Neil Diamond Selects AKG Products For 2008 “Home Before Dark” World Tour

Demonstrating the performance and versatility of AKG microphones, the technical staff for rock icon Neil Diamond selected AKG microphones for his 2008/2009 world tour, celebrating the first chart-topping album of Diamond’s storied career. Neil Diamond is one of the most successful adult contemporary artists in history and has sold well over 120 million records worldwide. Diamond’s successful career has spanned over 40 years and his current tour illustrates why he is one of pop music’s most enduring and successful performers of all time.

Commenting on the tour’s selection of the C 414, Neil Diamond’s Sound Designer/FOH engineer Stan Miller states, “We treat the microphones similarly to the way musicians treat their instruments.” Miller and his audio staff took extensive time to review the entire line of AKG products as well as those from many competitors. “We had to be careful because there is a lot of risk when switching microphones, however choosing the C 414 was the perfect decision for the horn section and drum overheads.”

“The May 6, 2008 release of “Home Before Dark” has sparked life into Neil’s career as it took him 42 years to finally top the album charts with an original work,” Miller stated. “The 2008 world tour is a celebration of Neil’s accomplishments and we wanted to produce a fitting showcase. In doing so, the decision to select AKG has proven to be a great success,” Miller continues. “Not only have we received tremendous results from the C 414, the WMS4000 wireless system and the IVM4 in-ear monitoring system have produced tremendous results as well.”

The C 414 delivers excellent sonic performance in a wide range of recording and live sound applications including pianos, percussion, acoustic guitars and orchestral recording. Its 1" gold sputtered, edge-terminated dual diaphragm capsules have a very smooth and warm response and users have the ability to select from five different polar patterns including cardioid, hypercardioid, and wide cardioid omni-directional or figure-8 by using the easy-to-use pattern selector switch.

The C 414’s features include three switchable attenuation filters and three bass-cut filters that minimize undesirable low frequencies caused by wind vibration or proximity effect. Minimizing low frequency noise benefits artists such as Neil Diamond, who perform in a number of outdoor venues. The C 414 has been upgraded and improved several times over the past 37 years as technology has improved in response to the requirements of ever-demanding artists and engineers.