A highly subjective comparison between an AKG C214, AKG C414, Neumann U87 and AKG C12. Artist | Zoë Phillips Engineer | Andy Land I recommend listening on studio monitors or professional headphones, with at least 720p resolution or you'll struggle to hear the difference --- Notes --- I tried to keep the mic position relatively constant for all recordings, but this is a comparison, not a scientific experiment. What sounds great here may not sound great with a different singer and different location. There is no EQ or Compression in this mix, only reverb has been added. The piano was close mic'd with an AKG C451 at the hammers, and two C414 B-XLSs in the middle and tail. The aim of this session was to record these 4 tracks, rather than this video. --- My (highly subjective) Impressions --- - C214 Probably my favourite, plenty of top end, and works well with Zoë's vocals. Also very affordable for this kind of quality - C414 Relatively plain and uninteresting? Doesn't stand out that much, but I'll still use it. - U87 Pretty bad. It sounds dull and really lacks any HF. It could be the age of the microphone, but for over £2000 it should sound better. - C12 It's the standard valve mic for vocals, and one I've used on almost every recording so far. It sounds great (but it could be because it's following the U87), but I'm not sure it offers anything else above the C214, and is far more effort to setup... --- Songs ---- 1) Calvin Harris - 'Feel So Close' youtu.be 2) Zoë Phillips <b>...</b>
AKG Acoustics
Human Voice
1080p
Recording
Sound
Zoë
Phillips
female
vocals
neumann
u87
c414
c214
c12
valve
condenser
microphone
comparison
shootout
institute
of
tonmeister
andy
land
andrew
Session
Audio
Studios
