AKG 414 B-ULS Mod ID

[Hansblooey Ribbon]

Hello All.
Had this mic for years. Always wondered if this bouquet of caps actually contributes to anything.

 

[rock soderstrom]

LOL. WTF Looks like art!

 

[Khron]

What the actual f........??? :O

 

[Hansblooey Ribbon]

I think it was a thing at one time...

 

[rock soderstrom]

I think it was a thing at one time...

This is probably the craziest cap job I've ever seen. No idea what that's about? Sorry Hans, apart from laughing I can't contribute anything meaningful.

Edit:

So, if this is serious, someone seems to have tried to upgrade the existing capacitors with very large, audiophile-grade capacitors.

 

[Khron]

I'm more offended about all the drilled holes in the bodies...

But hey, at least the one on the right, in the last photo, is leaning towards some C800-G vibes, with that bulbous growth on it.

 

[micolas]

Hello All.
Had this mic for years. Always wondered if this bouquet of caps actually contributes to anything.

Did you pay for this modification?!

 

[rock soderstrom]

But hey, at least the one on the right, in the last photo, is leaning towards some C800-G vibes, with that bulbous growth on it.

The medical equivalent would be a tumour! A capacitor tumour to be precise.

 

[micolas]

Wowww!!! It looks like a SuperMicrophone on steroids

 

[micolas]

It was super-modded by Picasso himself

 

[Hansblooey Ribbon]

These were given to me 25+ years ago. The owner passed shortly after so I have zero info on what this is about.
I'd like to remove the butt lift and get them back to stock. Maybe mod from there .

 

[OneRoomStudio]

Especially strange because some of the caps look a little melty and the heat shrink and wiring are a little rough. Seems like a somewhat amateur modification. I would imagine that it would contribute more noise than anything else.

 

[rock soderstrom]

These were given to me 25+ years ago. The owner passed shortly after so I have zero info on what this is about.

Are they still working?

I'd like to remove the butt lift and get them back to stock. Maybe mod from there .

Good idea.

 

[Hansblooey Ribbon]

It's time. One of them was getting noisy and they really didn't sound that amazing.

 

[rock soderstrom]

Someone was really obsessed with capacitors! It won't be easy to put it all back together again. Good luck! May the force be with you.

 

[Khron]

How can someone mutilate a couple microphones THAT thoroughly, and still have them somewhat functional?..

 

[rock soderstrom]

How can someone mutilate a couple microphones THAT thoroughly, and still have them somewhat functional?..

Yes, it's really amazing that any sound comes out at all. What a slaughter.

 

[Gus]

Was that done in the late 70's early 80's after the Jung and Marsh "Audio" article and other articles in "The Audio Amateur"
That would explain why this might have been done.

A big issue with parts change "mods" like that is the loop area and how much extra EMI the microphone can/will pick up. Also depending on the signal flow you can have stability issues

Found this with a search you should be able to remove and replace the caps
https://www.akg.com/on/demandware.s...t/dwf86b2a09/pdfs/C414_b_uls_tlII_service.pdf

 

[Hansblooey Ribbon]

Pretty sweet of AKG to have those documents up. Thanks

 

[Voyager10]

Wow, that's pretty wrecked. Find another B-ULS with a busted capsule and do a swap?