Akg C-214 vs C-414 (any)

[KennyS]

Interested as well.

[ARIEL]

Yes count me in , Love to hear a track using both types of mics , say acoustic guitar and maybe and OH set on a drum kit or room mic . To A/B them .

[KRStudio]

I have a pair of 414XLs and use a 214 on a regular basis. They sound different. Both are nice, but the mids are different to me. The proximity effect is also different. A 214 will be a great mic for vocals and A.G.

[Ryan Gregory]

I have a 414, and used a 214 quite a bit. The mids sound more forward on the 214 because there is less high end. The way this translates, to me, is that the 214 sounds less crisp and less detailed, and a little more boxy. Still a pretty decent sounding mic, compared to lot of the other inexpensive LDCs I've heard.

[3singes]

Very interested as well...
I use a pair of 214 as drum overheads (only for concerts, not for recording). They work really well on my Gretsch Round badge (tuned quite high, Coated Ambassador). Almost no need for snare and tom mics.
Would love to hear a A/B...

[Suda Badri]

Hey i owned both the new 214 and and 414xl-ii, first example in my clients page (website in Sig) band called Jackal (2nd - 3rd tracks are probably the best to check out, starts with just drums) i recorded snare with 414 and 214 on floor tom, bass is a blend of 214 d112 and beyer tgx on a big as mesaboogie... Any acoustic guitar is 214 on soundhole and 414 on 12th fret... If any of you want individual files i can post it up...

Im a weird guy who loves transformerless ldcs more than i do heavily coloured tube mics... Albeit id love a um 900 but it is pristine yet buttery... I think of 414 as a work horse and the 214 as a grenade... Just abuse the shit out if... I used it for kick drum Mic and was amazed...

the BIGGEST differece is that the 414 is dual plate, and it makes it more of a versatile mic, it might not sound flattering on everything but you will find it useable on nearly everything, the headbasket design on the 214 is also perfect for vocals and is better at handling plosives... I sold the 214 cuz Im getting a Newman tlm 193 for kicks and bass cab... The 214 is more exaggerated in the low mids and gives off a hotter signal than the 414, its got a very fast slew rate, i dunno if that's the right word to use in the context but its very detailed in big loud transients and its got a pad ive never distorted it...

It (the 214) is easily the best value Mic in its class i think... The 414 is still for keeps though, 214 was great all throughout this latest project now Im upgrading the only mics that stuck were the 414 and blue kiwi... Incidentally the two mics that cop a lot of flac here... I believe them to be very true to the immediate sound and lush while picking away far away sources, they are both very unforgiving mics but i love them, i would accept a b-uls if it were given to me but i have used them before they do soften the blow and deliver a more ready sound but hey as i said the brutal honesty is all good with me... You will definitely find a use for the 214...

and yes this is more so much gear so little time stuff

[studio.iNside]

I have an AKG C214 and I think it is one the best price-value mic. I can't show you an example recorded by AKG C414, but with AKG c214 yes: The acoustic gitar was recorded with 2 mics(at the same time): AKG C214 and AKG c430. The preamps: UA610 paired with the C214, and a Focusrite ISA paired with AKG C430. The vocals was taken by AKG C 214 through a Universal Audio 6176. Mixing: UAD-2

DUSTCAKE - INGA (studio-iNside werkfilm) HD - YouTube



A DUSTCAKE (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dustcake/127870310668125) a debreceni studio-iNside-ban. FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/studioinside YOUTUBE: ...

[Studio507]

Thanks for the input guys!

[Scott003]

+1 to all, had both at my school and they are certainly different, but both good. Same with a c2000, all have that made-in-austria sound

[Studio507]

Lmao, you can hear where they're made?

[Suda Badri]

Sure why not... If you swapped brand name for where they are based... The sonic signatures should bunch up geographically... I tend to judge some mics by how European or American they sound Haha

[Scott003]

Lol fair nuff. Perhaps just slutty superstition haha. But what I mean is the mics sound good, and in my opinion, have a unique neutral but pleasant sound, quality I'd expect from austria. Not to say I have prejudice in gear, love the Chinese toft, Japanese Sony, murrican ua, neumann etc... But I always found akg to have that sorta quality engineering. Sluttin it up hahaha

[sleepyhollos]

Originally Posted by Scott003

+1 to all, had both at my school and they are certainly different, but both good. Same with a c2000, all have that made-in-austria sound

'That made in Austia sound'??? Now I've truly heard it all... Ho hum!

[skybluerental]

different incarnations of the 414 sound WAY different from one another.

this article contains sound clips of each variant of the 414 and illustrates pretty well the significant differences in sound between the different designs.

Curing Condenser Confusion: An Audio History of The AKG C 414

the old ones with the CK12 brass ring capsule by far sound the best in my opinion. much more open and 3D than the teflon ring EB or B ULS which sound sort of cloudy.

the new ones are just harshly bright and poorly designed in general.
i would say that is true of a lot of the modern “Harmon” AKG mics........
the 214, in my limited experience, is not a particularly good sounding mic. to me, it had the same problem as the new 414’s which is that it is harsh sounding.
i would much prefer a 414 B ULS or EB to a new 214.

i own 2 414 B ULS and they are decent mics, but rarely great on anything except toms. they do sound much better than the new 414 variants in my opinion.

i might try sticking a brass ring CK12 in one of them to see if it sounds better.