AKG C414B-ULS

I was suprised to see only a few reviews for this workhorse mic up, so I thought I'd throw my $.02 in. I've been using it now for around 7 years, on a wide variety of applications. Most typically the mic is being used for vocals, or as a room mic on drums. Preamplification has come in a variety of forms, but we're usually using a JoeMeek comp/eq, with excellent results.

We're looking at one of the industry standard mics here, and there's good reason for that.

Spec wise, this is a twin 1" condenser diaphragm mic, using a FET preamp. The pickup patters are cardioid, omni-directional, figure 8, and hypercardioid. On the flip side of the mic, the switches for attenuation (overall and low end roll off) are found. The low roll off lets you cut the low end at 60 Hz, or 150 Hz (which rolls off at -6db per octave). The attenuation switch will take 10db, or 20db off the mic's output.

The value of this mic is its versatility. The pickup patters, as well as the roll off and attenuation, make this thing suited for nearly any application that can be thrown at it. Of course, some applications are more suited than others. This mic has a tendency to be described as flavorless, as what you'll get is a very even and un-hyped duplication of what you're capturing. This, I feel, makes it less useful for guitar cab micing (see SM57), but perfect for room micing, close high-hat micing, and acoustic instruments. Vocals, though very articulate, usually need a little work to be "ready". This can easily enough be taken care of by the preamp being used in combination with the mic (even if you're on a budget, look higher than entry level here... It's off the subject, and I hate to name names, but an ART tube preamp just can't compare to a well built solid state (JoeMeek) with a slightly higher price tag.)

This mic has served our studio flawlessly, opened up a lot of doors, and saved a lot of time and money by being as versatile as it is. I'd say this is certainly one of those studio Must-Have's.

I have had a home recording studio for 21 years. Istarted on 4 track cassette, then to 8 track reel to reel, and now it's 16 tracks of ADAT recorders and a Mackie 8 bus.

Large diaphram condenser mic. 4 polar patters. Bass roll off switch.

I use this on vocals, drums, acoustic guitar, and mandolin. It's great on just about anything. A good overall microphone.

I would recommend this mic to anyone wanting to take a step up from the under $500 large diaphram conderser mics. I also have a Rode NT1 and two Alesis Groove Tube large diaphram conderser mics. I think the C414 is a step up from those and worth the money. It made a major diference on my recordings after I got it.

I can't compare it to a Neumann U47 or an AKG C12. I've never used those. But this mic is a staple in recording studios everywhere for a reason.

Been making music for a long time. Home studio, but very nice gear...API, Neve, dbx, Neumann, Beyer, Royer, Lexicon, etc....
I record to a DAW, but also still use DAT machines for various things. Just rolled out the last of the tape machines this past year and don't think I'll ever look back. Not that I don't love the sound of tape, but at some point, you gotta move ahead for better or worse. Heck, I even sold my Betamax machine in the mid-90s when I was for sure that VHS had won. ;-)
My monitoring equipment is on the retro side. Urei amps with JBL monitors. Hey, you want to use old gear with modern speakers, go ahead, but I want to track and mix on the gear that was used in the 70s as well.

This is a multi-pattern, LDC, side address mic. It's sort of a staple in studios since it came out. There are basically two flavors of these mics currently available, this one and the TLII. The TLII version is supposedly tuned for vocals. This one is sold more as an instrument mic. The big difference for me is that this one has a transformer and the TLII is transformerless. I feel that this one is more mic pre dependent. Great on drums. Period. If you've got enough...or the balls to do so, put em as close mics on the snare and toms. They're great. If you don't trust your drummer, then use the regular cheap dynamic on top and one of these on the bottom to get the snares sound. Using these on top really gives a more natural drum sound as opposed to the usual dynamics which gives a more rock sound. This all seems really silly to type as it's like describing when I paint, which red do I use for an apple as opposed to a fire truck.....stupid when you think about it.
Anyway, a pair of them in a modest studio is a great thing to have as they can be amazing on some vocals and as drum overheads. It's always nice to have a pair of multi-pattern mics around when you want to do some stereo recordings.
Some say the top end is a little brittle on these, but I disagree. If used with a nice preamp, they're just very top heavy, but not brittle. Brittle seems to conjure up a cheap, chinese mic thing for me and these are no where near that. I definitely recommend these to others. Especially since you can pick them up used in the $500-600 range.
later,
m