Members GigMan Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 I cleaned out my little equipment area in my basement today & stumbled upon a microphone I had put away a long while ago: an ElectroVoice BK-1 Condenser Cardiod vocal mic. - is this worth saving or just an entry-level throwaway? I can't even remember why I put it aside... maybe wasn't working right - I wonder if it's worth getting serviced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 One of the best condenser vocal mics ever made, one of the best kept secrets. First, it uses a 4.5 volt battery in the middle of the housing, be sure it hasn't leaked. It will operate on phantom power but get the bad battery out of it. It was the mic I used to use on Stephen Stills, a warm and articulate yet not overly bright mic with good feedback rejection.It's almost identical to the EV-1776. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GigMan Posted December 30, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 One of the best condenser vocal mics ever made, one of the best kept secrets. First, it uses a 4.5 volt battery in the middle of the housing, be sure it hasn't leaked. It will operate on phantom power but get the bad battery out of it. It was the mic I used to use on Stephen Stills, a warm and articulate yet not overly bright mic with good feedback rejection.It's almost identical to the EV-1776. Cool! At my next gig, I'll swap it out for the Shure Beta 58A I usually sing into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members californiapb Posted December 31, 2008 Members Share Posted December 31, 2008 I bought one of those new in 1984. Reports of short battery life are indeed the norm for these. Seems to me the price was comparable to an SM58. I used it for a vocal mic in a classic rock band and it never failed me. I still have mine and still use it in live settings. I remember that there was a free offer for a engraved replacement hand sleeve and EV engraved my name in it. Battery is a 4.5volt. Eveready No. 523. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted December 31, 2008 Members Share Posted December 31, 2008 Will also work with phantom power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted December 31, 2008 Members Share Posted December 31, 2008 I remember them as well. I liked them a lot. One of the best feedback rejections of any condenser mic I've seen. Nice high end without being overly bright (unlike most vocal condensers). Yea very good mic. I also remember the funky 4.5V battery (a major design flaw). I remember thinking where would I get one of these at 12:00 AM Sunday morning? (this was in the days when a lot of small club PA boards didn't have phantom power). It seems to me that EV came out with a similar mic a few years later that used a more common battery (AA maybe?), but it wasn't as good of a mic and didn't last long in the market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted December 31, 2008 Members Share Posted December 31, 2008 YOu can use a 1.5 volt AA in the (some) BK-1's but the max output level is reduced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted July 2, 2009 Members Share Posted July 2, 2009 I stumbled across this thread while doing a search for the BK-1. Funny thing is I just bought a mint one off of Feebay for $40 (I mean almost factory fresh in the box). It's just missing the clip. Can't wait for rehersal next week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 2, 2009 Members Share Posted July 2, 2009 I may still have some factory clips JR. I forgot you are a mic collector. I just sold off a matched pair of hand built LDC factory testing samples in machined brass housings for "cheap". Should have given you first shot at them. I have at least 2 of these BK-1's that I still use and it's a great mic period. BK stood for "Black Knight" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SoundmanLuke Posted July 22, 2009 Members Share Posted July 22, 2009 I just found 3 of these that I pretty much forgot I had. No idea why I stopped using them. I think the Beta58A had something to do with it. I love the BK-1! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SoundEmperor Posted August 19, 2009 Members Share Posted August 19, 2009 One of my favorites Too. Bought 6 of them back in 1986. Still have 5. For all of your info, occasionally, these units get really noisy. The cause is easy to fix if your tech savvy. There is a small-signal diode internally that fails--usually due to poor voltage regulation on cheap phantom power supplies (like in Mackie and Behringer boards. I still have an old Behringer in my rental stock, so I still have this problem now and then... Plug a BK-1 into a Midas tho' and what great sound. EV ought to re-introduce this mic like they did the PL80 a couple of years ago! BTW. I'm pretty much an expert on anything EV, so ask away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted August 20, 2009 Members Share Posted August 20, 2009 I have found that the noise problem in the BK1 is generally the impedance translator FET. Has nothing to do with the phantom source quality, but from the power-up and down impluse as well as flaky specs of the original FET. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hopdog Posted August 25, 2009 Members Share Posted August 25, 2009 Does anyone have an old BK-1 they want to sell me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JimmiBoi Posted June 2, 2013 Members Share Posted June 2, 2013 I have one that is kind of beat-up but works well (not pretty for stage). Want it for $50 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Disqus Account Posted October 9, 2019 Members Share Posted October 9, 2019 On 8/19/2009 at 7:22 PM, SoundEmperor said: One of my favorites Too. Bought 6 of them back in 1986. Still have 5. For all of your info, occasionally, these units get really noisy. The cause is easy to fix if your tech savvy. There is a small-signal diode internally that fails--usually due to poor voltage regulation on cheap phantom power supplies (like in Mackie and Behringer boards. I still have an old Behringer in my rental stock, so I still have this problem now and then... Plug a BK-1 into a Midas tho' and what great sound. EV ought to re-introduce this mic like they did the PL80 a couple of years ago! BTW. I'm pretty much an expert on anything EV, so ask away! Hi, any visuals, pics of the diode repair? thanks Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 On 10/9/2019 at 10:37 AM, Disqus Account said: Hi, any visuals, pics of the diode repair? thanks Al I've never worked on one, so I'm not sure where they hid the electronic circuit (near the capsule? near the output jack?) but E/V does have the schematic online, and there's only one diode in the circuit... here's a link to the PDF: https://www.electrovoice.com/binary/BK-1 EDS.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted October 16, 2019 Members Share Posted October 16, 2019 I would be surprised if the cause was the diode. The FET in the impedance translator circuit is a much more likely cause, and I have seen them fail. There is also the possibility of contamination on the PCB in the very high impedance area of the circuit, small leakage can create a lot of noise that will typically increase with humidity and temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Mutchler Posted March 16, 2020 Members Share Posted March 16, 2020 I also had 3 that I purchased back around 1985, EV had a expandable outboard phantom power unit which made it possible to use the BK1's with my Shure Vocal Master VA300 p.a. Unfortunately some S.O.B. broke into my van in 2002 and stole all my misc. Still have the Shure p.a. for nostalgia I guess and the phantom power unit, just wish I had my BK1's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ronfnyl Posted April 1, 2020 Members Share Posted April 1, 2020 Does anybody know how to open the mic to be able to access the circuit(board)? I couldn't find out how Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 3 hours ago, Ronfnyl said: Does anybody know how to open the mic to be able to access the circuit(board)? I couldn't find out how I've never worked on one so I'm really not certain... but if I had to guess, the circuit board is probably located beneath the capsule - where the switch is located on the body. Rather than risk breaking anything, I'd probably reach out the Electro Voice (either the Customer Service or Technical Support department) and see if they have any kind of a service manual available for the BK-1. Customer Service Purchase Orders, Stock Inquiries, Partner Referrals +1 (800) 289-0096 1-800-955-6831 buv.orders@us.bosch.com 130 Perinton Pkwy Fairport, NY 14450 US Technical Support Product & System Troubleshooting +1-800-289-0096 technical.support@us.bosch.com 🗎 System Design Assistance Form Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ronfnyl Posted April 1, 2020 Members Share Posted April 1, 2020 Thank you! I should try contacting them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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