AKG 414B-ULS busted grille

[samgraysound]

Hi,

One of our 414s was recently hit or dropped or something. The metal band that hold the grille in place broke off at the base. I took the cover off the chassis and it looks to me like the band and the chassis are(were) all one piece. I'm sure this has happened to other people's mics. What did you do?

Can it be securely glued?
Can I get a replacement chassis and install the guts on it? Is this difficult?
Is this worth DIYing or am I better off sending it out for repair?

[gregnrom]

Hi,

One of our 414s was recently hit or dropped or something. The metal band that hold the grille in place broke off at the base. I took the cover off the chassis and it looks to me like the band and the chassis are(were) all one piece. I'm sure this has happened to other people's mics. What did you do?

Can it be securely glued?
Can I get a replacement chassis and install the guts on it? Is this difficult?
Is this worth DIYing or am I better off sending it out for repair?

Best thing is to get a new frame and transfer everything over to it.
I've had to replace this frame on three 414s over the years.
Call Harman/AKG and get part #2059Z0306 it's about $140. You can find their number somewhere on the AKG US website. It takes about an hour or two. Be careful not to damage the capsule...

[samgraysound]

Thanks Greg. I was just about to repost to the electrical audio forums.

Anything I need to be wary of in transferring the guts to the new frame?

[gregnrom]

Not really,
You have to be careful to not bump the capsule or let any solder flux spittle rain on it (rubber base slides out). I think the only thing you need to desolder is the XLR connector (IIRC). The two circuit boards plug into each other via a edge connector header. The screens unhook from the two posts at the top of the frame. No stress there.
Here the inside

[samgraysound]

Okay. I don't have the budget for it until at least next month, but thanks for the info.