IN MY JOB as house sound engineer at the 360 Club in Toronto, I rarely have a dull moment. The club gets a huge variety of acts, from metal to hardcore, hip-hop to quiet acoustic groups. Anything can happen onstage — and it usually does. So when reviewing AKG's new handheld vocal mic, the C 900, I knew that by bringing it to work I'd be able to check it out in a wide range of situations.
The C 900 is the newest member of AKG's Emotion II series of microphones, but it differs in one significant way from its siblings — it's a condenser. Although condenser mics typically offer excellent reproduction, they tend to be more delicate and must be well designed to withstand the abuses of live performance. To learn whether the C 900 could handle it, I put it through a rigorous ten-show tryout consisting of 28 bands, 5 solo acoustic acts, and 1 theater group announcer.
PHYSICAL FEATURES
The phantom-powered C 900 features a cardioid polar pattern that is designed to produce high levels of gain before feedback. It has a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz, can handle pretty high SPL levels (139 dB at 1 percent THD), and is equipped with a PB 1000 presence boost adapter (the same one that comes with AKG's C 1000 mic) that gives it a bump between 5 and 9 kHz. The adapter installs relatively easily but requires that you unscrew the mic's bulb. After trying the mic with and without the PB 1000, I eventually just left it installed and rolled off the boost region — 5 to 9 kHz — at the console by about 3 dB. When I needed some extra presence boost, all I had to do was to set the EQ flat in that region.
The C 900 has a nice weighty feel, which many vocalists will appreciate, and comes with a built-in pop filter. The mic's black matte finish, on both the body and the bulb, looks good and hides the mic well onstage.
NECESSARY ROUGHNESS
My first test of the C 900 came on a typical four-band night with a mixture of power punk, underground hip-hop, and pop. The mic cut through in every mix no matter how loud the bands were, and when I soloed it through my headphones, it sounded clean with no audible distortion, even when the more aggressive singers used it.
Another night featured 12 bands trying out for a beer commercial. I figured that would be a good test of the C 900's ability to handle a range of voices. The microphone sounded great on 10 of the 12 singers, which is a pretty high success rate for any vocal mic.
Although I didn't take the C 900 on the road, the fact that it survived multiple nights at the rough-and-tumble 360 Club indicates that it would do well under the harshest touring circumstances. The microphone took its fair share of abuse and even survived being dropped onto the stage by an overzealous vocalist. I've seen microphones die under similar circumstances.
SOUNDS LIKE
The C 900 sounded great on vocals and acoustic guitars and seemed well suited for use on other acoustic stringed instruments as well. The mic exhibited great gain before feedback; a clear, full-bodied sound; superior intelligibility; and minimal handling noise.
The only thing that didn't impress me about the C 900 was its internal foam pop-filter. Popped ps and other plosives were noticeable whenever users talked or sang directly on-axis. The owner's manual advises against that practice, saying that the best response from the mic would be to sing or talk “above and across” the top of the bulb. However, most singers in live situations are not accustomed to using an off-axis mic technique and might have trouble adjusting to it. You could also minimize the plosives by using an external foam windscreen, though it might attenuate the highs and reduce the microphone's crispness. Another solution, which I ended up employing, is to simply roll off the lows a bit.
FINAL INPUT
The C 900 is an awesome stage mic that offers superior sound and flexibility for a reasonable price. I highly recommend it for serious singers and seasoned live-sound pros.
