Repaired my mic the other day

mjbphotos

Moderator
My AKG Perception 220, which I bought 'barely used' on ebay 8(?) years ago for $90, has taken a couple of 'tumbles' - boom stand tipping over when no one was in the room. I've since added sandbags to my studio stands!
I've been using the mic in combination with my (new) Rode - sometimes as spaced pair for acoustic guitar, but also for ZOom streaming, mounting it hanging down directly above the Rode.
When I went to move it the other day, I felt movement inside, and holding it up to the light I could see the capsule was actually laying on the windscreen inside, loose!
So I searched online and found a page about changing the capsule out in these mics.
Now why don't they just have a removable windscreen on this type of mic? 3 set screws, and off it comes? Would make it easy to clean the windscreen, right?
Nope, had to undo the nut at the XLR connector first to pop off the body. Then had to remove 9 screws holding 3 circuit boards in place, being careful not to bend the connector pins on 2 of them.
Then, interestingly enough, the capsule barely squeezes through the opening in the windscreen section - which does come loose once the 5 screws in the 3rd circuit board are undone.
Anyway, the plastic(?) holder that attaches to the body frame and holds the capsule with two screws/rivets had broken, luckily leaving the capsule wires intact. I glued the holder back in place, reassembled, and as good as old!
 
This is the old recording spirit - as in pull it apart and fix it. So many people don't do this anymore. I did really well in my school physics classes - the the teacher looking at me and saying put it down! I always wanted to fiddle. Sometimes I repaired things and sometimes I made them worse, but your mic repair works - it's a win. I went back to my high school just a few years ago and was amazed the old school PA system was still in use. I had fixed this in 1974 when I was 16 - I say fixed, because the mains cable was replaced and the new one threaded in though a slave 1/4" output jack - which looks to the uninformed like a proper cable gland. I glued it in! Sitting there with it's tested stickers resplendent over 45 years later!
 
There's a saying... if it's not broke, don't fix it. Nobody today ever looks at the other perspective. If it's already broke, why not TRY to fix it. I'm with Rob on this. We used to work on stuff all the time. Sometimes we fixed it, sometimes it was just beyond redemption.

If you managed to fix something, you saved having to replace it, and learned something in the process. If you couldn't save it, hopefully you STILL learned something in the process.
 
Congrats on the fix. I'm the same way when something is not working. I feel like, what's the worst thing that could happen? It's already broken, maybe I can figure out the problem and fix it. Maybe I can't, but there's no harm in trying (unless it involved high voltage or something - I'm not crazy). If I'm careful and pay close attention to how things go together, I cam also learn a lot about how things work. I've fixed a lot of broken cameras with that approach too. Always a big win-win!! Glad for you.
 
Congrats on the fix. I'm the same way when something is not working. I feel like, what's the worst thing that could happen? It's already broken, maybe I can figure out the problem and fix it. Maybe I can't, but there's no harm in trying (unless it involved high voltage or something - I'm not crazy). If I'm careful and pay close attention to how things go together, I cam also learn a lot about how things work. I've fixed a lot of broken cameras with that approach too. Always a big win-win!! Glad for you.
I got an AKG P420 for next to nothing a couple years ago. Seller said it 'has no output after about 10 seconds'. Upon testing, he was right. The 'already broke' mantra certainly applies here: I opened it up to find the screws grounding the circuit board to chassis were really loose. Snug them down, reassemble, and the P420 works like a champ. If it's already broken, there's no loss in trying to fix it!

d
 
Last edited:
Well, crap, the glue I used didn't hold. Was recording the other day and didn't notice, but later when I went to move the mic (still in its shock mount), I felt the capsule move. And listening to the recording, sure enough, you can hear when it happens! Not sure what glue I should try next, the mount piece seems to be ceramic.
 
I would guess that silicon would easily hold. I have more trouble getting off than having it break loose. Did you use a glue that gets hard, or one that remains flexible? You aren't trying to hold on to a Teflon mount, are you?

I find that the GE silicone used for caulking sticks to anything.
 
It's the ceramic (I think that's what it is) part that holds the capsule that actually cracked/broke. I used Loctite PowerGrab last time.
 
Back
Top