Akg C 414 B-uls

[antichef]

I stopped in a pawn shop today on a whim, and they had an AKG C 414 B-ULS for $99, so I picked it up. Normally I do a little more research, but my recollections from the board here made me think I should probably move quickly and research later.

I'm a home recording newbie - long time guitar player, etc. - like many of us here. I usually record acoustic, electric, uke, some vocals, other random little things. I hope to start providing demo-quality recording services for some musicians in the neighborhood at some point. What are the best applications for this mic, and how does it compare to the other C414s?

edit: rats -- seems like it's busted. I just get bunch of whooshing and hissing sounds through it. I guess I'll open it up.

 

[pipelineaudio]

if that mic works you got a KILLER score

Its a lot like the other 414's. Not quite as bright in the voice range as the 414 TL-II but fine for vocals nonetheless (especially in figure 8 mode)

The 414 series are like the 57's of condensers. Real workhorses with an extreme variety of uses. There are many situations where perhaps the 414 wouldnt be the BEST possible mic, but few or none where it would be a bad choice

 

[antichef]

cool! I'm thinking it doesn't work though. Do we know anyone who works on these? I did open it up, and not seeing anything obviously wrong (but definitely seeing a level of complexity that far exceeded my fledgling skillset), I found that I was barely even able to get the casing back in place -- it was such a tight fit.

Alternatively, can anyone think of a reason why I would be hearing no sound when I tap on the grill (phantom power engaged ), with the pad and low cut switches completely off, and in any polar pattern? Without phantom power, there's no sound at all, but with phantom power, I hear hissy whooshing, and when I jiggle the XLR cable, I get popping and more whooshing.

edit: if I wiggle the XLR cable (there seems to be some play there), I can hold it in a particular spot and get some sound to actually come through the mic - it's strangely low output and has a hiss, though, and if I let go of the peculiar way I'm holding the cable, the sound goes away. I think the whooshing may be my preamp -- that's the sound it makes when phantom power is engaged, but there's no mic attached to the cable. So maybe this is as simple as a problem with the XLR connector? I'll have another look.

 

[pohaku]

Working used ones in good condition go for $500-600 or so. You have some margin to play with here. For what you paid, it would be worth getting a repair estimate. Swiss army knife multi-pattern LD condenser.

 

[nuemes]

It's worth getting fixed if you can do it under $250.

In my experience the C414ULS is very good:

1. Under a snare when using sticks
2. Pointed at the snare when using brushes
3. Over-Head and room mic for drums
4. Acoustic guitar (better for soloing rather than rhythm)
5. Clean guitar amps

 

[antichef]

update: I decided to unscrew the xlr connector and I pulled it out gently with pliers -- a red wire and a black wire were attached to two of pins (the black was on pin 1, and the red was on I think 3 could have been 2), but that was it -- looking up into the barrel, I could see a white wire, but couldn't pull it down. I took off one of the little circuit boards, and saw that the white wire was hooked over something - once I unhooked it, I was able to pull it down to the same length/position as the red and the black, and then I soldered it on the empty pin. That is the strangest thing - I wonder how that could have happened.

Works much better now - I knew those XLR pins were key (check out antichef! just a few weeks ago replacing a ribbon mic transformer for the first time, and now he fixed a C414!! Next, I get cocky and irreversibly damage my favorite piece of equipment).

This seems like a mic that needs to warm up for a few minutes? At first, it seemed to be distorting a little with louder noises, or even when I tapped the grill, but that went away after awhile.

Needless to say, for that price I didn't get any accessories. The mic rests gently in the shockmount that came with the ACM-4 in the group buy, but I bet it would pull through if someone stepped on the cable. Anyway, I'll start using it!

 

[kristian]

so what you're saying is - somewhere in houston there was a $99 414buls and it isn't in my hands? Congrats on the repair. The 414buls is my go to mic for everything. not all repairs are that easy though

 

[antichef]

yup - houston. This shop usually doesn't have much, but it's close to my house. Usually those places seem like they do a quick web search, and then mark an item for whatever the "new" street price is, expecting to bargain later - but this particular place doesn't alway seem to get it - they had an MXL 990 for about a year that they wanted $79.99 for - I told them a few times that I'd buy it for like $30, but they wouldn't budge. I finally gave up and didn't go back for awhile, but today I thought I'd see if they'd finally marked it down. It wasn't there, but instead there was the AKG. I didn't try to talk them down this time just quietly got them to get it out of the case - asked them if it had been tested (heh, he said yes, and of course I didn't really care, just trying seem less euphoric) and paid the $99 it was marked at -- maybe someone there knew it didn't work or something.

But you're right about the repair - the insides of that mic were orders of magnitude more complicated than what I've messed with before.

 

[Soundmind??]

OK read carefully. That type of mic will probably result in your electrocution. I read on a forum that the C414 was verrrry dangerous on the models that had a loose white wire on the xlr connector. WARNING, you must send the mic to me! I can safely dispose of it, and out of my good will, I will pay shipping costs and disposal fees! BUT YOU MUST ACT NOW!!! THIS IS A LIMITED TIME OFFER AND FAILURE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISPOSE OF A DANGEROUS PIECE OF GEAR MAY RESULT IN DISCORD, OFF PITCH SINGING, OUT OF TUNE GEAR, AND LOSS OF LIFE!

hehehe, congratulations on the great deal and doing a little work that someone else should have thought of.

 

[antichef]

heh - funny, and a little ironic, since down in the guitar forum I actually am about to get electrocuted

 

[antichef]

It's OK to re-animate your own ancient threads isn't it?

Anyway, I use that C414B-ULS all the time, so I just got another one on ebay. The match isn't perfect (even using my low tech matching technique), but is well withing my personal tolerance. The ebay one wasn't nearly so cheap as the first one I got, but it works off the bat - it's got some paint blisters on it that weren't obvious in the photos (did it get hot? cold?), but that's no big deal.

