AKG C12 Gear pr0n !!!

[Peter Simonsen]

well it´s not the old C12 original, but the one called "the tube"..anyway..

Picked it up in Copenhagen 2 days ago..so
here are some pics of a badly beat up one...to Njoy if youre into that kind of pr0n ;-)..its in a bad capsule shape :-(

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Kind regards

Peter

 

[gyraf]

Nice pics!

You can get a new capsule from "New Musik" - but try cleaning the old one first and see how it behaves..

Jakob E.

 

[Peter Simonsen]

[quote author="gyraf"]Nice pics!

You can get a new capsule from "New Musik" - but try cleaning the old one first and see how it behaves..

Jakob E.[/quote]

Hi Jakob,

thanks for the info... I dont know about the cleaning I mean take a look at the last two pics..the gold is more or less falling of the membrane..its really fragile as it is..the other side looks a bit more like it can handle cleaning..

regarding the "cleaning"..what do you suggest to use ???

Kind regards

Peter

 

[chrissugar]

I have a pair of vintage C12 and from the pictures I can say they have nothing in common with the new ones. I will upload soon some pics and post them here, so people can examine the differences.

chrissugar

 

[gyraf]

Use distilled water and a fine water-colour brush (akvarel-pensel) - and plenty of patience..! As the debris is most likely spit-borne, don't use solvents of any kind - it shouldn't be needed.

There's a .txt-file by Josephson somewhere on the net describing this also.

If one side's gold gets heavily damaged, you can still use the capsule in cardoid-mode (by reversing it, if needed)

Jakob E.

 

[chrissugar]

[quote author="Peter Simonsen"]
..the gold is more or less falling of the membrane..its really fragile as it is..
[/quote]

That capsule is unfortunately almost dead. Probably cleaning will take more gold of the membrane.

chrissugar

 

[Peter Simonsen]

[quote author="chrissugar"][quote author="Peter Simonsen"]
..the gold is more or less falling of the membrane..its really fragile as it is..
[/quote]

That capsule is unfortunately almost dead. Probably cleaning will take more gold of the membrane.

chrissugar[/quote]

Criss !!

I agree with you..that side of the capsule is nearly dead..and cleaning will only make it worse *S*

I belive now Jakob was refering to the other more "healthy" side..as he said..one can always use it in cardioid mode only..*S* or buy a new capsule..could only be better..

Looking forward to be seeing the pics of the vintage C12 mic..*S*


btw Jakob..funny thing about this mic is the powersupply..it says "made in Denmark" on the back..and I dont think its not original !!! any takes on that..???
Kind regards

Peter

 

[dale116dot7]

I got in a C414 that had a capsule in the same shape. At this point capsule replacement is the only option IMHO. That's the Teflon capsule, make sure you get the one that is meant for 'The Tube' and not the C12VR unless you really want the change in sound. The correct AKG part is 2072Z0005 for 'The Tube' and 2072Z0011 for the "C12VR". They are tuned differently. I tried putting on a new diaphragm on this type of capsule but it's a bit difficult to do because of the way this capsule is put together. By the way, after replacing the capsule, expect a brighter mic than you started with. AKG says the capsules with the same part number are tuned the same, but they certainly sound different - maybe age has something to do with it.

-Dale

 

[Peter Simonsen]

dale,

thank you for the information regarding the capsule no# ;-). I do expect a brighter mic after the change..as it is right now it sounds more like a dark ribbon mic than any C12 I have ever heard..*GGG* Again the capsule is in really bad shape so one would expect that..more or less *S*

Thank you for the information..

Kind regards

Peter

 

[Gus]

I have not heard that microphone but there was a schematic on the web some were that I saw. The schematic did not "look" like it sounded that good. The china tube circuits like the nady 1050 and 1150 and apex 460 look like they might be inspired by the AKG the tube even down to the tube mount IIRC.

I seem to remember thinking removing the second triode stage looked to be a good thing to do with "the tube". It might be better to restore the microphone(clean the microphone up and clean and/or change the capsule) and sell it.

