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[Nicolas_D]

Hello everybody!
I have a pair of Schoeps CMC5 at home, and one of them has a small dent on the body (it was already like this when I bought it).

As I'm a bit maniac about aesthetics, my idea was simply to remove the amp, gently push a wooden dowel inside the housing tube, and try to remove the dent that way. But the problem: because of the dent, the electronics are stuck inside the body (on my other CMC5, I can remove them without problem).

Does someone here know how I could fix this? And do you think the wood dowel is a good idea, or is there a better method?

Thank you in advance for your answers,
Nicolas Dedieu

[Kai]

Maybe you can bend the dent outward a little by pushing from the inside with an 90° angled tool.
The housing is made from brass, not too rigid.

If not:
Don‘t fix it if it ain’t broken.

If you try to force-push the electronics through from the front, (e.g. using a well fitting piece of cylindrical material), there’s a good chance the white plastic insert with the capsule connectors will break, doing so.

Then Schoeps in Germany will happily repair your mic.

BTW: Schoeps indeed has a service to remove dents and repaint the Nextel coated mics.

[Nicolas_D]

Thank you, Kai, for your answer!

In fact, I already contacted Schoeps in Germany, but the price for a new housing (plus taxes and shipping) is a bit much for me, so I wanted to see if I coud fix it by myself (despite the dent, the microphone works very well).

But of course, I won't risk breaking the electronics just for a small dent, so if your suggestion don't work, I'll probably keep it like this.

 

[David Satz]

That's quite an old CMC amplifier that you have there! (although not the very first generation, which didn't yet have the narrower-diameter connector housing that can be plugged directly into an XLR socket)

I don't know where you're located, but if you're in the United States, you might check with Redding Audio, the distributor. I believe they stock replacement amplifier housings--so at least shipping should be less expensive that way.

[Nicolas_D]

Thank you David for the informations.

I live in France, so shipping is not that complicated, but Schoeps in Germany doesn't sell housings for CMC5 as a spare part anymore.
The only way to get new housings is to pay €250  (+19% of taxes) for a complete revision of the microphone.

I can understand the price, but I'm not ready to pay that amount just to get rid of a dent, as the mics are working fine.

[klaus]

(...) But the problem: because of the dent, the electronics are stuck inside the body

My trick: I rotate the amp inside the housing tube until I find a spot where the amp clears enough to pull it out.

And this is how I remove dents in housing tubes:
I find a 1/4" or 3/8" socket whose outside diameter is almost exactly the same as the inside diameter of the housing tube, mount it on an extension and a drive (see sample pic), and carefully twist it on the inside of the housing tube towards the dent, which will eventually give way to the stronger metal of the socket and straighten out.
(I found that wooden dowels are too soft for this job, unless they are made of exotic hardwood).

The advantage of this method over poking at the dent from the inside with a tool: the rest of the housing tube will stay perfectly round, and no additional denting or marring on the tube's outside surface will occur in the process.

[Nicolas_D]

Thank you very much Klaus for sharing those tricks with us !
Your rotation tip works great for removing the bottom of the amp, but the problem with Schoeps CMC5 bodies is the white plastic insert Kai mentioned before at the end of the printed circuit (see picture).
There is almost no space between that part and the housing, so even if I try to rotate the amp, I still can't remove it ...

[Nicolas_D]

Victory ! After pushing a bit the dent from the inside with a wooden stick and pulling the amp while rotating it, I finally managed to extract the electronics from the body ! I will now try to find a 19mm socket and follow the method klaus explained to get rid of the dent. If I succeed, I'll share pictures for those it could help in the future.