The only drawback is that these are mics that genuinely do seem to want phantom power at it's full spec, and not too many of my pres will do that (none that have well matching channels, in fact). I've been using an inline phantom supply, but it only supports one mic. Does this mean I have to get a new 2+ channel pre?

 

[drBill]

AC, I've got a 2 channel phantom power unit for sale if you need one.... $40 shipped.

bp

 

[antichef]

PM sent - thanks!!

 

[nuemes]

What did you pay for the eBay C414uls?

 

[pohaku]

I've had a standing offer to buy a pair of C414B-ULS mics at a very decent price (NOT as good a price as AC) from a friend for quite some time and I've never been able to rationalize doing so. They would pretty much be used as instrument mics as I've never been that enamored of them for vocals for most people (granted they work well for some), but I've already got pairs of AT-4050s and Beyer MC834s as well as a bunch of SD condensers and dynamics for instruments. Any one care to be an enabler to my addiction and convince me that I really should buy these?

 

[antichef]

The ebay one was $455 all in (free shipping). I've been watching the closing price on these (and other mics) over the last year, and they're trending downward a little - must be the economy. I don't think I saw any below $500 a year ago.

I don't have any experience with the 4050, alas, but I do have a 4040, so if you'll indulge me in a comparison -- the 4040 is usually better on vocals. I've only tried the 414 on a few voices (like 4), and the only one it excelled with was my 2 year old. Clinical sounding is not the right word - more like taking a "glamor shot" photo with the light being a little too bright -- the 4040 is a dimmer, more flattering light in comparison. I bet the 414 would be great with a great voice (as would a lot of mics)

But it was also my 2 year old who really sold me on the 414 in other ways - her mic technique is ... (it's not fair to use that term with a 2 year old) - the mic can be shouted into point blank, get all kinds of off axis action, take a really wide dynamic range, etc., and still produce a very high quality track - it's got to be the most forgiving mic I have in terms of difficult sources. She had a harmonica (before she was even two) and paced around the room wildly in small and large circles, facing all different directions, and the mic just soaked it up -- I applied gain in different places, and the track evened out beautifully. It's also great at recording just about any source where you're not sure what to do -- the sound of falling rain (under the dry cover of your porch, of course ) - gorgeous -- etc. etc. had enough?

 

[Nakatira]

Used the 414 as overheads this weekend, matched pair.
Damn they sounded good.
will try em on guitars.


btw nice catch on the 100$ one

 

[Ironklad Audio]

I've had a standing offer to buy a pair of C414B-ULS mics at a very decent price (NOT as good a price as AC) from a friend for quite some time and I've never been able to rationalize doing so. They would pretty much be used as instrument mics as I've never been that enamored of them for vocals for most people (granted they work well for some), but I've already got pairs of AT-4050s and Beyer MC834s as well as a bunch of SD condensers and dynamics for instruments. Any one care to be an enabler to my addiction and convince me that I really should buy these?

no, but if the price is right, i might take one off his hands...

 

[Crash80]

The ebay one was $455 all in (free shipping). I've been watching the closing price on these (and other mics) over the last year, and they're trending downward a little - must be the economy. I don't think I saw any below $500 a year ago.

I don't have any experience with the 4050, alas, but I do have a 4040, so if you'll indulge me in a comparison -- the 4040 is usually better on vocals. I've only tried the 414 on a few voices (like 4), and the only one it excelled with was my 2 year old. Clinical sounding is not the right word - more like taking a "glamor shot" photo with the light being a little too bright -- the 4040 is a dimmer, more flattering light in comparison. I bet the 414 would be great with a great voice (as would a lot of mics)

But it was also my 2 year old who really sold me on the 414 in other ways - her mic technique is ... (it's not fair to use that term with a 2 year old) - the mic can be shouted into point blank, get all kinds of off axis action, take a really wide dynamic range, etc., and still produce a very high quality track - it's got to be the most forgiving mic I have in terms of difficult sources. She had a harmonica (before she was even two) and paced around the room wildly in small and large circles, facing all different directions, and the mic just soaked it up -- I applied gain in different places, and the track evened out beautifully. It's also great at recording just about any source where you're not sure what to do -- the sound of falling rain (under the dry cover of your porch, of course ) - gorgeous -- etc. etc. had enough?

I have a 414-B/ULS that I got for a whopping $250 that has a little bit of history. It was the bottom snare mic on the first two Mr. Big albums. It is a great mic for many applications though on vocals I tend to find it sort of sterile sounding, for lack of a better word. It never sucks on a vocal but can be sort of bland compared to some other mics in my collection. I would love to buy one broken for $99 you can't go wrong. The part where you said it sort of needs to warms up for a few minutes makes me think it still has some issues of some sort though. I would still consider sending it off to AKG or some other mic guru fixer type and have him go through it and see if there is something still a bit off with it.

 

[antichef]

I have a 414-B/ULS that I got for a whopping $250 that has a little bit of history. It was the bottom snare mic on the first two Mr. Big albums. It is a great mic for many applications though on vocals I tend to find it sort of sterile sounding, for lack of a better word. It never sucks on a vocal but can be sort of bland compared to some other mics in my collection. I would love to buy one broken for $99 you can't go wrong. The part where you said it sort of needs to warms up for a few minutes makes me think it still has some issues of some sort though. I would still consider sending it off to AKG or some other mic guru fixer type and have him go through it and see if there is something still a bit off with it.

I should have updated that -- I think the warmup problem was really that I was running at sub-spec phantom power. When I supply a fulsome and manly voltage to it, it's good from the get-go. $250 is a great price - especially for one with an interesting past!