if I ever needed them,they are still sitting in the box they where shipped in. I could turn either my HP2 or HP3 into a HP1 if I wanted as I have all the parts to do it. And no they are not for Sale.
deepak Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 Gotta give it to him, still rocking the business at 90. http://joegradosig.com/index.html I feel the same as you, pretty damn awesome to be doing what you love at that age.
robm321 Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 Joe is awesome! I want the upgrade too, but the price is a bit much. So, I'll just take his attitude about it, "'c'est la vie, whaddya gonna do?", and enjoy the HP-2 the way that it is for the foreseeable future.
Wmcmanus Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 I would actually like to know what is actually done to upgrade them other the replacing the parts ,are they differant from the origionals,is it renewing the dampining paste he used in the cups. I have a spare pair of new HP1 drivers & Hp1 standard cable & 2 sets of flat pads & HP1 buttons I bought from Joe just before he moved from NJ. Cost at the time was $525.00 & he would have included installation for free,but I bought them for spares if I ever needed them,they are still sitting in the box they where shipped in. I could turn either my HP2 or HP3 into a HP1 if I wanted as I have all the parts to do it. And no they are not for Sale. Tom, you might want to check that box to make sure that the flat pads, once they start to disintegrate as they invariably will do, are not going to become "glued" to anything in there that you may want to use one day, like the drivers. If spare flats are kept in a sealed plastic baggie, they can last for years and years. But for some reason, they really don't like exposure to air and/or heat...
Tyll Hertsens Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 If spare flats are kept in a sealed plastic baggie, they can last for years and years. But for some reason, they really don't like exposure to air and/or heat... Aw, you just live in the middle of the ocean.
pcf Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 When I had my HP1 upgraded by Joe, he sent me a CD of recordings made with his then new microphones, as well as a cd of his own opera singing. I didn't know he was such a good singer. The modded HP1 had the polarity switches disabled and new drivers put in and treated. The cable was also changed.It did make a improvement. I had a couple of pairs of stock HP2 to compare so it wasn't my imagination. The sound seems to extend more at both ends and the biggest gain is in the mid- more textured and detailed. I sent him the other two HP2 to mod since then. Joe has been looking after his sick wife Brigitte for a while and this puts a lot of stress on him. In typical Joe Grado style, he started doing research on brain cancer treatment and questioning the regular medical routine. He ended up organizing the chemotherapy himself! According to him, it worked much better. He is still full of energy and wants to get back on his microphones, headphones and writing papers. I wish them both well (Joe’s 87th birthday is coming up). Brigitte is a very nice German lady. When I talked to Joe about this Italian and German marriage, he quickly corrected me and said that he was no Italian- he is from Sicily. I took my modded HP1 to the last bay area meet and some thought that they were more forward than the stock ones, which is true. I wonder if some people might see that as an unwelcome change? (not me) Cheers. Paul
Dusty Chalk Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 I would definitely view that as unpleasant if they were John-Grado forward. I like the HP-2's or -3's that I have because they're neutral, not forward. That said, I still may have to get the procedure, since mine are wonky.
pcf Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 I would definitely view that as unpleasant if they were John-Grado forward. I like the HP-2's or -3's that I have because they're neutral, not forward. That said, I still may have to get the procedure, since mine are wonky. They are definitely NOT John Grado forward. Joe actually changes less to bring the HP1000 to factory state with new drivers. So if you just want to transform your heaphones into a pair of new HP1000, it will cost you less.
Dusty Chalk Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 Yeah, I know that. But thanks for saying it loud, it certainly doesn't hurt to remind me.
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