Gearank Recommendation
The C214 first appeared on our recommended list for Microphones for Recording Acoustic Guitar from January 2016 until July 2018.
It also appeared on our recommended list for Vocal Studio Mics from October 2016 until October 2018 when it was removed due to being out-ranked by other mics.
Overview
The AKG C214 is a large diaphragm cardioid pattern microphone with an elegant looking exterior.
Studio Recording
AKG describes it as a more streamlined version of the C414, with the main difference being the C214’s single-diaphragm design and Cardioid only polar pattern.
Interestingly, this limitation and the lower price point made the C214 very popular, especially for those who want a quick and easy to setup solution for recording vocals.
Recording Guitars
Although mostly used for recoding vocals, the AKG C214’s ability to capture sonic nuances has made it a favorite mic for recording acoustic guitars.
For a large diaphragm condenser mic, the AKG C214 has an impressively high max SPL of 156dB (with the built-in pad), which makes this mic capable of handling loud acoustic guitar strumming and is even known to work quite well with guitar amps.
There’s nothing really outstanding about it on paper, but the AKG C214’s workhorse worthy quality makes it a great mic for recording acoustic guitars in both live and studio scenarios. And it’s interesting how they crammed all its features inside a compact form factor that is only 0.62 lbs light.
Being a large diaphragm condenser, this mic can handle a wide variety of sound sources, even those with increased low frequencies – so you’re actually getting an all around mic and not just a good mic for acoustic guitars.
Check this one out if you’re into playing soft and expressive lines or if you want to recreate the boom of your jumbo or dreadnought acoustic.
Specifications
- Type: Condenser
- Polar Pattern: Cardioid
- Frequency Response: 20 to 20,000 Hz
- Impedance: 200 ohms
- Maximum SPL: 136 dB
- Attenuation Pad: 20 dB
- Low-cut Filters: 160Hz, 6dB/Octave
- Power Requirements: 12V to 52V phantom power