Condition of u87 capsule?

[gearluster]

The capsule appears to be in very good shape and you should get many more years of usage with proper care

[SP2016]

A nice looking 4-wire capsule.
From an older U87 with battery compartment ?
Later U87's have a 3-wire capsule.

[TonyBelmont]

All we can gather from the photos is that it appears the gold sputtering is still intact... but, beyond that we can't say anything.

It's impossible to judge a capsule's condition with photos. Plus, a visual inspection is only a small part of the evaluation. it may not even pass signal. We have no way of knowing.

[Studerfreak]

Originally Posted by jimmy3189

Could anybody with a far greater knowledge than I, let me know what sort of condition this capsule is in and a rough idea how much life I could expect to get out of it before it needs replacing?

It already may need replacing.
Without listening to that microphone in all three positions of the characteristic switch (omni,figure of eight and cardioid) no one can give a sensible answer to your questions.

[ssprod19]

the capsule condition looks decent. If you're in contact with the owner, you should ask him how it performs.

[Alex Breaux]

The capsule appears to look OK, not perfect though. Notice the almost "metal shavings" looking stuff at the base there? That means it has deteriorated over time. I'm sure it still has quite a bit of life left in it though, nothing to worry about for quite some time. Be sure it passes humidity tests.

A