Restored RCA BK-5A
The RCA BK-5A ribbon mike is back in my hands. Here is a before picture, followed by some after pics. The mike was sanded and repainted to the original colour. The ribbon was completely missing inside the mike (which is what I suspected - I couldn't find one when I took it apart), so Clarence cut a new one and installed it according to the original RCA specification (size, tension, etc.). He put on a new cable since the old one was cracking up. The little screws were mostly missing, and the ones that were there were stripped, so they were all replaced. I didn't have the original shock mount, so Clarence supplied a reproduction shock mount that looks like the original. This mount was pretty expensive, but what are you gonna do. He supplied the knurled knobs for the mount, but unfortunately the threads on the mike are kind of screwed up - somebody must have cranked on the wrong size thread. So I'm not sure how to fix that. I had the little RCA medallion and so that is glued back on. It looks pretty good, and now it's time to check how it sounds.
Read more on ribbon mikes here.
RCA BK-5A before restoration
RCA BK-5A after restoration
RCA BK-5A after restoration
RCA BK-5A after restoration
RCA BK-5A with blast screen.
RCA BK-5A with blast screen.
July 20th, 2018 - 12:46
Hey Guy! I have purchased 3 of these RCA BK-5B’s from a friend of mine and they appear and sound great! I have one question for you. Those badges (or medalions) in your pictures appear to be not much more than a “silver colored” metal type stick-ons, with red paint at best. Did I see that correctly from your pictures? Next question from me would be do you know where I can get 3 for my microphones which are ‘naked’. Were these the same type as on the BK-5B’s? Seems like in other pictures the BK-5B’s were raised as on more solid metal and stuck out from the body slightly. I had thought about contracting a jeweler to make some for me. Any ideas or suggestions appreciated! Thanks!