AKG C414B XLII

Been making music for several decades, doing home recording at a high level for several years.

Bought it primarily to use as a "S" mic for M/S recording of acoustic instruments. I'd seen credible reviewers saying it's particularly good in this ap. I can't compare it to anything else since it's the only figure 8 capable mic I own, but I can say the results are very good, better even than I expected based on the positive reviews.

I've used it a little on vocals and it seems pretty good so far.

Many are saying this XL series are the best sounding 414's AKG has made in years. Again, I can't compare to older mics, but I can say the results are very good. The mic performs at a high level and has extremely low self noise (as in "is this thing on?" when you're in headphones and power it up and have no source sounds yet).

I like the new pattern, roll off and pad switching with LEDs - which can all be controlled remotely with an accessory box from AKG. Comes with a nice accessory package complete with the mic's frequency plot, foam wind sock, popper stopper on a flex neck, shock mount, case, excellent documentation.

Downers are that the included shock mount has plastic threads for US sized stands, the case is aluminum frame with plastic pannels. But IMO, if they needed to cut corners to hit the price target, they cut the right things, because the mic itself is built to last and in fact has a 3 year warranty. The plastic shock mount is actually pretty nifty as well as long as you're careful with the threads.

I'm very satisfied with this purchase. It performs as advertised and reviewed and seems to me to have a well earned reputation as a legit "big league" mic.

Just started my own Recording Studio
Recording through the M-Audio Project Mix I/O (firewire) to Logic Express and Pro-tools 7 on my new PowerBook G4 1.5 12"
Monitors: KRK Rokit 8"

C414B XL II - studio matched pair (large diaphram condenser microphones)

(extra money but worth it 'cause it came in a nice padded foam case, along with manual, stereo bar, 2 clips, 2 wind screens, 2 shock mounts, 2 black cloth bags, and original frequency response trace printout))

Has multiple (5) polar patterns [omni, wide cardioid, cardioid, hyper cardioid, figure 8], and frequency pads (Hz & dB)

Just recorded djembe, cajon, voice, and cello today.
My cellist friend has been recording for a while now, with every mic under the sun....these are definately his favorite so far. The cello sounded amazing!!!

Asked my engineering friend what was the difference between the XLII and the XLS versions of this mic. He told me the XLIIs have better made mic components in them.
An extra $100 per mic -> but you are getting what you pay for.

Got them through Guitar Center, and since the guy made a huge commission (also got my project mix, monitors, software, etc), he saved me about $400-$500 when all was said and done -> also through in a bunch of free-bees like mic cables, stands, etc.

Seriously people -> this is like one of the best mics out there. And certainly a standard in the recording industry. Every studios is almost required at this point to have a pair of these bad boys.

by the way, also picked up a BLUE kickball for bass stuff - very cool looking and good sounding:

I've been doing ambient/electronic and some blues/jazz for 15 years. Lately I've been working with a female vocalist that has a very ambient-sounding voice. I've been essentially composing all of the music and doing the mixing/recording/mastering using a Korg D1600 MkII 24-bit hard-disk recorder. As monitors, I am using either Bose Triport headphones or my old standby monitors, Rogers LS3/5a monitors from the BBC (if you can make it sound good on these, it'll sound good anywhere!).

This is the newest offering in the AKG C414 series, the XLII. It is a studio condenser which is very versatile, it offers 5 polar patterns. I am using this mic to record female vocals, placed upside down in the supplied shock mount with the supplied pop screen, so that the element is about 6 inches away from her mouth.

I considered primarily Neumans, but after reading all of the good reviews on this mic and its ability to record female vocals, I was sold on it.

This is the best mic for female vocals, I am completely convinced. We were previously using a Samson C-01 studio condenser. Not a bad value, but it just was not cutting it. Whenever she would sing loudly and really get on the mic, that Samson would start to distort. Also, it had a tendency to clip - it was always tricky setting up the preamp with it. Also, that mic was not good at capturing the highs and high-mids.

The C414-B XLII completely blows that thing away. Basically, she can get right on the mic and it takes all of the loudness and deals with it. The highs are crystal clear, mids bright and the lows truthfully reproduce her voice. Absolutely beautiful. It also has a low-pass filter (that I am using at 80 Hz) to gate out any unwanted low end (e.g., from an A/C kicking in, etc.), and a gain attenuation switch (that I am using at +0 db).

Basically, this mic just excells at this particular application. I will also be experimenting with it on my Breedlove Focus 12 in conjunction with the Fishman electronics in that acoustic guitar. Its a must-have mic!