Has anyone used an AKG C414B XLS on a boom?

thisisapocalypse

thisisapocalypse

Well-known member
Hi everyone, I came across an AKG C414B XLS and I'm considering picking it up since it has 5 different polar patterns built in, which might make it a really handy mic to have on my production (starting a feature shoot in January). I was wondering if anyone had used one of these microphones on a boom for interior dialogue using the hypercardiod setting and the results you experienced.

Thanks!
 
That's a rather big / heavy mic to boom with. You're looking at a side-address large-diaphragm condenser, it's not designed with any consideration to sound for picture.
 
It could work, even if it's a little on the heavy side. It sure is a helluva lot lighter than a U87...

But if you're buying a mic specifically for booming on an indoor film shoot I'd go for something else, like a good dedicated hypercardioid. For VO and music recording the 414's great.
 
Ted Spencer said:
It could work, even if it's a little on the heavy side. It sure is a helluva lot lighter than a U87...

But if you're buying a mic specifically for booming on an indoor film shoot I'd go for something else, like a good dedicated hypercardioid. For VO and music recording the 414's great.
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Thanks, I've been looking at dedicated hypercardiods and I will have an Oktava MK-012 w/Hyper cap for this shoot, I was just thinking that it might be handy to have an extra mic with multi-pattern capability in case we end up shooting in an odd room or space where having some additional capability might turn out useful...and since it looks like this AKG has excellent sound quality, I was curious as to whether or not I would move it ahead of the line for indoor dialogue over the Oktava.
 
JordanBlock said:
You could look into AKG's Blue Line, its a modular system with a wide variety of capsules available.
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Indeed, it doesn't look bad. I've listened to some test clips and found I like the response of some other mics better...I will more than likely pick up a Rode NT3 to go along with the setup I have and test it against the Oktava. For the outdoor shoots I'm using an NTG-3, and it seems like the NT3 may pair well with that, but I also like the grittyness and sparkle of the Oktava.

I was just mostly curious if folks had used the aforementioned big AKG on video shoots before...and specifically on a boom...it's definitely big but I like the sound quality of it from the test clips I've heard. I'm guessing I might have real trouble with handling noise however if I stuck that on a boom, the more that I think about it now. It's a low budget shoot and I may end up with only semi-experienced boom operators, so the better a mic responds to handling noise, the better for this shoot.
 
thisisapocalypse said:
Indeed, it doesn't look bad. I've listened to some test clips and found I like the response of some other mics better...I will more than likely pick up a Rode NT3 to go along with the setup I have and test it against the Oktava. For the outdoor shoots I'm using an NTG-3, and it seems like the NT3 may pair well with that, but I also like the grittyness and sparkle of the Oktava.

I was just mostly curious if folks had used the aforementioned big AKG on video shoots before...and specifically on a boom...it's definitely big but I like the sound quality of it from the test clips I've heard. I'm guessing I might have real trouble with handling noise however if I stuck that on a boom, the more that I think about it now. It's a low budget shoot and I may end up with only semi-experienced boom operators, so the better a mic responds to handling noise, the better for this shoot.
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Just FYI - the NT3 is also a big (ish) and fairly heavy mic to put out on the end of a fishpole boom. When it's out on the end of a 12 foot lever arm being held over the head of the boom operator and precisely aimed for the duration of the scene, every ounce matters.

Better bets ....
AKG SE300B/CK93
Audio Technica AT4053b
AKG C480/CK63
Sanken CS3
Sennheiser MKH8050
Schoeps CMC641
 
The 414B, being a large diaphragm condenser, will be very prone to handling noise (even with a good shock-mount) and "wind;" just the motion of moving it a foot or two would be enough...

BTW, I own the 414BUL/S and like it a lot, but would never consider sticking it on a boom, it's rather delicate.
 
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