AKG C 414 on electric guitar?

[thehymns]

A lot of people rave about this mic, and I want to know how it does on electric guitar. I can't afford two at the moment to use as drum overhead, although I hear they excel at that application. Also, if they are good for electric guitar, which version is best for that application? How are they on vocals compared to the KSM32...different would be nice (dull like a SM7 would be exceptional...)

I gave up on finding a dynamic that would sound better then a SM57 or MD421...I don't think there is one that will have a dramatic difference.

 

[Dot]

The 414 excels at recording acoustic instruments, whether it be on a drum kit, piano, acoustic guitar, etc. And for amps 414's can do well with cleaner tones, like those coming off of a Roland Jazz Chorus or a clean setting on a Fender amp. But if you want to put a mic on a cranked distorted amp for rock, that's not really where a 414 shines.

For general purpose I'd recommend the B-ULS version, which also has a transformer. There are still a few around at dealers for around $600. I've seen pairs go for $1200 - so maybe you could swing a pair of those instead of getting one the newer X models which run about $1K each. Look on Ebay, too. If you found a good deal on a pair of transformerless TLII's they'd be worth getting.

On vocals, 414's can be some of the best mics on the right people. They can also sound lackluster and flat on the wrong singers. I'd say the ratio of people who sound great singing on a 414 is about 10% or 20%, and those are exactly the people who aren't going to sound as good on many other mics. The main reason to buy a 414 (or a pair) is because they work so well on so many applications. A true studio workhorse. And then you have it around for the smaller % of vocalists they work perfectly on.

Hope that helps.

 

[nuemes]

I recently recorded a surf guitar tune through a twin, clean with reverb using a C414uls and wasn't as happy with the tone as with a SM57. The SM57 was much more focused and brought the guitar out front whereas the C414 made it sound bland.

The C414 excells on acoustic material because it can handle a wide frequency range. For electric guitar to fit in a mix there are better choices.

 

[ewegogetemtiger]

personally, it would have to be a dark amp tone for me to put a 414 in front of it. At least in my recording space.

I've been exceptionally happy with the 414 when trying to record a darkish classical and all kinds of percussion and as a S in M/S config. on all kinds of steel string guitars...

It's a great mic but on a guitar amp it would not be high on my list of possible mics.

 

[CCS]

I prefer dynamics for close micing electric guitar amps and only use a 414 placed further away to pick up room ambience. The 414 isn't my choice for a close up mic. A SM57 sounds better, as well as other dynamics.

 

[analogelectric]

I agree with CCS. I found the C414 to be a great companion mic for a dual mic setup but not really great for a single mic setup.

To me I find the C414 to be brittle but that attribute works well for certain applications. When I had a pair I worked with them quite a bit before favoring other choices like Neumann KM184's, Neumann CMV563's, and SHURE SM81's for overheads.

The C414 is far from "dull" (to my ears - like I said) and 9 times out 10 ten I don't use a condenser on a guitar cab. For room ambience I'll place a condenser several feet away but not as a close mic (but it does depend on the tones involved). For blues/jazz I'll use a condenser alone but even still it's a good foot or more away from the cab.

A Neumann TLM103 is a condenser that sounded like a dynamic mic (to me based on a "mic shootout" I did several years ago). It's not DARK but it is flat. The closest I've heard (condenser-wise) that's closer to the SM7 is the Oktava 219 (I think that's the model number) but it sounded too dumpy (the mids were kinda farty).

If you're looking for a slightly larger range, utilize more than one mic while tracking guitar (if you can). Approach it where one mic gets the highs/mids and the other gets the mids/lows.

-- Adam Lazlo