Troubleshooting a D12e? [see pic]

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 6:38 am

I am in the process of buying this D12e from mjau. He said there was a grounding problem and he was right--there was a loose wire. I replaced it, and the mic seemed to work fine. When I spoke and sung through it, in fact, it sounded great.

But when I put it in front of the kick it sounded like crap--no low end, not without a lot of EQ. At first I had thoughts about all the other "no low end" complaints on the internet, the cause of which always seems to be a bad capsule, and I figured I was screwed. But then I thought maybe it was just that my kick sounds like crap in general--it actually IS clicky and plasticky and I need new heads and beater. I had been tracking it with a Heil PR40 stuck into the 5" hole, and I got a good sound that way, but only after tons of EQ and saturation plugs. I have never been satisfied with my kick sound.

So anyway, when I was fixing the ground wire I noticed a couple of things. One is, the mic had a sort of fuzzy blast-guard type shit on the inside of both grilles, and it was all just falling apart and coating the whole armature with fuzz. So I cleaned out what was left of it. When I tested the mic, I did so with no fluffy stuff inside. Maybe I should put in something, some kind of felt maybe? The capsule itself is protected by a layer of felt, so I figured I couldn't do any damage this way.

Also, and this is the thing that really concerns me, there is a tiny screw right in the middle of the mic element, and when I touched it, it felt very loose, and I heard a crackling of paper. I went to tighten it a bit, but the crackling freaked me out and I stopped. I thought, this can't be good...but maybe it's normal. What's up with this? What is this screw? Is it supposed to be loose? Is the crackling a sign of trouble? It occurs to me that the crackling might just be the substance the felt is mounted on, and it SHOULD be tightened down, but I'm not going to do it without further advice.

Anyway, please help! And hey mjau thanks for the chance to try fixing this up BTW.

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 7:32 am

Huh, well, I'm not feeling so hot about this mic. Below, you can see that one of the screws holding the felt thinger on the element is missing, and that screw is now in the center of the felt. I took off the felt, and it does indeed look as though SOMETHING belongs there...a very neat hole goes through the clear plastic membrance below the felt and beyond. But this screw won't tighten--I suspect it has taken the place of a different, perhaps smaller screw. Please tell me if the inside of your D12e looks like this...

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:15 am

Well, this is not promising...a photo I found of a D12 that has had an NOS capsule isntalled:

No screw. I do believe this mic is, ah, screwed.

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 10:06 am

*in Dr. Evil voice*
"You've beaten me again, Mr. Lennon, but I'll be back with more broken gear for you to buy!!!"

percussion boy · Post by **percussion boy** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 3:22 pm

My sympathies re your mic trauma.

However, maybe the mic is still working right despite its piercing? The kick sound issue you mentioned closely resemble my first experience with the d12e, and the problem wasn't the mic -- combination of drum, room, mic position. Sometimes the 12e prefers to look at a kick from the beater head side, and then the lows return.

Is there some other source with a lot of lows you could use to test the mic's frequency response? I used a big old boomy hand drum.

You or mjau could also try e-mailing AKG in Europe. They know the 12e, and can probably still fix it -- although you might have to send it to Vienna. The US office may be clueless.

Hope this helps.

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 3:40 pm

Yeh, it's up to mjau, I don't need the grief.

*snorts line of cocaine off mixing board*

Seriously, I suspect that "repair" would mean "new capsule," which a little internet research tells me are no longer available. However, I bet mjau can sell this on eBay for his asking price, even busted. We live in the same town so it's no big deal...

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 4:40 pm

inverseroom wrote:We live in the same town so it's no big deal...

*scratches inverse's name off of 'mjau birthday bonanza bash' list; drops Mailman off at used book store*

percussion boy · Post by **percussion boy** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:01 pm

inverseroom wrote:Seriously, I suspect that "repair" would mean "new capsule," which a little internet research tells me are no longer available.

For us other 12ers,can you clarify that?

My understanding, as of a couple years back, was that US AKG would throw their hands in the air and say that mic couldn't be fixed, and Euro AKG would fix it -- which would seem to imply having some source of compatible capsules.

If that's not the case now, I'monna re-evaluate what risks to take with my 12e.

Thanks for any info. Too bad the mic didn't fly for you.

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:43 am

I can't clarify really...I just did a ton of google searches yesterday and found several references to all the new capsules being gone--one guy claimed to have gotten the last one in 2006. But this could just mean AKG USA. It's probably worth emailing Europe and finding out...

iC · Post by iC » Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:22 am

If you search on REP for d12, there was a bunch of discussion in the beginning of the year about this mic and low end issues. I believe it was JJ Blair posing the question....
I had the same floating screw issue (no-peircing)...
maybe something in this :
http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index. ... msg_246038

percussion boy · Post by **percussion boy** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:38 pm

Looking at that thread, I'm guessing they made more capsules in the late '90s, but they may all be gone now -- e-bay was mentioned . . .

Might as well use the d12 'til it drops.

Kevin S · Post by **Kevin S** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:23 am

Typically those screws are in place to connect the capsule to the circuit, IE large condenser's. But sometimes it's use is for dampening or holding a stiffening type material to protect the capsule from damage. Which in the case of what you have seem's to be what you have. You probably made things worse and tweaked it. The paper type sound was probably the gold sputtered mylar part of the capsule getting crushed and or tore.

Talk with the guy who mod's the Oktavia's and maby he can help. You also may try a optional style capsule from one of the many vendor's but even that's going to cost you a little bit.

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:52 am

In this case, the stiffening material in question is the molded felt cap that's over the diaphragm. It's held down by a metal flange affixed with six screws...you can see where one of the screws came off the edge and found its way into the center...it definitely is not supposed to be that way.

In other words, I didn't mess up the mic. My initial impression--that the screw might belong there--was wrong.

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Troubleshooting a D12e? [see pic]

Troubleshooting a D12e? [see pic]

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