Very nice and concise. I have been cleaning U47s and such for years, I use other solvents I can find in Venezuela, but your best bet IS 99% alcohol (or rubbing alcohol) to not damage that gold plating. Some mics have the connecting screw in the middle, and tightening that is very delicate since it tends to warp the foil if you move it. Be wary and dedicated, do not rush and use magnifying glasses to see mini-faults. Great video, appreciated...!
I have a mic that doesn't have that gold plating. It looks like it was there as i can see small traces of it left by the screw. The mic barely works and sounds really bad, unusable basically. Is that because the gold plating is gone? What is the function of that gold plating? I'm thinking of just getting new, cheap k47 capsule from aliexpress but wondering if that's cause of plating is gone?
my capsule is dirty and has that screw in the middle. can I lean it only with distilled water and not losening the screw? basically around it...the mic is old and somewhat noisy at more than 50% of pre amp, but still not sure this would help or damage, so not sure
@Jim Kovacs, is that alcohol that you use the "normal" drinkable alcohol - C2H5OH, ethanol, ethyl alcohol? I ask because ethanol is very cheap and easy to get (2€ per litre in the local drugstore) - isopropyl alcohol costs ten times more.
Usually, 2 ways are used to deposit a thin layer of gold on the mic membrane: electroplating and sputtering. The first is cheap, but the film that is formed is more fragile and usually has less adherence. Sputtering is a more expensive process (the metal is vaporized in a stream of electrons, in a low pressure chamber, and this metal vapor is the one that adheres to what we want to cover) but the adherence is much greater. Reading the comments, there are many who "peeled" their capsule, that's almost certainly a sign that the capsule was electroplated, not sputtered. (in an old Rode brochure, they specify that the NT1A capsule is "gold plated", while the K2 is "gold sputtered") I don't know if they keep the same processes now, check the specifications of your mics before doing anything
I dabbled in capsule cleaning several years back, honestly had great success. Have to have a steady hand as to not apply too much pressure and accidentally damage the membrane (some people may not be able to do this), and of course use very soft brushes, but totally doable. I had some MICs that would cut out / make noise if you even lightly got near them with your breath, but after some careful cleaning, they worked 100% again. Replacing the capsules seems totally unnecessary when many can be cleaned. Nice video on the subject, wasn't much at all on this process years ago. Good work as well.
Thanks for this advice. I have some mild issues with "shaky hands"(especially when I'm doing something that could potentially throw a couple grand down the toilet), so I may see about having someone professional do it when the time comes.
@@Ten80pete You're welcome. I'd say on a cheap microphone's that aren't much of a loss if you destroy them, it's fine to give a go, but if it is fairly valuable and you have never done it, I would suggest a professional that's experienced in doing it. I would also highly suggest trying it on a cheap MXL or similar first (sometimes can get non working MIC's really cheap online like ebay), to get a feel for it, for anybody that wishes to try it. I would not jump straight to a high end microphone unless you are prepared to have the capsule replaced or reskinned anyway.
i accidentally rubbed a spot ( gold plated coil got rubbed off) with my rode nt1a. would it affect the microphone? i used 70% alochol. I'm kinda scared right now because its my only mic
@@coleenacebuche2083 Hard to say how it will impact the sound of the microphone, or functionality. If you rubbed off half of the gold or punctured the diaphragm, it might not work well. On the other hand, if it is just a very a tiny spot, good chance it won't make enough difference to notice while in normal use. I would finish the cleaning taking more care, stay away from the damaged spot, and then reassemble. Really won't know until you put it back together to test it. I keep in mind that, the cheaper microphones that need cleaned are nearly junk because they do not work prior to cleaning, aren't worth paying an expert to clean, nor buy new capsules, so was worth the risk of damaging them because even if I damaged it, was still in the same boat of needing a capsule, but, was worth the try. Hopefully it still works for you well enough.
Nice! Just received a friends AT 4040 so seeing a vid like this is great for learning capsule maintenance while I figure out why there is no output. Thank you!
Great video, thanks! Is that a dry brush you're using on the high impedance board initially? Are you brushing over the gold contacts as well before applying contact solution?
