AKG C414 B uls mysterious electrical noise problem (File Attached)

[mbf90]

Hello,

I'm having some issues with my AKG C414 B uls. Recently, I heard some intermittent electrical noise while tracking that sounds like static or light electrical distortion that sometimes has a clicking sound for a moment and then it goes away. It's very intermittent and I thought it was ground loops or something for a while and then realized it was probably something else after moving connections around. I since did a process of elimination in all my gear and it is the 414. It does not matter what pattern is selected or if the pad or roll off is selected or not but it comes and goes. It seems to be even more frequent now. I also noticed an unnatural distortion sound on some vocals I was tracking the other day that occurred on quiet parts (so not from overloading the transformer) that seemed to coincide with the noise problem. I have attached a clip of the noise on a gearslutz post that you can reference here:  https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/1011243-akg-c414-b-uls-mysterious-electrical-noise-problem.html

Does anyone have an idea as to what this might be?

Thanks for the help,

Matt

 

[Tim Campbell]

The most common problems with 414's come from dirty switches, bad capacitors and the capsule.
The capacitors in the audio path are easy and cheap to replace and will save you from having to do it later.
The switches can be a PIA to clean. The capsule can be substituted with 2 70-90pf capacitors to find out if that's what's causing the problem.

 

[thetrebleswitch]

Did you ever figure out what the problem was? I'm having the same issue with a 414 b-uls. Cheers.

 

[ln76d]

Check this topic for some useful informations:
http://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=46447.20

I would start with testing electrolytic capacitors.

 

[Whoops]

I have the same issue on this mic also,
It would be great to know your experience in fixing this problem

Thanks

 

[mbf90]

Hey everyone. Thanks for your input. I figured out the noise was interference I was getting from my phone being too close to the mic. When I moved my phone a good distance away from the mic, the interference went away. I meant to post my findings earlier. Sorry about that. Hope this helps others that encounter the issue.

Thanks!

Matt

 

[ln76d]

Hi Matt,

you make my day

Great that's working!