AKG Acoustics 420 User Manual

PERCEPTION

User Instructions.............................p. 2

Please read the manual before using the equipment!

Mode d’emploi .............................p. 14

Veuillez lire cette notice avant d’utiliser le système!

420

Table of Contents

Page

1 Precaution/Unpacking .....................................3

1.1 Precaution .........................................3

1.2 Unpacking.........................................3

2 Description .............................................3

2.1 Introduction........................................3

2.2 Features ..........................................3

2.3

OptionalAccessories .................................5

3 Interfacing ..............................................6

3.1 General ...........................................6

3.2 Pinout............................................6

3.3 Connecting the Microphone ............................6

4 Using Your Microphone ....................................7

4.1 General Hints .......................................7

4.2 Selecting Polar Patterns ...............................8

2

Page

5 Cleaning................................................8

6 Troubleshooting ..........................................9

7 Specifications ..........................................11

Frequency Response Graphs, Polar Diagrams ...................12

The International Page .....................................26

AKG PERCEPTION 420

1

Precaution/Unpacking

!

L

1.1 Precaution

Please make sure that the piece of equipment
your microphone will be connected to fulfills
the safety regulations in force in your country
and is fitted with a ground lead.

1.2 Unpacking

Check that the packaging contains all of the items
listed below:

• Microphone

• Spider suspension

• Carrying case

• Mini poster

Should any item be missing, please contact your
AKG dealer.

AKG PERCEPTION 420

2 Description

2.1 Introduction

Thank you for purchasing an AKG product. This
Manual contains important instructions for setting
up and operating your equipment. Please take a
few minutes to read the instructions below care-
fully before operating the equipment and keep
the Manual for future reference. Have fun and
impress your audience!

PERCEPTION 420

The
condenser microphone built to the same strict qual­ity standards as all other AKG products.
Designed on the basis of AKG’s decades of know­how and feedback from sound engineers around
the world using AKG studio microphones every day,
this general-purpose 1-inch dual large-diaphragm
microphone brings AKG studio quality to the worlds
of recording, live sound, and broadcasting.

2.2 Features

• Selectable polar patterns: The microphone’s

is a heavy-duty, rugged true

transducer uses a dual diaphragm.This sophis­ticated technology allows you to select the opti­mum polar pattern (cardioid,omnidirectional,or
figure eight) for every application.

• Gold-sputtered diaphragm: The diaphragm is

made of a plastic foil that is gold-sputtered on
one side only to prevent shorting to the back
electrode even at extremely high sound pres­sure levels.

• All-metal body: The all-metal body adds to the

rejection of RF interference so you can use the
microphone near transmitter stations and along
with wireless microphones or other communi­cations equipment. The extremely rugged,
heavy body and sturdy front grill protect the
microphone from damage from tough handling
on stage.

• High headroom, minimum distortion:

Capable of handling sound pressure levels up
to 155 dB without introducing perceptible dis-

3

1

Fig. 1: Polar pattern selector (1) on
PERCEPTION 420

front.

4

tortion and built to resist high temperatures and
humidity, the microphone will give excellent re­sults in a wide range of applications.

• Polar pattern selector: Selector 1 on the

microphone front (refer to fig. 1) sets the micro­phone polar pattern to cardioid, omnidirection­al, or figure eight.

• Switchable preattenuation pad: Selector 2

on the microphone rear (refer to fig. 2) lets you
increase the headroom by 20 dB for distortion­free close-in recording. The preattenuation pad
prevents the microphone's output level, partic­ularly at low frequencies, from overloading the
miniature transformers used in many mixer
input stages, etc.

• Bass cut filter: Selector 3 on the microphone

rear (refer to fig. 2) further reduces low-end
distortion caused by footfall or wind noise, etc.
The filter also minimizes the proximity effect
that close-in miking from less than 4 inches

3 2

Fig. 2: Preattenuation (2) and bass cut (3) switch­es on

PERCEPTION 420

rear.

AKG PERCEPTION 420

causes in any unidirectional microphone. The
filter rolls off at 12 dB/octave from 300 Hz
downward.

