AKG C414 Positions -- HELP Please !

[OgnKog]

Hi all,

I've just bought a C414 that i want to use as an allround mic. The thing is that it comes with for possible positions (cardioid, hyper, omni and figure 8).

How should i use this positions, i mean, in what kind of situations ???

Tenkiu.

[Slim Shady]

You'll most likely want to use the cardiod position for most of your close-mic type recording (vocals, guitars etc.) The hyper-cardiod is just a even more directional version of the cardiod, with greater rear-axis rejection.

The other patterns come in handy more when doing special application recording, like using 2 mics to get a stereo field etc. That's not to say you shouldn't experiment with the patterns and find what you think sounds best for any application. Do a search on the web for "microphone polar patterns" - you should be able to find some articles that discuss each pattern in detail, and probably some suggestions on when to use them.

Here's a place to start, although it's not very in depth:
http://www.valleyaudio.com/tcsoundwe...20Patterns.htm

Good luck,

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Slim

[OgnKog]

Thanks, it's been really helpfull.

[Conscious Structure]

the Figure 8 setting is good for vocal duets, and also for Mid-Side stereo micing. A trick where you use a Figure 8 and a Cardiod together.
Slim explained the cardiod functions pretty well. The Hypercardiod is good if you have a lot of other crap going on in the tracking room. Also good for extra rejection in a drum kit. Also, the omni is also very good for acoustic guitar, it lets you mic the guitar very closely. Cardiod my be preferable for acoustic guitar depending on what sound you're going for. Expiriment though. Have fun.

[lwilliam]

I use my 414 in the regular cardiod position about 95% of the time. Next most often used setting is hyper-cardiod, then probably omni and bi-directional. Since my room has a bit of computer noise in it (even though the Mac is in a closet), I don't use omni very often - even though it's probably the smoothest pattern.

If I use the hyper-cardiod, I often use the 75 or 150hz filter to reduce the proximity effect (which is more than on cardiod).

Try vocals at about 8-12" in cardiod - with a nylon mesh pop screen.


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LW

[This message has been edited by lwilliam (edited May 03, 2001).]