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AKG C 414 B-XLS and B-XLII Microphones |
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The C414 is an industry standard is based upon the C12A which was manufactured in 1962. It's a large diaphragm multi-polar pattern condenser microphone that requires phantom power. It's great for recording acoustic instruments as well as voice, drum overheads, and piano. There are two basic models available today: The C414 B-XLS and the C414 B-XLII. The main difference between these two mics is the XLII has a presence bump and dip which vary depending upon the polar pattern selected. These mics are used for voice/vocals and distant live mic situations where more presence is needed. If you plan on recording acoustic instruments and voice or vocals then this mic is probably the one you want. The XLS has a more flat frequency response and is more natural sounding. It sounds better on drums, brass, and bass guitar. Both mics are also available in stereo pairs. These stereo pairs are matched with 1dB of one another for excellent stereo recording. It is a large diaphragm mic with a selectable polar pattern. This mic has been used as the reference mic to compare other microphones to. The C 414 is an excellent choice for miking voice, pianos, percussion, acoustic guitars and large event recording. The 1" gold sputtered dual diaphragm element has a very smooth and warm response. You can select from 4 different polar patterns cardioid, hypercardioid, Omni-directional or figure-eight by the using the on mic pattern switch. The C 414 also has a two stage pre-attenuator pad (selectable -10dB or -20dB) and a high pass filter (to remove the rumble). It has a MAX SPL of 126dB (without the pads) or 150dB with the -20dB pad. This mic works wonders when recording in all digital studios. Complete with spider type suspension, windscreen, and individual frequency response printout. The microphones circuitry is phantom powered with LED status lights that display the current settings. With a glance at the mic you can see what polar pattern is being used, what pre-attenuation is being used (if any), and what bass roll off frequency is selected. The polar pattern's LED is also an overload LED which turns from green to red when the mic is being overloaded (too loud). The C414's parameters are save to there current settings when the phantom power is turned off. The parameters are saved and are then set back when phantom power is applied. You can also set the parameters by simply holding the parameter button down for 3 seconds. This locks the setting in place and the only way to change it to something else is to press and hold the button again for 3 seconds. This stops any accidental changes from occurring. As mentioned the C414 has 4 different polar patterns available: cardioid, hyper-cardioid, wide cardioid, Omni, and figure eight. When changing the pattern it may take a few seconds for the mic's high impedance element to respond to the change. This also occurs when changing the pre-attenuation pad settings. The pre-attenuation settings are made to the transducer in the way of an impedance change. This means the mic's transducer can handle is less sensitive and may take a few seconds to adjust. You can select from -6, -12, or -18dB of pre-attenuation. This is meant to lower the actual output volume of the mic so as not to over drive the input section on the mixer or preamp. The Bass Cut Selector is located on the backside of the mic. This is used to filter out or remove any low frequencies that might be present in the signal. This can be caused by low energy traveling up a mic stand or by the wind or other low frequency noise source. For example this setting can be used when miking an electric guitar. It will lower any excessive low frequencies that might be present. There are 4 settings: Off, 40, 80 and 160Hz. The high pass filter's slope varies depending upon the frequency selected. At 40Hz it has a slope of 12dB per octave while at the 160Hz setting its only 6dB per octave. The 160Hz setting is great for close-up miking of vocals and helps to reduce the proximity effect caused by close miking. This mic was built around the 'C 12 A' which was manufactured back in 1962. It's seen a number of changes throughout the years but the C414's made today is as always a great sounding mic. It's mainly used for voice and vocals but can be used for string instruments such as violin, viola, as well as piano, brass, and drums. Features
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