2.3 Optional Accessories

• PF 80 studio pop screen

• ST 305 floor stand

• W 4000 external windcscreen

AKG PERCEPTION 420

5

3 Interfacing

3.1 General

The microphone uses a true condenser trans­ducer designed for 48-volt phantom powering to
DIN 45 596/IEC 268-15. Neither the diaphragm nor
the backplate are permanently polarized, so the

Fig. 3: Connecting to a balanced input with phantom power.

6

microphone needs an external power supply.

3.2 Pinout

The microphone provides a balanced output on a 3­pin male XLR connector:

Pin 1: ground
Pin 2: hot
Pin 3: cold

3.3 Connecting the Microphone

Refer to fig. 3 below.

1. Use an XLR cable to connect the microphone to
a balanced XLR input with phantom power.

2. Switch the phantom power on. (Refer to the user
manual of the unit to which you connected your
microphone.)

AKG PERCEPTION 420

4 Using Your Microphone

4.1 General Hints

The

PERCEPTION 420
pattern microphone for recording, broadcast, and
onstage use.
Every instrument radiates its sound in a specific
way.Therefore, to get the best sound it is crucial to
experiment with microphone placement.

• Refer to fig. 4. Whichever polar pattern you se-

lected, it may be good to know which way the
transducer axis is facing: the front of the
microphone is the side of the body with the
AKG logo and polar pattern selector (1) on it.

• When recording wind instruments or vocals,

make sure not to blow or sing directly into
the microphone.
To avoid unwanted wind and pop noise or
moisture problems, place an optional PF 80
pop screen from AKG between the microphone
and vocalist/instrument.

AKG PERCEPTION 420

is a general-purpose multi-

1

Fig. 4: Microphone front.

• Keep the microphone dry. Moisture from

blowing or singing directly at the capsule from
a short distance, or extremely high humidity
may cause the microphone to start crackling or
go very quiet due to partial short circuits in the
polarization voltage.

• If you use the microphone in the open, use an
optional AKG W 4000 windscreen to protect
the microphone from moisture and reduce wind
noise.

• High volume instruments: You can use this
microphone for close-in recording of very loud
instruments (brass instruments, kick drum,etc.).
Just switch the preattenuation pad in to increase
the microphone’s capability of handling sound
pressure levels to 155 dB.

• Low-frequency noise: To suppress low-fre­quency noise such as air conditioning rumble,
footfall noise, or traffic sounds, switch the bass
cut filter in.

7

4.2

Selecting Polar Patterns

Each of the PERCEPTION 420’s selectable polar
patterns is virtually frequency independent so that
reflected sound, too will be reproduced accurately
and uncolored.

• Cardioid (center setting): This is a standard

setting for recording and gives excellent results
on all kinds of voices and a wide range of
instruments. Remember to aim the microphone
front (see fig. 4 on page 7) at the sound source.

• Figure eight (left-hand setting): The micro-

phone will pick up sounds arriving from the
front and rear with equal sensitivity. Use this
mode to mic up the side signal in M/S stereo
recording or to record two sound sources (talk­ers, instruments) facing each other. It is also a
good choice for cymbal overhead miking.

• Omnidirectional (right-hand setting): This is

the preferred setting for "all around the mic"
recording, high quality ambience (audience

8

sound) miking, or far-field recording in excep­tionally good-sounding large or small recording
rooms, etc.

5 Cleaning

• To clean the surface of the microphone body,
use a soft cloth moistened with water.

AKG PERCEPTION 420

6 Troubleshooting

Problem Possible Cause Remedy

AKG PERCEPTION 420

No sound.

Distortion.

1. Power to mixer and/or amplifier isoff.

2. Channel or master fader on mixer,or volume
control on amplifier is at zero.

3. Microphone is not connected to mixeror ampli­fier.

4. Cable connectors are seated loosely.

5. Cable is defective.

6. No supply voltage.

1. Channel gain controlon mixer settoo high.

2. Microphone too close to sound source.

3. Microphone sensitivity set too high.

1. Switch power to mixer or amplifieron.

2. Set channel or master fader onmixer or volume
control on amplifier to desired level.

3. Connect microphone to mixer or amplifier.

4. Check cable connectors for secure seat.

5.

Check cable and replace if damaged.

6. Switch phantom poweron.
Phantom power supply: insert batteries.
Check cable and replace if necessary.

1. Turn gain controldown CCW.

2. Move microphone further away from sound
source.

3. Switch preattenuation pad in.

9