Unknown capsule skinning material

[ZHOUJUN]

The risk of cleaning the CK12 type diaphragm is less than that of the center electrode diaphragm. I cleaned many K87s many years ago. Some of the heavily oxidized gold layers will fall off. I rarely clean this type of capsule diaphragm now. Most of the noise caused by the capsule is due to oxidation on the surface of the back plate. Early Neumann capsules had a long lifespan because the copper back plate had several pillars to support the diaphragm, and the surface was also coated with a layer of oxidation-resistant material.

 

[ricardo]

I think that's a good rule for most people reading this. Sure, there are exceptions but mostly capsules live longer when serviced by knowledgeable guys.

For about 500 years, Verbotten has only been written with one t.

Dun mek fan of mi cos i kunt reed rite en spul

 

[Matt Nolan]

What are oars and rudders for? They are verboten.

 

[GeorgeToledo]

If a Neumann capsule is actually shorting out, it can respond positively to just cleaning the insulation strip on the diaphragm that has no gold. In between the gold part of the membrane and the tension ring.

I think that the capsule in the original post was advertised as platinum coated.

I had some of the Alctron capsules that he is putting the new membranes on, and thought the metal work was too bad to want to do anything with it. I was kind of surprised. The stock diaphragm looked strange to me as well, but I guess that’s another story.

 

[Recording Engineer]

I had some of the Alctron capsules that he is putting the new membranes on, and thought the metal work was too bad to want to do anything with it. I was kind of surprised. The stock diaphragm looked strange to me as well, but I guess that’s another story.

I must admit, my favorite capsules I have with his work are ones with Flea and Tim Campbell backplates. His stock ones are hit or miss; probably due to the backplates.

 

[squib]

I wash dozens of capsules a year.
The right tools and techniques.

 

[EarthTone]

I think it was David Bock or Josephson who said

NEVER try to clean your capsules unless you can re-skin or afford to re-skin them.

I thoroughly second this.

The most I would do, is to use a soft blower brush as used to clean camera lenses in da previous Millenium, to brush off any loose dirt .. and even that, I say with trepidation.

ANY liquid is Verbotten. The danger is that it will carry yucky stuff behind the diaphragm where it will dry out.

The mike will then become a humidity meter. You measure the (high) noise level and calibrate it against a known humidity source

I agree. However, I have also cleaned two (expensive very nice) capsules before. I didn’t want to. They belonged to me and in both cases, I accidentally spit on them while either repairing or installing something, can’t remember. It was among the dumbest things I have ever done, but do enough DIY over the years and eventually, you too can (and probably will) do something almost as dumb as me. The good news is, after cotton swab/distilled water with a very, very light touch and very steady hands (my line of work involves a lot of small parts and fine motor skills), I noticed absolutely zero difference in the way that they sound as well as their performance over time. Granted, I was very careful, and am generally very good in the workshop/diy studio/instrument parts repair area, and I go very slow and think about things a lot before I do them, so someone else’s outcome may be different, but I will go out on a limb and say that in the worst case scenario where you’ve either unfortunately caused or located a problem on a capsule that warrants cleaning, it is possible and you can do it with success if you know what you’re doing. I cannot pick out the capsules I have by ear comparing the ones I have cleaned to the ones I haven’t.

Knock on wood, I won’t have to ever do this again. I didn’t mean to or want to do it in the first place. I’m just saying that in the spirit of diy, other than the unfortunate outcome of the OP’s situation, I haven’t heard very many horror stories.

Neumann published a cleaning method that actually involved isopropyl alcohol to clean capsules at one time. Personally I would not use a solvent on my capsule. But that’s Neumann telling you you can do that! I don’t feel like searching around for it, but I saw the published maintenance card with the Neumann insignia on it with my own eyes. Maybe someone here has it and can post it. Again, I’m not recommending it. But I read the process and it was simple. I subbed the alcohol for distilled water.

Basically though, I’d tend to agree with Mr. Bock and Mr. Josephson, and they definitely know what they are talking about when it comes to microphones. Two of the best & brightest. Especially Josephson in this subjective area, as they actually make their own capsules, to my knowledge. I believe Bock was having Huan manufacture custom capsules for his mics when they were still in production.

