AKG has just released a new line of microphones that are aimed at the first-time mic buyer. You may ask yourself: Would these mics stand up to daily use by an experienced engineer in a professional-level studio? Absolutely yes. I really don’t care how much a microphone costs, and I certainly have a few low-cost options that get used regularly with great results. As long as it is useful and reliable, I am into it.
Out of the box, both the C114 and C104 feel impressive in the hand. All the connections are solid, the windscreen is flawless, and the metalwork is excellent. Both mics bear a family resemblance to the venerable AKG C414, but imagine that classic AKG mic elongated – a simple and classy design. The C114 features a transformerless FET circuit and has switchable polar pattern options of cardioid, omni, and figure-of-eight. The C104 also has a transformerless FET circuit but is cardioid only. The C114 features an edge-terminated, gold-sputtered large diaphragm capsule. The C104’s capsule is a nickel-sputtered design. The C114 has a max SPL of 145 dB, and the C104 a max SPL of 143 dB. The C114 comes with a cradle-style shock mount, and the C104 has a simple mic stand attachment that screws onto the bottom of the mic itself.
For my first dip into the C114, I put it up on a stand for some tom overdubs using a BURL B1D preamp [Tape Op #111]. The mic didn’t leave the drums for several days. It captured plenty of detail and good depth of tone, and without much fuss the track fell right into the mix. For another experiment, I put the C104 in front of my Vox AC30, which generally has a Shure SM57 living in front of it. Again, this mic sounded great. I liked the detail and body of the sound but was especially pleased not to hear a hyped sizzle in the top end – an issue I have with many budget condenser mics.
I approached using both these mics in a manner that a budding engineer might be forced to. If you have only one mic, it better sound pretty dang good on lots of things. So, I proceeded to make an entire track that used only the C114: electric guitars, acoustic guitars, single mic in front of the drums, shakers, tambourine, and vocals. Results were on point, and I was impressed that a mic this good could be sold for so little. In the quest for answers, I spoke with AKG product manager Phil Feinman about the design choices and the cost-conscious decisions that went into bringing these two products to market. Phil was the head designer for Telefunken Elektroakustik for years, so he has experience producing solid products. One point of note is that these microphones are about 80 percent sustainable by weight. All metal for the microphone bodies is 100 percent recycled, the sturdy boxes they come in are 100 percent recycled pulp, the tray is made from sugarcane waste, the “plastic” bags the mics come in are made of corn product, the limited printed materials use soy ink, and instead of including an extensive manual on the mics, a QR code sends you to a website with all of the relevant information. Another cost-cutting measure is that these mics have no pads or filters. This omission is also specific to the target audience. If you are a beginner buying a low-cost mic, do you need these options? To that end, both mics are tuned in a balanced way that will be useful for many applications. The C104 and C114 are not quite as “hot” as some microphones I have in the studio, but these days even budget interfaces have plenty of gain, so this is not an issue.
Both the C114 and C104 have the smooth top end character of their premier microphone relatives in the C414 family. Is it apples to apples? No. But as I mentioned earlier, the high end of both these microphones is natural and smooth with a touch of air. Neither are hyped sounding, and they handled compression well without falling apart sonically.
I would not hesitate to keep at least one of these mics up on a stand in the studio for grab-and-go, meat-and-potatoes overdubs. It’s also nice to be able to use them on drums and not have to worry too much about them getting hit by a drumstick or being abused by an inexperienced artist. Since I frequently loan mics out to artists recording themselves – or friends just trying to figure it all out – these will also come in handy in that application.
I would have guessed that these mics were quite a bit more expensive than they are, and I expect to see them showing up in both home and commercial studios, plus in podcasts and voiceovers. Well done, AKG.