which akg 414?

by **Simon B** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:25 am

Hi all.

Stupid question #800345

whats the difference between the 2 414's the xl II as well as the XLS

and which one do people think are better for guitars. and what is the sound quality between the 2?

I have tried doing a few net searches and havent found a decent differnce between the 2.

the akg webpage describes them as one is instrument and one is solo. would that mean just a different mid range

so one "sits" bette in the mix?

any help wouldbe really apreiated....

thankyou kindly

by **rick** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:47 am

i have never been able to get a akg 414 to "sit in a mix" without a hoard of eq in my life
its a pity they are made so well and look so cool or i would have stopped trying in 1985

i would suggest if your not an old neumann mic kind of guy ( or willing to get into debt to be one ) you look at those little blue mics that cost about the same as the as the akg414 and do a much nicer job

by **jkhuri44** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:47 am

would they be the skm 140s?

by **rick** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:55 am

i would have to see the pictures of them because i dont own any
but the ones i have used i was told were designed to
compete with the 414 , i have used them on piano and acoustic guitar very sucessfully
and they sounded great smack up the side of a snare drum ( which is the only thing i will still use a 414 for )

by **jkhuri44** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:57 am

not sure if thats blue enough 8)

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop_imag ... 9f8ee2.jpg

by **rick** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 2:05 am

nah the one i am thinking of looks like a little critter

by **Kurt** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 2:57 am

This perhaps? Dragonfly

by **TimS** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 10:42 am

Blue mics have had several reviews in AT (Issue 22 did the BabyBottle) along the way also - sounds like pretty good mics to have available..
TimS..

by **rick** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:26 pm

hey that blue website was informative it lists the dragonfly with all the characteristics of and above mentioned
414 but its not what i have used
i have used the "mouse " several times thinking it had those 414 charateristics, it lists the mouse as the same kind of charatacteristics as a fet 47 ( this is reading between the lines)
so there i am using it as a 414 and it sounds nice to me
and blue are hawking it as a fet 47 ( which is is not even close to )

either way i stand by my thoughts if your shopping for a 414 and your not sure about things try out the blue mouse and see if it floats your boat

by **Simon B** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 5:31 pm

Thanks heaps........

the main reason I asked is because with the price of the australain dollar at the moment either of the 414 can be delivered for less the $1000 au from ebay.... and when I lasted check that is cheaper then buying from the wholesaler....

I try very much to support australian but that is alot of extra money that I cant afford .....

my all time fav mic is a fet u47.... ooooh. everytime I put money away to get one I get distracted by the next bargain and never get there.... and then when I get close I cant find any.......

I will have a real good look at the blue mics.... are they the same company as violet?

thanks heaps for the replies.very much apreciated

by **davemc** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 6:26 pm

Do a google search on Blue vs Violet there is a lot of stuff going back and forwards with who desgined them to start with. Seems real messy.

Mic shopping is hard if you only want to buy one mic to record all types of vocals. I am think off getting a 414 myself for home use do not mind them. You can get them locally around $1k of Alan Chan ebay guy now. Although I think for teh amount of work I am doing at the moment might try some cheaper AT or SP mic. Although I hate harsh top ended boosted cheap mics.

by **mal stanley** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 7:59 pm

I've used 414s for the past 20 odd years and they are good for some things..& not others..the older silver 414's had really good capsules and a bright character thqt could work well on percussion, toms.,acoustic guitars.....
the newer ones are quite different in design..the ULB's are fairly flat in freq response and can work well on close mic'd piano for example..& more classical recording applications..the TL11's are designed for applications like vocals..can work well as drum oheads...they're designed with a built in HF lift....horses for courses but both can have their applications for a reasonable price..eps with a good preamp..I use the 414TL11 through the UA 610...

by **heathen** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 10:26 am

I just bought a Blue Kiwi for a great price, should be here next week hopefully. Really keen to try this one.

Been using a new 414 bxl II for a few months, works quite well for some vocalists, not so great on others.

which akg 414?

which akg 414?

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