I actually have a Bock 47. I opened it up and looked inside once. I couldn’t ID the origin of his K47 by sight. Looked very nice though. Interestingly, it’s just the Oliver ef800 circuit, and a Cinemag u47 style trafo on the output. Cheap $20 Ultron tube inside. I replaced it with a Telefunken, and it sounds better to my ears. I like that mic and got a really good deal on it used, but after having built some tube mics myself now and realizing that guys like Bock are just using the same circuits we have access to here, I’d never spend that kind of money on a clone, or even a Neumann reissue, ever again. When I bought the Bock used, long before I replaced the tube, some things like the grounding adhesive on the head-basket had actually already failed, it was humming, yet still under warranty and he kindly repaired it for me. They did a great job at Bock, it’s sounded perfect ever since and that was over 5 years ago. The Neumann capsules sound amazing, but dude, Soliloqueen’s are up there sonically, too. Really awesome capsules. I no longer see the need to spend high dollars on Neumann LDC’s unless you have money to burn and just want to impress clients.

Sorry for the slight thread derailment. I get carried away with this subject… Love mics.

 

[k brown]

I agree. However, I have also cleaned two (expensive very nice) capsules before. I didn’t want to. They belonged to me and in both cases, I accidentally spit on them while either repairing or installing something, can’t remember. It was among the dumbest things I have ever done, but do enough DIY over the years and eventually, you too can (and probably will) do something almost as dumb as me. The good news is, after cotton swab/distilled water with a very, very light touch and very steady hands (my line of work involves a lot of small parts and fine motor skills), I noticed absolutely zero difference in the way that they sound as well as their performance over time. Granted, I was very careful, and am generally very good in the workshop/diy studio/instrument parts repair area, and I go very slow and think about things a lot before I do them, so someone else’s outcome may be different, but I will go out on a limb and say that in the worst case scenario where you’ve either unfortunately caused or located a problem on a capsule that warrants cleaning, it is possible and you can do it with success if you know what you’re doing. I cannot pick out the capsules I have by ear comparing the ones I have cleaned to the ones I haven’t.

Knock on wood, I won’t have to ever do this again. I didn’t mean to or want to do it in the first place. I’m just saying that in the spirit of diy, other than the unfortunate outcome of the OP’s situation, I haven’t heard very many horror stories.

Neumann published a cleaning method that actually involved isopropyl alcohol to clean capsules at one time. Personally I would not use a solvent on my capsule. But that’s Neumann telling you you can do that! I don’t feel like searching around for it, but I saw the published maintenance card with the Neumann insignia on it with my own eyes. Maybe someone here has it and can post it. Again, I’m not recommending it. But I read the process and it was simple. I subbed the alcohol for distilled water.

Basically though, I’d tend to agree with Mr. Bock and Mr. Josephson, and they definitely know what they are talking about when it comes to microphones. Two of the best & brightest. Especially Josephson in this subjective area, as they actually make their own capsules, to my knowledge. I believe Bock was having Huan manufacture custom capsules for his mics when they were still in production.

I actually have a Bock 47. I opened it up and looked inside once. I couldn’t ID the origin of his K47 by sight. Looked very nice though. Interestingly, it’s just the Oliver ef800 circuit, and a Cinemag u47 style trafo on the output. Cheap $20 Ultron tube inside. I replaced it with a Telefunken, and it sounds better to my ears. I like that mic and got a really good deal on it used, but after having built some tube mics myself now and realizing that guys like Bock are just using the same circuits we have access to here, I’d never spend that kind of money on a clone, or even a Neumann reissue, ever again. When I bought the Bock used, long before I replaced the tube, some things like the grounding adhesive on the head-basket had actually already failed, it was humming, yet still under warranty and he kindly repaired it for me. They did a great job at Bock, it’s sounded perfect ever since and that was over 5 years ago. The Neumann capsules sound amazing, but dude, Soliloqueen’s are up there sonically, too. Really awesome capsules. I no longer see the need to spend high dollars on Neumann LDC’s unless you have money to burn and just want to impress clients.

Sorry for the slight thread derailment. I get carried away with this subject… Love mics.

I find it a bit hard to believe that a small amount of dried saliva on the diaphragm would affect a capsule's performance.