AKG C414B-TLII

I started recording in july of 2004. I have been playing for 50 years. actually had an illigal radio station back in the day and got busted by the FCC..... used to record with the old 2 track machine way back then but bought an all in one korg 16 xd in 04.I track with outboard pres when possible and mix in the korg,then send the mix to an alesis masterlinks for various reasons. I have the mackie hr824's and the 12" sub through a big knob anlong with a pair of alises active monitors.

akg 414b-tl II

I am a vocalist and have been performing and practicing for last 25 years. I also sequence music tracks (Karaoke). For the last 6 years I have delved into recording, mostly at home using a DAW and some outdoor recordings using cassettes.

C414B-TLII is a dual diaphragm, (1 inch diameter) condenser microphone with four different polar patterns (omni, cardoid, hypercardoid and figure-eight) and a pre-attenuation switch (-10 or -20 dB). It has a transformerless output stage for accurate reproduction down to the lowest frequencies. It operates with phantom powering from 12 to 48V. An isolation shockmount and a windscreen comes with it as standard accessories.

As many of you know that this is a world-class mic with a fair price tag, which, to me, is fully justified. I have used it always at home (never dare to take it out) to record vocal parts and lead vocals, a few different acoustic percussions and intend to use it for recording Indian Bamboo Flute (Bansuri). I always use hypercardoid pattern for vocals and place the mic at an angle of 35-45 degrees to the direction of the sound and about 6 to 9 inches away from the source. For percussions I use direct, in-line placement at approximately 6 to 8 inches from the source. So far I have always received very natural sounding recording via this mic. My voice actually sounds like mine - and that makes C414 my favorite mic for recording.

I have many other mics including C1000S and the ubiquitous SM57 and SM58. Each one of these is special for a specific usage. I prefer C414B-TLII for its very usable features (like multiple polar patterns) and consistent excellence in sound recording. This is one of those mics which truly captures uncolored hi-fidelity sound.

I would highly recommend this mic to anyone who wishes to record truly natural sounding music.