414 'bubbling' - what causes this?

[Rigsby]

There's this bubbling on this 414, is it purely cosmetic or sign of not looking after the mic correctly? What causes this?

[Scodiddly]

Is the body made of aluminum? I've seen that on an old aluminum body Shure relic, under the chrome.

[Rigsby]

I don't know, can't seem to find that out, the AKG specs don't state that, anyone know?

[Zoltar]

That alomst looks like heat damage. Is there any bubbles actually on the white print? If not I would guess it was left in bright lights too long.

[Rigsby]

Yeah, it does look like heat damage, would that have done any damage over and above just the look of it though? I mean it doesn't look like it's been flamethrowered, but could it affect the mics performance?

[soundguy]

If that is heat damage (which is what it sorta looks like) if I were you Id crack that thing open and take a look at the capsule.

dave

[Zoltar]

I'm just thinking about this, if it from light (spot light, sunlight), it might be ok because it is a matter of the paint getting too hot, and that wouldn't always conduct through to the guts. the fact that there seems to be parts that aren't damaged might be a good thing.

but if it was a flamethrower, that is probably not as good. I think the key is the white printing.

[Rigsby]

If that is heat damage (which is what it sorta looks like) if I were you Id crack that thing open and take a look at the capsule.

dave

It's an ebay item so i can't do that, i'm going to leave it, not worth the risk to me. Thanks guys, i'd be sitting here toing and froing otherwise. It's a cheap price, and we all know what that usually means.

[Bear]

That it's a sure deal?

[Bwanasonic]

Is it possibly some kind of corrosion from moisture, maybe from miking a wind/brass instrument or even from a vocalists breath. Though it would have to be pretty bad breath I imagine.

Oh, and did you email the seller to ask? Usually a good place to start.

Kerry M

[Rigsby]

Is it possibly some kind of corrosion from moisture, maybe from miking a wind/brass instrument or even from a vocalists breath. Though it would have to be pretty bad breath I imagine.

Oh, and did you email the seller to ask? Usually a good place to start.

Kerry M

It says in the listing that he doesn't know why it's happened, just that he's had them a while and it's happened in the last six months or so. I'm just going to leave it i think whether that means i'm missing out on a real bargain or not, i could do without an eBay headache right now. Thanks though.

[Scodiddly]

It's probably aluminum corrosion. That's what it looks like, anyway.

[NeglectedFred]

Damn man!! Tell your clients to brush their teeth before singing into those things!

[stapes]

I used to have a 414 that had this problem, and I heard that it is somewhat common with that mic, so it's probably not something weird like being under a heat lamp. Most likely something simple like aluminum corrosion, which could indicate it was left in a moist environment, but I'm just guessing here. Mine sounded just fine.

Erik Wofford
Stapes Audio