Man Behind the Mic

Clarence Kane is the last remaining RCA employee still doing microphone repairs. In this documentary short, he shares his life story, details of his one of a kind business, and discusses the passing of his legacy.

[@curtvincent3728]

I am one of Clarence's biggest fans. Known him 35 years and he worked on 11 of my ribbon mics. Rebuilt a 1933 Bruno mic and he lost money restoring it for me! I spent a lot of time with him in that shop. He willingly taught me a lot. I have over 37 ribbon mics and he knew I had to learn how to take care of them. Luke did an amazing job bringing tribute to an American icon. Thank you Clarence!

[@mikeh66]

ABSOLUTELY!

[@DanielKane-wx3wc]

Rest in peace uncle Clarence. Life well lived.

[@ericambel449]

So very sorry for your loss Luke. You guy's re-ribboned a 77 for me during the pandemic. I hope you'll be able to carry on Mr Kane's legacy.

[@sbarncar]

Clarence repaired my first RCA 77dx mic in the 1960s when he still worked at RCA.
A sweet and humble soul.

[@patlaw53]

Clarence is the only person who ever serviced my ribbon mics. I'm delighted to see Luke helping out and learning the trade from the master.

[@Ribbonmics]

Bravo to a true master of the craft and his eager apprentice. Inspiring.

[@marykerr2408]

Mr. Kane is an exemplary man of integrity, dedication and kindness. We all can learn this from him.

[@EllipticalSound]

Recently had ribbons replaced in two BK-4A Starmaker Mic's by the legend himself and they both sound better then ever! Thank you both for the years of great work.

[@jimwest6571]

God bless this man and his dedication to an almost lost art.

[@RichardBaroneOfficial]

Wonderful documentary. I'm sharing on my Facebook page. Clarence restored my RCA 77-DX, my favorite mic. I use it all the time. I am so grateful for his work. Thank you for making this film!

[@lukecarpenter2333]

Thank you, and thanks for sharing!

[@RichardBaroneOfficial]

@@lukecarpenter2333 You are very welcome! I will be on the lookout for more of your films!

[@GregsTake]

Thank you for such a wonderful short film. First radio station I stepped foot into was in 1998. Was thankfully introduced to the Electro-Voice RE20 for the first time. Been in love with spoken word mic's ever since :)

[@eugesounds]

My dad worked at RCA Camden for 33 years. This is a really great piece - well done and thanks for the memories.

[@ProfessorDan]

He restored a 44BX for me. AND he's not far from where I grew up in South Jersey. So glad to see this video!

[@bluetablepost703]

Luke, this is a great doc short! The mic that's at 8:15 (a KU-3A) is one of ours at Blue Table Post, so it's fun to see that in there. But it's a great portrait. Well done. -Oliver Lief

[@lukecarpenter2333]

Just seeing this, that's very cool! I'm glad the film made it to you, and I'm glad I was there at the same time as your interesting mic!

[@mitchbowden6538]

Man, this is so great. Clarence is an inspiration. It must be amazing to be able to learn the craft from someone like him. Kudos!

[@drbillp4078]

Awesome! Blessed to have a Enak refurbed 77DX here. Many thanks to the MASTER!!

[@shockingguy]

So very cool thank you for sharing this I just shared this with a number of musicians here in Cleveland a couple recording studio owners and some broadcast engineer friends I’m sure they will all be very pleased today.j

[@lukecarpenter2333]

Glad you enjoyed! And thanks for sharing it around

[@grangerecorders5050]

Thank you for making this video. Clarence has maintained my ribbon mics (44s, 77, Coles) for many years and is always a pleasure to work with.

[@GrahamSpice]

This is a fantastic tribute to a VIP in our industry. Thank you very much for creating and posting this

[@jaymccutcheon5441]

Luke-This is very awesome. This will NOT be a lost art. Thanks for your attention in this matter. Way to go.

[@soldermecold7456]

As someone who recently got into recording... thank you for this video.

[@mikeh66]

OUTSTANDING!

[@AlanD96]

Such a fascinating story. I just sent my RCA 77-DX in for restoration and I'm so happy I chose ENAK after seeing this video. It's so difficult to find true 'craftsmen' any more, and these two gentlemen exemplify that word.

[@mattkellylujo]

Clarence is a wonderful guy. He's been servicing my ribbons for 25 years. Thanks for this!!!

[@frankbango4436]

Beautiful document. Thanks for making, posting and honoring the integrity of Enok!!

[@timitheo]

Thank you Luke for documenting and it is great to see that this can continue.

[@jmobass]

A great story - a great humble man with a special talent. And an honorable young man respecting and learning from the master.

[@martinjohnbutler]

This is such a wonderful thing to see, thanks so much for posting. Good luck to you both.

[@jasonsr101]

Uncle Clarence. Great Video. Well done Luke.

[@tommykuhn14]

This was awesome

[@erakarerecording]

Thanks for sharing your work and for your willingness to step into the breach! I really enjoyed the documentary!

[@bcastro131]

Great story !!!!

[@marydonaldson6139]

Great job Luke....very interesting!

[@onemic-theminimalist]

Fantastic video, thanks.

[@erikhughes7150]

Love this guy and his work. He is currently working on a second mic for me. What a story.

[@terrypewing]

What a great video. Very well made.

[@TechnoEmpire]

Love this!

[@emgillis]

awesome!! Purely awesome! Well done!

[@martinmitchell]

Lovely video. An inspiration to us all.

[@lisasez]

Thank you..

[@RicoG213]

Nice job Luke. And keep at it Mr. Kane.

[@TheElverma]

Fantastic! Took me back to when I was in high school :-)

[@harrymix]

Video about mics: "let's use camera mic" 😱

[@Electricowlworks]

Wow! Amazing video. Does the company work on non ribbon microphones or vintage ones from other manufacturers? Best Regards! - chaz

[@frankjamesbonarrigo7162]

His accent is so Baltimore. I wonder where he was from originally.

[@fullclipaudio]

They don't make men like this anymore.

[@amfrance]

Wow.

[@jpreston9212]

Thank you for doing this Luke, and continuing the legacy! What a blessing to have Clarence as your mentor.

[@TheVictorCo]

Love this!