Apex 460 Transformer Mod Apex 460 Capsule Mod Apex 460 Mod MP3 Comparisons
Welcome, this page was created as a visual guide to assist those of you who want to mod your Apex 460 tube microphone with some of the great aftermarket parts available. This tutorial in-particular will be dedicated to changing the stock capsule to a Peluso CEK-12. Please note that I am not a professional in the electronics industry but merely a music producer who wanted to help out others with these mods. Do this mod at your own risk and only if you have experience in basic eletronics and soldering!
Below is the Peluso CEK-12 as it was delivered. When I spoke to the Canadian distributor of Peluso products he said that this is the one that most people get. It is a re-creation of a capsule from the AKG CK-12 Microphone. There are also other options as well such as the CEK-89 which is a re-creation of a Neuman style capsule.
The first thing to do is unscrew the bottom off the Apex 460's casing and slide the long tube off.
Next you have to take off the protective screen. To do this remove the screw at the bottom of the screen.
Removing the screen will reveal the original 460 capsule.
A rather nude Apex 460!
Cut off the wires, preferably as close to the mic as possible to give you as much wire to work with as possible. This step is more or less the point of no return so again I'd like to say you're doing this at your own risk!
Next comes the physical removal of the capsule from it's mount. There are two screws on either side of the capsule
Next comes the removal of the old capsule mount itself
I found that the mount for the new Peluso capsule didn't have a big enough hole to allow the Apex screw to go in flush so I carved out a bigger hole. Doesn't that pic look like an accident waiting to happen!
Nice and flush!
Peluso capsule on the left, stock Apex capsule on the right. Note the slightly bigger size of the Peluso capsule.
The holes that you use to mount the capsule to the mount are also the holes that attach some wires (I'm assuming the ground wires) to the mic. Unscrew these (DO NOT UNSCREW THE RED WIRES!) so you can put the screw through the mount first.
Attach the capsule to the mount by running the screw through the mount, then the ground wire into the capsule itself.
Next comes the electrical part. Start by stripping all the wires.
The colour coding for attaching the wires is relatively self explanatory. Red on Copper and Grey on Silver. There are two ground wires on the Peluso capsule but only one on the original so both have to be soldiered to the same ground.
After you've attached the wires you have to soldier them. Due to the nature of solder and the way it can spit I made sure to have someone hold a bag in front of the capsule to protect it from solder.
Next cover up the exposed wire with electrical tape.
Now that you're done you can close the mic back up and start recording. Goodluck!
If you don't feel comfortable doing the mod yourself contact me @ ashton@morphproductions.com and we can make arrangements for me to do it for a small fee.
Peluso Microphone Lab - Website for Peluso Microphone Lab
Canadian Audio Distributors-Canadian distributor for Peluso capsules and microphones
Cinemag- Makers of great transformers. The Apex 460 uses the CM-2480 output transformer. Check out our picture tutorial for that as well
Morph Productions- My music production/recording studio website (How I make a living).
Apex 460 Transformer Mod Apex 460 Capsule Mod Apex 460 Mod MP3 Comparisons