Open & Repair AKG C414 C451 Neumann U89 (Public)
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- Опубликовано: 22 июл 2024
- A couple of broken mics from the Rat Shop so lets look inside and also check out a Neumann U89 while we are at it.
00:00 intro
00:20 AKG C414, C451E and Neumann U89
00:49 AKG C414 test
01:25 Parts box and replace
02:17 Open C414
03:25 Phantom powering
04:00 Test and open C451 capsule
04:40 C451 crackle sound
05:14 C451 Diaphragm
05:52 Reassemble C451 capsule
06:31 Disassemble C451 housing
07:05 Reassemble C451 housing and test
07:48 Open Neumann U89
09:00 Reassemble U89 and test
09:26 Outro
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I absolutely used to LOVE my pair of 414's.
Yes!!!
The engineering that goes into mics is amazing stuff. I often played beach clubs and the air was thick with salt. Cables and mics got messed up fast. I also played with a great singer who would spray his mic down pretty good. His mics were always crackling. The rubber feet of the mic stands would go missing. Couple that with a flexible wooden stage and it was like Saturday night at Sturgis was coming through the mains.
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The Neumann ‘repair’ is a useful example. Legendary reliability. Like a Ferrari with lifetime tires.
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Just fixed my two crackly 451's thanks to your very useful no bullshit video clip....MUCH THANKS !!
That is awesome
C414BULS is the bomb… often the pattern select witch fails. U89 is my all time favorite mic 🤓❤️
Yes, love them both!
Hope you had a great time at Coachella! Love this vid! You’re basically the audio version of bill bye the science guy. The u89 looks so nice inside! Love your vids and hope you’re doing well!
This is so awesome to watch! Really like to see how to work on the mics. Thanks, Dave! 🙂
Cool, will do more!
Love this series, many thanks!
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Mmm that Neumann is a winner indeed they got it right unfortunately Shure And some AKG is all we have in our library of mics because they work with what we do but it’s always a pleasure to see into the PRO world and remeber the day you want to sell your DBX RTA I’m still here ha ha ha. Party on sir
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Great video. Microphones are fascinating, specially the really old ones.
Yes, agreed!!
Love your output! Keep going, it s fantastic to watch!
Thank you thank you!
Thanks man! I have an Akg C 451 eb and had a little clinging sound lately, so i opened it up and saw a screw got loose and fell inside. I fixed it and now it's as good as new. Great mic! Beats the hell out of most new mics.
Agreed
I love the 414 on acoustic gtrs using the blumleine midside technique. Great content as always. I do love a good microphone, properly used.
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Love the channel Dave... and I love my SoundHuman Tshirt!
Thank you Ace!
Fascinating! Thank You!
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Love the 224 on guitar in certain mixes. There's just something about the transition between the capsules that's magical if placed right.
Yes I love that mic. Unfortunately I sold off all the working ones I've had over the years and just have this box of parts. I think there may be enough to build a good one in there that I may dive into at some point as I would love to have at least one of those beautiful mics functioning
Great video, thank you. Dave, you are AWESOME!!! You're an incredibly busy guy, and yet you respond to all these comments. Very rare.
When repairing mics, I would often notice (and be grossed out by) all the "spittle" on the diaphrams, which should be cleaned off. Rather than just reassembling the mic after cleaning, I got in the habit of installing an internal wind screen/pop filter. After searching the globe far and wide, I discovered Scotch Brite scrub pads (or other brands) to work the best. They were acoustically transparent, dispersed the plosives, didn't deteriorate, AND kept the slobber from reaching the diaphram. (If concerned about the scrub pads "shedding", they can first be washed and/or enclosed in nylon stocking fabric.) IMO, the sponge rubber pop filters (external on the SM7, internal on the SM58 and RE20) muffle the highs, while doing little to eliminate popping. And the mesh screens on the large diaphram mics are way too little protection for these precious capsules! With Scotch Brite scrub pads installed inside the cage, the need for an external pop filter is often unnecessary.
Crafty and cool!
Easiest 414 repair ever! I like the B-ULS’s sound. Much less mid-forward than the familiar tone of the vintage mics. It’s a useful contrast that means they are almost never usable paired.
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I’m not sure how this got into my feed, but it’s really cool. I do tinker with guitar amps, maybe that’s it.
Anyway, I dig it.
Thanks.
Awesome and welcome!!
RE 20?
Did someone mention they wanted to see Dave do an RE 20?😛
LOL
Thanks, Dave for giving us the insight to all these other great mics.
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Those D224s are fantastic microphones, just fragile as exemplified by your box full of parts units!
Ha! Yes!
Love this video. I also love how the classic mic check of "check check, hey, hey, hey, hey" hasn't changed all of these decades haha! Rock On.
Gotta keep what works
I buy every 451 I am offered, price pending of course, and have managed to collect 13 of them, no fewer than 6 different vintages. Their chief drawbacks are the super fine capsule threads and bizarrely, the screws holding them together which are also difficult to source. Not quite a KM84, but a truly great sounding small diaphragm mic. Where they really excel is where I rarely see them used. As distant mics, choir, symphonic group mics, audience pickup. They are wasted 2” from a hihat.
