Topic: AKG c460 thoughts...

[Nick's Picks]

afaik, the 451s can't run the ck6x caps.

[Celac]

afaik, the 451s can't run the ck6x caps.

That is correct, it is the other way around. CK1 etc can be used on 460 w/ a thread adapter.  They are smaller in diameter, see: http://www.coutant.org/akgc460b/index.html  second pic is 460 w/ ck1.  They fit directly on c60/61.

[Nick's Picks]

sweet link.
love this: http://www.coutant.org/akgc460b/service.pdf
+TTTTEEEEE

[ehren]

well I'm joining the team, I've got some stock 460s with the ck61 caps on the way!

[landshark]

Congrats Ehren!

I just got my 460's back from service and tried them out at home with the hyper caps running directly into my MR1 (I don't have a pre-amp, yet...) and I was blown away.  The 460's are replacing my current 391's (not bad mics in their own right), but the reduction in noise with the 460's is frickin' amazing.  I can't wait to get them out on the road for some taping!!

Mike

[ehren]

Congrats Ehren!

I just got my 460's back from service and tried them out at home with the hyper caps running directly into my MR1 (I don't have a pre-amp, yet...) and I was blown away.  The 460's are replacing my current 391's (not bad mics in their own right), but the reduction in noise with the 460's is frickin' amazing.  I can't wait to get them out on the road for some taping!!

Mike

Where did you send them and was there a problem? One of my mics is quite a bit older than the other and I was wondering if it'd be a good idea to send them in for a check up. Does akg offer matching service? I used them this weekend and they sound great so no problems; is there anything that normally goes wrong with a condenser mic over time?

[Dutchman1101]

Congrats Ehren!

I just got my 460's back from service and tried them out at home with the hyper caps running directly into my MR1 (I don't have a pre-amp, yet...) and I was blown away.  The 460's are replacing my current 391's (not bad mics in their own right), but the reduction in noise with the 460's is frickin' amazing.  I can't wait to get them out on the road for some taping!!

Mike

Where did you send them and was there a problem? One of my mics is quite a bit older than the other and I was wondering if it'd be a good idea to send them in for a check up. Does akg offer matching service? I used them this weekend and they sound great so no problems; is there anything that normally goes wrong with a condenser mic over time?

Dropping them

[ehren]

It doesn't count if they don't actually touch the ground, it's like the 3 second rule. Thank jah for shockmounts and windscreens

[eclark]

hmmm, this is a good thread. i just found a pair of old AKG 451eb mics with ck1 caps at work last week (i work in the multimedia services department at my school). and so apparently the music dept had just given them back to us or something. well they were ALL beat up like duct tape, glue, all this shit, so i took them home over the weekend and cleaned them up real nice and restored them to how they should look. i also did some tests on them with a pretty lame preamp and i was BLOWN away at how much better they sounded than my C4s and 853s ive got now. it was just so clear and natural, i could hear almost the same exact thing with headphones and without. i really liek those vintage mics and would love to pick up a pair. i tried to convince my boss to sell them to me but its against policy so...

so, anyways, ive been really interested in AKGs since then (that was my first experience with them lol) and ive been reading about the 451s and 460 and that will probably be the next set of mics i get. ill probably pair them with a Busman mod Ua5 which I hear is pretty similar to the T-mod that oade does.

i dunno, im gonna be running my 853s for DUMB this weekend so well see what happens...

[ehren]

hmmm, this is a good thread. i just found a pair of old AKG 451eb mics with ck1 caps at work last week (i work in the multimedia services department at my school). and so apparently the music dept had just given them back to us or something. well they were ALL beat up like duct tape, glue, all this shit, so i took them home over the weekend and cleaned them up real nice and restored them to how they should look. i also did some tests on them with a pretty lame preamp and i was BLOWN away at how much better they sounded than my C4s and 853s ive got now. it was just so clear and natural, i could hear almost the same exact thing with headphones and without. i really liek those vintage mics and would love to pick up a pair. i tried to convince my boss to sell them to me but its against policy so...

so, anyways, ive been really interested in AKGs since then (that was my first experience with them lol) and ive been reading about the 451s and 460 and that will probably be the next set of mics i get. ill probably pair them with a Busman mod Ua5 which I hear is pretty similar to the T-mod that oade does.

i dunno, im gonna be running my 853s for DUMB this weekend so well see what happens...

