RECORDING STEREO! Twin AKG C214s or Two Blue Dragonfly Mics?

[saxrmc]

I was all set to buy a Stereo Matched Pair of AKG C214's to record stereo. I have had an AKG C414 XLS already and like it so this seemed like a logical step. But then, a friend told me to definitely not do that. He said that recently, Blue dropped the prices with their Dragonfly mics and that I could get two of those at about the same price as the Twin AKG's and they have a much cleaner sound and are better products. What do you think? PRO's vs. CON's?

P.S.The use for these will be all purpose from vocals to saxophones to acoustic guitars to overhead.

P.P.S. Thank You!

[mjau]

I haven't used a 214, but know 414's pretty well, and have used a Dragonfly a bit, too. The D'fly seemed more midrangey and aggressive, at least on guitar and bass amps, so I'm not sure if I'd like it as a mainstay for drum overheads (though it'd rock sometimes).
For what it's worth...

[norton]

Don't know about the akg's.... but the pickup pattern on the dragonfly's are kind of weird for stereo mic-ing, I think.

To me it seemed like they have an elongated, but narrow cariod pickup pattern.

Which might be perfect, but I found it to be a little strange on a drum kit. But I really like km184's as over heads....so that might just be a deep seeded personal problem of mine.

Not to bash the dragonfly.... just be ware that it's a different kind of mic. Also, it has a presence boost going on that can tend to make things tracked with it jump out of the mix.

[Nick Sevilla]

I was all set to buy a Stereo Matched Pair of AKG C214's to record stereo. I have had an AKG C414 XLS already and like it so this seemed like a logical step. But then, a friend told me to definitely not do that. He said that recently, Blue dropped the prices with their Dragonfly mics and that I could get two of those at about the same price as the Twin AKG's and they have a much cleaner sound and are better products. What do you think? PRO's vs. CON's?

P.S.The use for these will be all purpose from vocals to saxophones to acoustic guitars to overhead.

P.P.S. Thank You!

Buy another AKG 414 XLS, and IGNORE your friend's advice. He's on crack. The reason Blue mics are cheap now is that the company WENT BROKE and got bought out by someone else. That's the real reason.

The AKG 214's have only ONE pattern (cardioid) so they're not as useful.

I personally do not like any of Blue's mics, especially after I found out they "modify" old Neumann U47s, basically gutting them and turning them into pieces of crap. The insides are empty, with a tiny effing tube in it, and they sell them as "fully restored" what bullshit. Anyone that does that is dishonest... oh, I also have a famous friend that bought one of their store Blues (I think it was the mouse, or the horsefly, whatever) and never really could find a use for it. Gave it away to another friend.

Called me biased...

I'm still looking for a second AKG 414 B ULS so I can have a pair. these have a transformer in them, so they do have a "sound" to them, as opposed to the XLS' which are more transparent.

Cheers

[saxrmc]

Buy another AKG 414 XLS, and IGNORE your friend's advice. He's on crack. The reason Blue mics are cheap now is that the company WENT BROKE and got bought out by someone else. That's the real reason.

The AKG 214's have only ONE pattern (cardioid) so they're not as useful.

I personally do not like any of Blue's mics, especially after I found out they "modify" old Neumann U47s, basically gutting them and turning them into pieces of crap. The insides are empty, with a tiny effing tube in it, and they sell them as "fully restored" what bullshit. Anyone that does that is dishonest... oh, I also have a famous friend that bought one of their store Blues (I think it was the mouse, or the horsefly, whatever) and never really could find a use for it. Gave it away to another friend.

Called me biased...

I'm still looking for a second AKG 414 B ULS so I can have a pair. these have a transformer in them, so they do have a "sound" to them, as opposed to the XLS' which are more transparent.

Cheers

I know what you are saying with just buying another 414 and was initially going to do that when someone first recommended a factory matched set of 214's. A) I bought the 414 a while ago so wouldn't be able to get a close serial number for stereo recording and B) I don't use all the patterns that much anyway and I didn't want to pay for something I don't really use. So I figured now I would have 3 mics (my 414 and now possibly the 214 set) for the same price as two, and two would be matched. But as with many things, I could be wrong. Thanks again to everyone for their advice.

