As the title states, my AKG D112 crackles and pops loudly when i barely move the cable that's plugged into it. I've eliminated the cable as a suspect because I've tried different cables on it and its cable on different mics and the cables are fine.

Is there a way to diagnose the problem difinitively on my own without taking the mic to be repaired somewhere? or is that the only option?

I'd have to say I think its a short somewhere inside, but I can't be sure. I unscrewed the connector piece from the mic and pulled it out a bit, but i didn't see anything that screamed short or loose connection.

Any other ideas or should I give up and give it to someone who knows what they're doing? I miss my mic!

thanks guys,
ddubbdrum

Is there a lot of moisture in the air...?

Try some DeOxit type of cleaner/connector rejuvenator...you might just be dealing with poor contacts on the mic where they are not real tight-fitting...and that little bit of moisture is making small shorts between the cable and mic connectors as you move them.

At least check that before you go further.

Was the mic dropped or hit or anything like that?
If it only happens as you move the connector while keeping the mic motionless...then it may be what I said above.
But...if it happens when you move the whole mic...it may be that the capsule inside has something loose...?

It only happens when the connection is jostled (i.e. by the violent bursts of air in the kick drum or movements when i position it.)

I'll check out some of that DeOxit stuff and hope that helps. It doesn't seem too moist in there and its been relatively dry here in the northwest lately.. (I say relatively... Its only rained about a third of this last week or two)

I don't believe the mic has been dropped (atleast not by me :-/) violently enough to knock something loose. I'll shake it gently next time I'm in the studio to listen for something small rattling around.

thanks a lot for the input! Any other suggestions are more than welcome!

ddub

Does the signal drop, or do you just get the noise on top of it?
Do you have phantom power on? (The D112 does NOT need phantom power, if so shut if off.)

Resolder all connections to the XLR out of the mic. Sounds like a cold/broken solder joint, which is not always easily visible.

Okay, so I know it has been a looong time, but I finally cracked it open again and while I was fiddling with it, one of the wires broke loose. I decided to snip the other one off, restrip them and resolder them both. The noise is MUCH better, so it looks like it was a dying wire/solder joint. The noise is still present a little bit when the connection is jostled, and I could have probably done away with all of it if I had had a suitable soldering jig to work with. In any case, it's so low that it isn't audible below multiple layers of drums, guitars, horns, etc.


Success!

p.s. sorry to resurrect such an old thread!