Honestly, and this is just my opinion, there are better options than the ua5 these days. If you are running a ua5 then you need a recorder, 2 battery setups ect...With the price of all in one boxes these days I don't think you save anything by going with a ua5. Obviously if you have one already or something l ike that then it could make sense but if not, there are great all-in-one solutions all for well under a grand. the marantz 660 with the oade mod, fr2 with either the oade or busman mod ect...The ua5 was agreat alternative to say the v3 back in the day for obvious price reasons, but today there could be better options for you.

[landshark]

Congrats Ehren!

I just got my 460's back from service and tried them out at home with the hyper caps running directly into my MR1 (I don't have a pre-amp, yet...) and I was blown away.  The 460's are replacing my current 391's (not bad mics in their own right), but the reduction in noise with the 460's is frickin' amazing.  I can't wait to get them out on the road for some taping!!

Mike

Where did you send them and was there a problem? One of my mics is quite a bit older than the other and I was wondering if it'd be a good idea to send them in for a check up. Does akg offer matching service? I used them this weekend and they sound great so no problems; is there anything that normally goes wrong with a condenser mic over time?

Actually, I bought the mic bodies in yard sale and had no caps, and sent them straight on to Jim Williams for modding without testing them first.  He sent them back with a note that both of the mics were busted, an op amp snapped off on both.  I have no idea where, when or how that occurred, unfortunately.  Jim did comment that it's a common problem with the 460 mics, usually as a result of harsh handling.  So, for what it's worth, always test your mics when you recieve them!!

Oh, well, total cost to repair and ship back, parts and all was $200 at LAND Audio (who is the offical US AKG repair place, but contact them directly if possible).  That sucks, but it could have been worse.  And now I've got some sweet mics!  Gonna hold off on the JW mod for a bit, until I get a few test runs in and better understand the stock sound.  Sounds like there's a diversity of opinion on which sounds better.

Mike

[NOLAfishwater]

I got my 463's bout a month and a half ago and have been very happy with them. There is definitely a learning curve. Apparently you have to run the bass rolloff when recording really loud/bassy shows. Learned that the hard way. I ran wide open at Bonnaroo on the first day, and didn't bring my headphones with me. The whole day my level meters were showing in the green, but when I listened to it later it was bass distorted. The sound pressure was too great but it didn't register on my deck. The next day I ran bass rolloff and the recordings came out smokin. In fact, I kind of like the way it sounds with the bass rolloff for the larger shows. I think that recordings with it wide open have a tendacy to be too bass heavy and it drowns out your highs. I will experiment with running it wide open but with the -20 attenuation on the mics to see what the bass response is like. Will try it out in the morning.

[F.O.Bean]

I got my 463's bout a month and a half ago and have been very happy with them. There is definitely a learning curve. Apparently you have to run the bass rolloff when recording really loud/bassy shows. Learned that the hard way. I ran wide open at Bonnaroo on the first day, and didn't bring my headphones with me. The whole day my level meters were showing in the green, but when I listened to it later it was bass distorted. The sound pressure was too great but it didn't register on my deck. The next day I ran bass rolloff and the recordings came out smokin. In fact, I kind of like the way it sounds with the bass rolloff for the larger shows. I think that recordings with it wide open have a tendacy to be too bass heavy and it drowns out your highs. I will experiment with running it wide open but with the -20 attenuation on the mics to see what the bass response is like. Will try it out in the morning.

yep, thats the warm transformer soundf the stock 460's I really like the older Phish recordings with the stock 460's. But since digital recording has gotten to be more critical and demanding, I think the quicker transients of the mod460's/480's make those 2 a nicer match for digital recording IMO.

BUT, I would still rather have a stock 460 tape over ALOT of other mics

You have a nice mic collection nolafishwater, how do those XLS's sound with teh ACM 660? the ACM 660 is the 'warm; flava right?

Oh and nice catch in that pic

[Chuck]

I just commited to buying a pair of stock C-460 bodies. I know and love the C-480 sound, as I'm keeping mine and plan to run the C-460's as a second rig. I've been reading all the various JWmod vs stock C-460's threads and plan to do my own comparisons.

I just thought I'd bump this thread to get some more input.

[Nick's Picks]

the JW mods have really grown on me.  very fast, detailed transients.  Excellently tight bass.
I was going to dump them for 480 bodies, but now i'm completely happy w/what I'm hearing out of them.

fwiw...love them XY