AKG – C414

A multi-pattern microphone allows you to dial in a particular sound right at its source. If you’re going for a natural character, choose a wider pattern; for a more direct, “in-your-face” quality, lean toward the hypercardioid pattern. The XLS’ rocking switch rotates through omni, wide cardioid, cardioid, hypercardioid, bidirectional figure-8, and four intermediate settings for a total of nine patterns, for more flexibility than typical 3-to-5-pattern mics. With the C 414 XLS, you can always go a little narrower to add a heightened sense of reality or eliminate bleed from surrounding sources when recording an ensemble. Plus, the plethora of pickup patterns on the C 414 XLS makes it possible to place multiple mics in X-Y stereo, middle/side setups, ORTF pairs, Blumlein pairs, or even a Decca Tree configuration.