AKG C414 EB

I have a consecutive pair of these amazing mics. Multipattern [4-pole discrete on-body switch] and Pad [0, -10, -20]db and Highpass switch too.
Front side silver grill, rear of mic has black grill for easy orientation at a glance.
Super precise and accurate, with a large diaphragm to capture all the low-end goodness. Each pattern truly does what it should, and the rejection difference is noticable per pattern, which makes mic placement relatively easy.
Fairly heavy mic, aprox 7-800g, but feels incredibly solid, compact, and oozes quality. The XLR is integral to the stalk under the mic body which also is the area the mic clips attach to.
The sound is 'rich' and detailed, from lows to highs. The soundscape is supremely beleivable from a stereo pair.
Difficult to see how it could get better than this at any price.
The 414EB were the Daddy to the other 414-varieties out there . [although not the 1st from AKG in this shape]. Vintage, and built to last a lifetime these are serious studio mics .
Awesome mics.

Vocals, guitar, snare, sax, etc.
Large diaphragm condenser mic

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using it for 3 months.
It's a pure vintage mic, not too many highs above 6-8 kHz but it has an extremely particular tone.
It gives more substance to any source that doesn't need absolute precision.
But be careful, it seems the models you can find nowadays (which are at least 25 years old) sound very different.
From the "classic" mics I have tried (U87, M147, Brauner phantom, AT4060, rode NTK, etc..), this mic is the one that colors sound the most (but not the warmest)

The AKG C 414 EB is an older model in the classic line of 414 microphones.  This is designed for use in the recording studio and probably shouldn't be brought outside of the studio since it is an older microphone and in general is fragile.  The mic is a condenser microphone and it has a variety of polar pick up patterns to choose from including cardioid, figure eight, omnidirectional, and hyper cardioid.  It also has a switchable pad and a high pass filter.

OVERALL OPINION

I have only used the AKG C 414 EB a small number of times as they are hard to find and aren't often found in studios.  I have used other models of the C 414 many times and find that there are only a small number of differences between the newer models of the C 414 and this one.  While it would be hard for me to choose which one I like better as all of the models of the C 414 are great sounding microphones, the C 414 EB has the most unique sound of the bunch.  Like all of the 414s, this is an incredibly versatile microphone that can be used for a high number of different instruments because of all the features that this has to offer.  I have only this particular model for recording a few different things including acoustic guitar and violin and have found that it is great in all of the applications that I have used it in.  It generally has a grittier tone than the modern C 414s but still maintains a high quality and a lot of detail.  If you had a pair of these they would definitely sound great as drum overheads as well.  These are definitely a lot harder to come by than any of the other models in the line of 414s and therefore will cost you a bit more than the other 414s.  If you are into vintage microphones this is probably worth it as it does have a slightly different tone than the new ones because of the time period it comes from.  All in all, the AKG C 414 EB is an outstanding microphone that should definitely be known to all engineers.