Thanks so much. Been looking for information from what least appears credible and experienced sources on this topic. 90% Tell you NO...and NEVER..when it comes to capsule cleaning..but I know better. Thank you sir. Do you have any further advice or input that may pertain to tube amplified microphones? I’ll assume no..but figured I might as well ask while thanking you. P.S. I do a lot of work on micro electronics. About a year ago I put away my magnifying clip-on/flip in magnifiers for something that works substantially better for me. I had my “last” larger screen Cell Phone. I affixed it to an adjustable mount. Now I use it as my magnifier..it magnifies AMAZING. The pixel resolution is such that the digital zoom even is more than enough to outclass my magnifiers.As well..it has the very bright LED on it that is much better than dodging around or tilting objects to see minute debris or markings on IC chips. I just leave the charge cord plugged to it while it’s in use. Figured I’d mention as it may be a good tool for you as well. @FreddysFrets
Don't do like I do, listen to this man! I just screwed apart my ~10 year old Røde NT1-A because the XLR bit became lose recently (because I started to use a tightly fitting cable probably). I didn't find a way to repair the XLR bit, could glue it in maybe... Anyway, I saw similar debris on the diaphragm and proceeded to clean it with cotton buds and water because I had none of that fancy stuff at home. I managed to puncture or rather peel off the diaphragm in two places. Not sure yet whether it sounds better with damage than with debris. Can't tell yet as it's drying in the sun. Almost certainly a bad idea as well.
Great instruction! Thank you very much! Please, answer for 3 questions: 1) Can I clean my Shure SM7B this way? 2) Capsule of SM7B has a complex structure, and I'm not sure that I can take it apart to clean all the layers. So I have idea to immerse it in a bath of alcohol or distilled water, and then dry it. Is this a bad idea? 3) Can I clear the capsule by isopropyl alcohol (I heard, that isopropyl alcohol better then regular alcohol)?
Hi @FreddysFrets ! Hi have a quick question : for a Dynamic microphones the cleaning process is the same? (I want to try to clean a vintage Davoli Krundaal K607 capsule) . Thank you so much!
I really appreciated your video, and then assembled everything I'd need to clean my own C414. First, I thought I'd practice on my old Rode NT1A, the 25% alcohol solution took the gold right off the capsule! Cold fear and cold feet for me, I think I'll re-think cleaning the C414, it's the most expensive mic I own.
C414 capsules are very fragile. The bonding between the gold layer and the membrane is very light and you can easily 'wipe' off the evaporated gold layer. (By the way: I would never use alcohol...)
Hi, thanks for this great video. I just used your video as a guide to repair a loud hum i used to have on mine. The hum is gone but i still get some interference when my finger touches the pad or filter switches (not the pattern). But its gone when i take it out.
BIG ISSUE... I did exactly what you shared to a RODE NT2000... Can you tell me why the gold color on the mylar on the capsule started to melt off and what affect that might have on the mic. You can see through the mylar as it made it more clear in a spotty pattern...
Hi Freddy, I own a C214 and im trying to find out if I could paint again the chasis because the paint is constantly pulling off. Is there any inconvenient ?
Great guide! There's an AKG C4000B that is not noisy but sounds like a lowpass filter is applied to it's sound. Do you think cleaning might help with such a condition or you have some sort of advice for me? Thanks in advance!
Very nice!!! Do you have a video cleaning the U87ai? I have 2 and the problem is in 1 capsule. I changed the capsules and the bodys of each one and the problem is in the capsule of one of them. The sound is off, appears for a while and go way, appears again and go way again. How can I fix it?
Hi Tomxico here from Portugal. My studio condenser mic works just fine but sometimes then the signal is very low or even vanish away. Is there a bad condenser or something ? It's not about fantom Power cos I have oneother condenser mic and works just fine. Can someone help me ? Please I am locked a home due to the virus. Health to you all.
I might experiment like this on a cheap Chinese mic but when the mics are high dollar, I might send them out, if a shop wrecks it, they eat it. I would think that a fine dry flat artists brush would remove loose dust materials from a diaphram without soaking it. Were these mics used in a barn or something?
thank you for this! i have an old U87 capsule that Neumann said about... " we cannot clean capsules" that was in '92, so i replaced the cap, but kept the original. i will put it into a kit i am building
maybe You should put it back in your. U 87 after cleaning it and put the "new" into a new build ... at least try and record an AB comparison it would be very interresting ...
