Hi,
I've got a battered old U87 (late 70s i think) which still works and I love the sound of it. I tried the 'breath test' on it however and it fails. This is not really causing me any problems at the moment as it only drops out if I sing right into it close without a pop shield (which I don't) but I'm wondering if I am making the problem worse by using it in it's current condition?
I was hoping someone who knows better than me could tell me if I should:
A - Continue to use it until it becomes a problem
B - Send it for cleaning
C - Accept that it's old and replace the capsule
/
D - Flip the capsule (rear side seems fine for now).
Also I opened it up and looked at the capsule and it looks like at some point in it's life someone (not me) has tried and failed to clean it. The front side of the capsule is missing a little gold. It still sounds really good though so I'm not too worried about that. The rear side looks much better and also a bit cleaner.
Also If I'm going to flip the capsule, how hard is this and is there any info on the web of how to do it? Or is the only option to send it away? I'm reasonably capable with a soldering iron and have built most of the gear in my studio, but so far I have known better than to mess with mics!
Many thanks
Jamie