FWIW before I would change the capsule I would turn it around like Jakob posted even that dirty it might sound OK. I am guessing the one side with missing gold was the front. I would not even clean it to do this test.

With capsules in that bad a shape you need to think more like a art restorer. I would drip distilled water one small drop at a time wait a few seconds then using a clean absorbent small piece of paper towel wick the water and dirt away. If a few seconds does not work try a few more seconds.

The big trick is not to let the water on the surface to long because it can get under the gold and lift even more.

Capsule in that bad a shape sometimes can not be cleaned.

 

[Peter Simonsen]

Änybody knows where to get one of the 2072Z0005 capsules. Newmusik here in Denmark can not get one..its out of production I was told :-(

Kind regards

Peter

 

[gyraf]

Don't they have a new spare part number for the LeTube then? I can't see why they would discontinue that capsule?

Jakob E.

 

[Peter Simonsen]

[quote author="gyraf"]Don't they have a new spare part number for the LeTube then? I can't see why they would discontinue that capsule?

Jakob E.[/quote]

Hi Jakob,

The only one they could get me was the 2072Z0011 for the C12VR. Which according to both Newmusic and Dale is a total different capsule that wont sound the same at all. That is alway an option, but not one I like if I can find the original 2072Z0005 capsule..

Kind regards

Peter

 

[Emperor-TK]

That sounds reasonable. As I understand it, the previous versions of 414's had two different capsules, a flatter on in the ULS and a hyped one in the TLII (designed for vocal response). I believe that the hyped one is now in both the new 414 models, as well as the C12VR. That would explain why they don't offer the flatter version any more.

Just watch how much money you sink into this mic though. My two cents on "The Tube" is that is should have been called "The Turd".

-Chris

 

[Peter Simonsen]

[quote author="Emperor-TK"]That sounds reasonable. As I understand it, the previous versions of 414's had two different capsules, a flatter on in the ULS and a hyped one in the TLII (designed for vocal response). I believe that the hyped one is now in both the new 414 models, as well as the C12VR. That would explain why they don't offer the flatter version any more.

Just watch how much money you sink into this mic though. My two cents on "The Tube" is that is should have been called "The Turd".

-Chris[/quote]

Thanks Chris..*S*

It´s not my Mic..dont worry I´d never put money into something like this :green:

Kind regards

Peter

 

[dale116dot7]

I ordered one from Long and Mcquade (a Canadian musical instrument chain) but that was about 3 or 4 years ago. But it wasn't a problem to get at that time. The 'Teflon' C414EB capsule is also the 2072Z0005. It had better be available for a while.... there are a lot of mics out there with the Z0005 capsules and some of them will need repair....

Reminder to self: Don't let Harman run your company.... :evil:

 

[dasbin]

Hey Peter,

I am curious about the grill design on this mic, and it's a little hard to see how many layers etc in the picture. Could you maybe describe the grill in some detail? Thanks kindly.

The grill in the photo there looks suspiciously like the one from the Apex 460 but I'm also wondering what that "sleeve" thing is... is it another grill layer that comes free? The Apex has three layers, the inner two layers both being rather fine, about the same "grain" but offset from each other to presumably create more complex diffractions...

 

[Peter Simonsen]

[quote author="dasbin"]Hey Peter,

I am curious about the grille design on this mic, and it's a little hard to see how many layers etc in the picture. Could you maybe describe the grille in some detail? Thanks kindly.
...[/quote]

Yes I´d be glad to..even better I´ll take some cose up pics for you of the inner and outer grill..mind this grille has had a hard life..but it´ll tell you more than I can with words..
"I´ll be back".....

Kind regards

Peter

 

[Peter Simonsen]

Here we go ladies and Gents ! some grille pics for ya´.. Njoy`

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Kind regards

Peter

 

[dasbin]

Haha, awesome. Doesn't get much better than that. Thanks very much.

Two layers, eh? Time to rip one out of the Apex methinks...