I get this intermittent low frequency rumble whenever I try using my microphone. I suspect humidity might be responsible because I live in the RGV close to the coast.
Excellent video THANKS for info. Could you do a video on mics that work for a period then cuts out then work again 10 minutes later or cuts out when vocalist comes to close and let's out a big note. Rode NT1 guilty as charged
Been 2 years and I'm sure you figured it out, but for future reference. It is the same procedure as shown in the video for MICs that are cutting out with breath. If a condenser MIC is making noise or cutting out, the cleaning shown in the video should do the trick to get it working again, assuming a dirty capsule is the issue.
How does a microphone get dirty??? I always use a pop filter and never keep it exposed outside of the box for over a few hours or I will cover it with a plastic bag on the mic stand
Around 9:12 there is a cut. The debris collected on the capsule, how do you get that off, just using the brush, or do you use the dried brush like in the next session to pull it off?
Thanks for the education, I'm considering doing this same procedure to my very dirty Neumann U67 capsule. I'd like to try and save some $$$ because sending it off to get it done will be expensive. If I do it exactly as you demonstrate do you foresee any problems being a vintage Neumann ??
Chiming in that on my SP-B1 LDC mic (which had become too noisy due to improper storage anyways, and is cheap so no biggie) the first solution made the gold flake off, thus requiring a new capsule, rendering the old one broken. Oh well! Might work better on more expensive diaphragms perhaps?
It could very well be that cheap capsules have inferior gold sputtering on the diaphragm. I've cleaned many mics this way including vintage Neumann U-87s and have never had a problem.
Great video, but have a question, can i rub the same way, a Perception 200 capsul diafragm? Cause there's a wire conected right in the middle of the capsule (as the U87 capsule), so i don't know what to do, thanks for your help
Yes I've done it with center terminated mics. just be very careful, don't get them to wet around the termination and let it dry for a long time before trying it.
Hello, my name is Diego and i lve in Brasil.I have an C414 that are working but have a low h=gain issue.Can you help me with this? im asking for help because i can not find an schematic online .Thanks in advance.
can you tell me what happens if the diaphram gets a small puncture? (I was working on a mic doing a mount repair for the element and ended up doing some tiny tiny indentations in the gold side. the other side looks like a plastic disk.
Thanks, I have one that i think I killed! it seems I pushed the gold section through to the brass and it's nothing but a shhhhhh noise, until I undo screws and back it out! (I started dissecting it after I asked my question.) . It's only a $160 AKG 220. I went in to remount the element as the plastic had broken. so I may rebuild this body with LED's into a cool display piece! But thanks so much for your answer!! thank you. Oh yeah, prior to me going in to check it out, it was dropping signal. It'd run for a little with great levels, drop down for 30 minutes or so very low, then jump back up (-20db switch didn't matter) so even though I can get a capsule to reinstall in it, I still don't have the correct mount and still unsure why it was fading in and out so I'm unsure it's something worth attempting to get parts and repair.
hi, I have and old akg c414xlii, and in the pas, sunds perfect, but from about 3 monts agou, it does not soun anymore, only makes a bad noise when i conec it, and its soud just a litle, what dou think about that. please help i am en Dom. Rep., and there are not replacement here.
I am also in the DR. It could be the capsule went bad or a component inside the mic , like a capacitor has failed. I just replaced a capacitor in a CAD GXL2200 mic that allows it to work again. But, the capsule has a humidity sensitivity problem . One of the problems of living in the DR is the humidity. So I will probably need to change the capsule as well because it is not worth having it repaired by what they call re-skinning.
I opened my.akg.214c to find a wire lose from contact so I soldered it carefully back to the spot not a problem now the hum is gone unless I switch pad or rolloff filter then it temporary hums but works again so hey no complain here! Guy sold it to me thinking he was getting over but I won somewhat by making it work thankfulness for some electrical engineer skills
I would not suggest to do this with your microphone capsule. I have done the same very carefully step by step like in this tutorial and now parts of gold has detached from my Rode nt1000 capsule. very disappointing
I would wonder how cold or hot your solution was and what the difference in temperature of the microphone capsule was. I'm sure enough of a temperature shock to the capsule could possibly dislodge the gold plating, but I'm no expert. Just something to consider
@@TheChadPad Can confirm, I just tried this on an old Rhode NT1A and barely touched the thing before the gold plating began peeling off. Think I ruined the mic. Time for a new one I guess.
