Cleaning a Dirty Microphone Capsule

Very nice and concise. I have been cleaning U47s and such for years, I use other solvents I can find in Venezuela, but your best bet IS 99% alcohol (or rubbing alcohol) to not damage that gold plating. Some mics have the connecting screw in the middle, and tightening that is very delicate since it tends to warp the foil if you move it. Be wary and dedicated, do not rush and use magnifying glasses to see mini-faults. Great video, appreciated...!

Nice! Just received a friends AT 4040 so seeing a vid like this is great for learning capsule maintenance while I figure out why there is no output. Thank you!

I dabbled in capsule cleaning several years back, honestly had great success. Have to have a steady hand as to not apply too much pressure and accidentally damage the membrane (some people may not be able to do this), and of course use very soft brushes, but totally doable. I had some MICs that would cut out / make noise if you even lightly got near them with your breath, but after some careful cleaning, they worked 100% again. Replacing the capsules seems totally unnecessary when many can be cleaned. Nice video on the subject, wasn't much at all on this process years ago. Good work as well.

Usually, 2 ways are used to deposit a thin layer of gold on the mic membrane: electroplating and sputtering. The first is cheap, but the film that is formed is more fragile and usually has less adherence. Sputtering is a more expensive process (the metal is vaporized in a stream of electrons, in a low pressure chamber, and this metal vapor is the one that adheres to what we want to cover) but the adherence is much greater. Reading the comments, there are many who "peeled" their capsule, that's almost certainly a sign that the capsule was electroplated, not sputtered. (in an old Rode brochure, they specify that the NT1A capsule is "gold plated", while the K2 is "gold sputtered") I don't know if they keep the same processes now, check the specifications of your mics before doing anything

Watching in 2020.... Worked like a charm.... Thanks so much man....

The precision of a surgeon.

Great video, thanks! Is that a dry brush you're using on the high impedance board initially? Are you brushing over the gold contacts as well before applying contact solution?

Excellent! Not only well done but well voiced throughout. Thank you.

Don't do like I do, listen to this man! I just screwed apart my ~10 year old Røde NT1-A because the XLR bit became lose recently (because I started to use a tightly fitting cable probably). I didn't find a way to repair the XLR bit, could glue it in maybe... Anyway, I saw similar debris on the diaphragm and proceeded to clean it with cotton buds and water because I had none of that fancy stuff at home. I managed to puncture or rather peel off the diaphragm in two places. Not sure yet whether it sounds better with damage than with debris. Can't tell yet as it's drying in the sun. Almost certainly a bad idea as well.

Thanks. Two 414 to be cleaned. Old ones that sounds pretty dull. Great help

Excellent tutorial! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks so much. Been looking for information from what least appears credible and experienced sources on this topic. 90% Tell you NO...and NEVER..when it comes to capsule cleaning..but I know better. Thank you sir. Do you have any further advice or input that may pertain to tube amplified microphones? I’ll assume no..but figured I might as well ask while thanking you. P.S. I do a lot of work on micro electronics. About a year ago I put away my magnifying clip-on/flip in magnifiers for something that works substantially better for me. I had my “last” larger screen Cell Phone. I affixed it to an adjustable mount. Now I use it as my magnifier..it magnifies AMAZING. The pixel resolution is such that the digital zoom even is more than enough to outclass my magnifiers.As well..it has the very bright LED on it that is much better than dodging around or tilting objects to see minute debris or markings on IC chips. I just leave the charge cord plugged to it while it’s in use. Figured I’d mention as it may be a good tool for you as well. @FreddysFrets

Thanks a lot! I got a problem in my AKG P170. Do you ever fix one smal diafragm condenser mic? Thanks

I really appreciated your video, and then assembled everything I'd need to clean my own C414. First, I thought I'd practice on my old Rode NT1A, the 25% alcohol solution took the gold right off the capsule! Cold fear and cold feet for me, I think I'll re-think cleaning the C414, it's the most expensive mic I own.

Thank you for sharing your skill set!

Astounding technique! Do you think it would it be useable for cleaning an electret condenser?

Excellent video. I was wondering, would this process work on an Audix Om5 hypercardioid?

Really well done video. Nice Job.

What capsule does a mxl 4000 use? I need to replace it because i was cleaning it and took gold off

Hi Freddy, I own a C214 and im trying to find out if I could paint again the chasis because the paint is constantly pulling off. Is there any inconvenient ?