Cool, yes, crisp mics and much preferred over am sm81 which is my least fav popular pencil condenser
@@DaveRat Yeah, what is it about the 81? I remember thinking a lot more of it 30 years ago. It’s a utility mic now.
Spitty and hissy. No sparkle on the 81s
Wonderful
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Could you show us how to fix a broken end of an sm57, they’re frequently used on snare drums and get accidentally hit all the time, I imagine they get broken frequently.
Hey dave I have a AKG Perception 820 thats not functioning... its powered with a remote control unit .. do u do repairs on this unit
cool thanks
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I have one of those AKG D224e mic's, but I barely get any low end from it. I have not yet been able to compare it to anyone else's, but might it be that the 'woofer' part of the capsule is broken?
Nice Video Dave! I am in need of some AKG C414 info I was hoping you could help with. The modern C414's changed the capsule polarization voltage from 60 volts to 90 volts. However, I am not quite sure when that was? I know the B-ULS and TLII capsules ran on 60 volts. I also know the XLS and XLII run at 90 volts. But in between those models was the B-XLS and B-XLII. Do you know if the B-XLS capsules ran at 60 or 90 volts?
Hey Dave! Very insightful video, thanks for sharing. My AKG C451E is missing the locking ring, so the capsule slips out of the housing every time I unplug the mic. Any idea where I can source a new one? I’m pretty stumped! Cheers mate
Have you tried AKG and asked their service? Long shot but ....
Also, a simple wire circlip should work if the wire is the right gauge. Mar need to sand it a bit flat internal or external or both but may be able to find something that works or can be made to work in a kit like this
HVAZI 310PCS 14-Sizes Round Wire C-Clips Internal Snap Rings Assortment Kit;Round Wire Snap Rings for Hole(Black 7mm-30mm)
a.co/d/ajdZ4lu
I don't think I have ever been close to anything fancier than Shure mics (-: Small town. A long time ago working with a church band they had a a terrible SM57 copy (Tedelex? dim memory), terrible on voice and relegated to the last ditch box. Then we tried it on the lead guitar Marshal , and it was just perfect - there are no bad mics, just uses you have not found for them yet (-:
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Great video as always. Some of the newer C414s seem to have poor earthing to the casing. Any suggestions on how to improve this?
Interesting I'm not sure how the newer ones are built but I'm guessing that they've reduced the amount of metal and increase the amount of plastic which would possibly create issues. That said it may be worth opening up. That said if it is plastic parts there are metallic paints nickel and copper spray that can be used to coat and shield if you're up to do the modification
@@DaveRat yeah the rocker switches are a little less robust and thats where i get earthing sometimes. great mics in that series nonetheless.
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D224E is a gorgeous sounding microphone, unfortunately very susceptible to damage. I wouldn’t call them unreliable at all, but the HF capsule is super easy to damage. I bought 4 in the very early days of my career and use them at every opportunity. 20-20kHz response sounds very different in this dynamic than the same response in any condenser. It’s hard to explain why. Just super musical and smooth. No hype anywhere in the whole spectrum. I learned a while ago to keep a really high quality pop filter on them to protect that HF element.
Can you recommend a decent pop filter? I'm wary of buying any old crummy filter online......got a few 224's that deserve to be looked after!
Yes, those mics are delicate and so wonderful sounding
HI DR! How's about fixing an AKG 414's position switch? Also maybe the Rode Nt1 has alot of fans that want to "mod" their mics with a resistor swap. ya ya ya!!!
I've got a busted omni position, searched it and coincidently found your vids first. Skills!
Does anyone know how to open an AKG 460? It has a regular xlr screw, but I can't find any release clip.
The 460 has no clip.
Turning the xlr screw clockwise will screw it inward. Then, with the capsule removed, you can slide the gits out of the shell towards the xlr by pushing on the guts where the capsule was screwed on.
Can you fix other peoples mics, I have an akg b-uls with very low volume
I like sharing how to do things so that people can learn and experiment. I don't really have time or desire to go back to being a mic repair tech
Hey Dave my kids used my 451 on snare and destroyed the capsule (the stem on the bottom of the capsule is missing now) I can't seem to find a new capsule, want to sell me one?
Let me take a look I might have a spare spring and pin. That spring and pin just snaps on to the capsule diaphragm so it's pretty easy to change out and I believe I have one or more capsules with bad diaphragms I could rob the spring from. Contact me through the soundtools.com warranty link and the guys there will connect you with me.
Very helpful Thx! 🏳🌈
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Do you still use 451s live? The youngest has to be at least 35 years old now...
Yeah, we still have them in the rental inventory and they are awesome
I'll post it soon I'll try and edit it while I'm out there in the desert this weekend
3:14 Hate to hear the mic enclosure ringing like a bell... metal isn't always better than plastic...
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Thanks as always Dave. I'm wondering if you've talked about cables (expensive vs cheap). It's in reference to this meme I saw: s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/0/4/814404.jpg
I did some cable testing, yeah, expensive cables are a scam.
Good connectors that make a good connection and using thicker wire for lower impedance loads is good. Buying cables that could well and are built well are good. Gold color, fancy, shiney and gimmicks are purely for looks
@@DaveRat Thank you. Yes, your mile of Cat5e video is amazing, especially considering the conductors are only about 23 AWG and network signals are only rated for 100 meters.
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