@@tomwolff6329 Nah, it wasn't you. You've only demonstrated that the quality from the gold sputtering on Rode capsule diaphragms is subpar [same applies to any Chinese made wannabe Neumann/AKG capsule]
Can I do that to my Rode NT1A? Suddenly the signal it's receiving is way too low.... And the company experts say maybe it has some fungus on it..... They are asking for a huge amount of money for the cleaning and servicing plus way too much time
@@iamravi_raj no brother..... Mine is working like a horse again without any treatment, don't know how that happened but I didn't use it for couple of months, after that everything is back to normal, lucky me 😂
What about using no fluid and just lightly using a brush to get rid of the dust and build-up? I feel like this might still help and be safer for cheaper mics.
My non professional reply is, spit residue and or other contaminants affecting it, won’t simply "dust off". I had at least one MIC capsule that was rather dirty I had to clean two or three times to get the contaminants off before it would function properly, so a simple dry dust removal isn’t likely enough if the capsule is generating noise or cutting out, which is the only reason to clean one in the first place. The fluid helps loosen / collect the dirt for removal. I did this to a ton of cheap MICs around 2014 with great results.
Good video I started to put a full time pantyhose sock on all my condenser mics. It is a section of pantyhose material that is wrapped around the grill section and held with an elastic band around the mic. The pantyhose material filters out the high frequency shrills and protects the Condenser capsule.
I just rub the capsule against my bear hair to clean them. I'm kidding, that would be awful for it. I have had to clean three different Cardioid capsules since watching this video a few years ago, and even a dynamic capsule, and this video popped up on my feed again so I just thought I'd say hi
Question: Can somebody explain why contamination creates the noise? I’ve just ‘fixed’ a TLM103 owned by my brother in law by cleaning it. And learned from this video (amongst others) how to do it. Despite having a degree in electronics I couldn’t explain the reason why the contamination causes noise, pops and could even make the mic ‘brown-out’ as it did on his mic. Trying to explain I mumbled about the high impedance circuitry around the condenser/capacitor (of a pretty low capacitance) being sensitive to discharges. And that the contamination could provide the path for the discharge. But wouldn’t that require the contamination to be between the condenser-plates? (Where I haven’t seen anyone cleaning) Any theories (preferably correct ones) would be appreciated. Thanks, Martijn. (Please don’t mind my username)
debris creates points of "big mass" in the _previously- homogeneously tensioned membrane. Being small particles that are attached to the membrane by static, they can move/vibrate freely every time you use the microphone, but in a pattern you cannot control. Then, the capacitance between the plate and the membrane no longer changes just following the patterns of the sound it receives, now has these irregular spots/mass added (we're talking about a membrane that's only a few microns thick, a speck of dust can be like putting a anvil on a big trampoline)
@@pedrova8058Thanks, So it is just the mass of the contamination causing unwanted oscillations? I am surprised with that. Because then I don’t understand how the mic could ‘brown-out’ completely in that case. (No audio whatsoever).
I have a problem and you might help. I have a noisy mic, it has noise and the capsule is not so clean, but not as dirty as this here. Is that noise you had here static or is it changing. Noise on mine varies. Its very silent popping and clicking, almost unnoticeable but it's there.
What happens when a condenser microphone loses signal for about 3 seconds and comes back on and works great for 2 minutes and does this all over again?
It could be moisture from you breath and the capsule needs to be replaced. Try recording an instrument like a guitar and see if the problem is the same.
Why not soak the grills in some Alcohol, and dry with a lint free cloth, then with compressed air? I know they do not affect the sound, but if there is spit and dirt on the diaphragms there is more on the grills; it might make them smell fresher.
Hi, I have a problem with my Rode Nt2a. I sent him to repair ... I was told he took moisture and can not fix it ... that I can throw it. Sometimes it makes a noise, a breath. According to you, can I fix it by cleaning the capsule? But should I do it for the sides of the capsule? Sorry for my poor English. Great video. Thank you in advance.
Hi, I know this kind of problem. Please do not keep your microphone in a wet environment. When it's noisy, put it for 4 or 5 hours above a soft warm source (Around 25 or 30 °C)
