Horror stories of misdiagnosed medical conditions abound: bacterial brain infections are wrongly diagnosed as schizophrenia, stroke patients are written off as vegetable cases, just because they lost ways to communicate... stories like these surface in sensational newspaper articles, online news, or become bestsellers: these are cases of a human tragedy that could have been averted if only the correct diagnosis would have been made by experienced professionals- specialists using their intuitive faculties honed by an extensive history in their field.
In comparison, misdiagnosing the cause of a malfunctioning microphone seems to have comparatively few serious consequences. The tragedy is usually limited to that of a depleted pocketbook.
Here are two examples to illustrate how a seasoned, experienced mic tech would have prevented frustrations and loss of money:
* A used VF14 tube for the U47 mic now costs four figures, no matter where you go. Plenty of U47 owners have been told that the crackling noise they experience comes from a "bad tube" that needs replacing. Once the mic is on the bench, it turns out that in 90% of these cases the tube is perfectly fine, and the discharge sounds that seemed to indicate a defective tube were actually generated by a deteriorated or oxidized tube socket contact.
* Most condenser mic capsules will get contaminated over time with airborne dirt particles, spit, and dust. Some capsules do not take kindly to that, and the voltage charge of the capsule (a capacitor) will start to short or partially collapse when breath moisture is added. A frequent misdiagnosis, even from major microphone manufacturers' service centers: "you need a new capsule", when all that was truly needed was professional capsule restoration through proper removal of contaminants and moisture.
In these and many other cases, an experienced condenser microphone technician could have saved the owner hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars in microphone repairs.
My point:
Theoretical knowledge about a technology often comes pretty fast and easy in one's career, whether it is medicine, auto repair or condenser microphones. But wisdom and intuitive skills- the ability to judge which of several possibilities may be the most likely diagnosis-comes only through time spent in the field, and especially when these skills are aided by a continued passion for the subject matter.
As in other fields of expertise, the microphone owner needs to thoroughly investigate potential service providers, their history, their track record and reputation, before choosing one.
(I keep thinking about this, reflecting on the vast amount of information available on the internet, and the utter confusion, rather than clarity, internet searches often create.)