[Ryan Silva]

Blue mics are cheap now is that the company WENT BROKE and got bought out by someone else. That's the real reason.

I have a Red Type A (same as blue) and yes blowouts are happening all over the place, doesn?t mean there crap however. They just tried to make way to many different models.

I agree two 414's (transformer or not) will be way more useful in the long run.

I use the Omni patterns from my two 414 buls's about 50% of the time. I just couldn?t live without the pattern options.

Although I love having the Red Type A (same as Blue Stage Two), it's really more of a 'Wild Card' mic. If I'm going for a 'different' sound, or trying to mach an odd vocal, it has come in handy, but they do sound unusual on usual sources.....if that makes any sence.

[saxrmc]

All great advice so far. Anybody else want to put in their two cents for team Dragonfly or team AKG?

[Nick Sevilla]

I know what you are saying with just buying another 414 and was initially going to do that when someone first recommended a factory matched set of 214's. A) I bought the 414 a while ago so wouldn't be able to get a close serial number for stereo recording and B) I don't use all the patterns that much anyway and I didn't want to pay for something I don't really use. So I figured now I would have 3 mics (my 414 and now possibly the 214 set) for the same price as two, and two would be matched. But as with many things, I could be wrong. Thanks again to everyone for their advice.

Here's a little secret : Serial numbers have nothing to do with how close mics sound.

It's a myth. Pure and simple.

I have several pairs of factory mics, AKG, Neumann, AT, and I know if I try to "match them" scientifically, it would be a waste of time. What I do is that if they sound close enough, then there we go. Usually you can tell right away if they are too different sounding.

The reason my stereo pairs sound very close is only due to the fact that they are made in a close enough time span to facilitate their sounding very close. They also get used at the same time, mostly, so they are exposed to the same environment and SPLs at the same time. This makes them age equally. Therefore they stay sounding similar throughout their life.

Try buying another 414. If it does sound too different, sell it, and get another one. Until you do get one that sounds close to the one you have. The reason yours will sound different, is because it is used.

Mics will sound different based on how they are used and taken care of, abused or not, lots of moisture or not, etc. But definitely will not sound different because they have different serial numbers.

Cheers

[digitaldrummer]

+1 for the AKG 414's.

I have a pair of 414b-uls. They are great drum overheads, great stereo room mics, and great vocal mics (pair one with a UA-160 or LA-610 and you'll know what I mean) - heck they are great on anything. I used one up over a flute once and it was perfect. By the way mine are not a "matched" pair, in fact I bought them used at different times (at least one of them through TapeOp) but it's never been an issue for me.

I believe that the current C214's are also of the "mass-produced surface mount disposable variety" where as the 414B-uls are not (although these are the one mic I have never disassembled to look inside - I never had any reason - they are excellent as is). not that it makes a sound-difference (although I'm sure some will say it does), but it does make it more difficult to repair them if needed.

so get another 414.

Mike

[AK Audio]

I owned a brand new stereo pair of BLUE Dragonfly mic's for about a year. I tried them out on a variety of sources, and had fairly mixed results.

I don't know much about the history/business of BLUE, but I have an older Mouse that is AMAZING. The build quality is superb, and the capsule rotates smoothly. My Dragonfly's were a bit less precision-crafted. The capsules also 'squeaked' when they rotated.

As for sound - I used them as drum OH's several times and was pleased with the results. I would describe them as a rather "aggressive" rock sound. I very much preferred them to some 414's in cardioid (not sure the model suffix) in the same application! It also makes a killer room mic.

I also used a single Dragonfly on acoustic & nylon guitars paired with an API 312 & US 2-610. Sounded great, and cut right through without sounding harsh. The rotating capsule makes placement VERY easy for this application.

I favor the Mouse over the Dragonfly for vocals (and kick drum). I eventually sold the fly's because I found I didn't have a use for the stereo pair and didn't want to split them up. I've recently seen some on Craigslist for as low as $350 - someday I plan to pick one up as a mono OH or acoustic guitar mic.

I would assume that it might be a cool mic for Saxophone, but couldn't speak from experience there. Not my flavor for vocals though.