AKG Perception 5 Minute u87 Clone Mod vs u87ai Comparison Will Surprise You

The AKG Perception 420 uses a clone of the u87 circuit, but it doesn’t quite sound like an 87. KingKorg over at GroupDIY posted a one capacitor mod of the AKG Perception 200 and 400 series mics a while back that fixes it. It was time to give it a shot.
Check out KingKorg’s GroupDIY thread that started it all.
groupdiy.com/threads/akg-perc...
For a more detailed demonstration of how to do this mod, check out ​⁠‪@meistudiony‬’s video here:
• AKG Perception 420 / 2...

[@matijatatomirovic3351]

KingKorg is thrilled to hear this mod on such a magnificent talent!

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

KING! Thank you, Sir. I can't believe it took me so long to try your mod. Let me know if you start a microphone cult. I'll totally volunteer to hand out cups of mic cult kool aid.

[@matijatatomirovic3351]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff 🤣

[@mickelachlan]

WOW excellent mod! Can it be done on a modern AKG p420?

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

@@mickelachlanI believe it is the same mic.

[@jonautry]

Great demo! Thinking of trying one of the slightly higher values discussed in the thread to maybe inch toward a more 67ish darkness. Like you, I do find them to be embarrassingly ugly. But they do feel substantial and with this simple mod, so usable.

[@meistudiony]

❤ thanks for the shout out! This mod made a daily driver out of a mic that was thrown in the back of the closet. Great comparison! Yes, the “perception” mics are not being sold but they’ve rebranded it as the P420. Theyre now black instead of blue but same circuit and capsule from what I can tell.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Thank you for taking the time to make such a concise mod video for it. This is a mic that deserves to be rescued from the back of the closet or the bottom of a drawer or even from the darkest depths of the ocean, but not in one of those tin can subs they used to take to visit the Titanic.

[@BillBene67]

Awesome to see you back buddy!! I have this mic. Will have to give this a shot

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Bill! Yo man! Yeah man, give it a go. You'll be surprised how simple it is and what the result actually yields.

[@DailyRiot]

Holy crap, I just bought the p420 on Amazon for 140$ and a mylar cap kit for 10$ and did the mod. Holy cow, this thing sounds soo good. Midrange for days!

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Fantastic mic now, isn’t it? Just crazy that AKG never realized the hidden gem that this mic is.

[@DailyRiot]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff definitely an excellent mod, cheap, easy, and huge difference. Picks up that growl in your voice. Also seems like a pretty tight cardoid too.

[@TheRecordist]

Wow. That just blew my mind. That sounds fantastic with the mod. It might be worth trying. Thanks for this!

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Dude, it’s as unrecognizable after surgery as Jennifer Grey after her nose job.

[@TheRecordist]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@JeroBagg]

Harmon bought AKG in 1994 and the Perception series started coming out in the mid-2000s. But this mod sounds really good. In this video, I prefer it over the 87. It sounds bigger.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

The more I listen to this mic, the more I really like it a lot.

[@narrator-timothymckean]

Ha.. had to rewind. Got distracted by the music and missed the mod. Sounds great.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

That's because the music is packed with all kinds of subliminal messages. Thank you.

[@innercynic2784]

Amazing.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Not bad, right? I would also accept: "Shocking", "Wowzers" or simply, "No wayyyyyy"

[@jarredcannon]

My 420 was like 80 bucks, the capacitor was like 10 cents. It's crazy value, and the tone of it is hard to argue with even if it isnt a perfect clone

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

The more I listen to this mic, the more I like it. Once you tame that high end, you can really hear how much of a Neumann-esque purr this capsule has in the mids. Glad you reminded me of this mod.

[@jarredcannon]

​@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff Happy to inspire some experimentation! Success is always fun to play with 😉

[@MikeShepherdVO]

Thanks for doing this Mark! Had a friend do this for me a few months ago with a 540 cap on a 220 - it more than makes up for a lovely dent in the top grill ('a bit of cheap mic 'character') but yeah really like it. Also ditto on the comment about Figure 8. One thing that can drive me a little nutz about the 87ai is the sensitivity to every movement and tiniest mouth noise, but, to be expected. A 416 has always been more forgiving in that respect; perhaps the AKG would be too? Thumbs up on the mod!

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Mike Shep!!! The AKG may indeed be a little more forgiving in that respect as it is just a bit less sensitive than the 87AI.

[@narrator-timothymckean]

Don’t discount the use of figure 8 for VO. If the rear is well treated the side rejection is amazing to reduce reflections in small booths.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

That is a very good observation.

[@bassface84]

That's not bad at all... speaking of surface mount, how do you think it stacks up next to a 3u CM-1 black sonically?

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

I have not had the pleasure of trying a cm1

[@lucatedesco8619]

Hi. What’s the capacitor name and where can I find it? Thanks!

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Any decent 680pf capacitor will do. Film or C0G. You’ll want it rated for 63v or 100v as long as it’s not too big to fit in the space.

[@lucatedesco8619]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff thanks 🙏🏻

[@DailyRiot]

how many volts should the cap be?

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

At least 63.

[@duffyp.weberva5612]

I do like the stock, clinical sound of the 420. It's NOT a u87 sound, exactly, but I can see plenty of good uses for the stock. The MODDED 420 sounds *lovely* though.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

It really is a mic that deserves more attention and respect, especially since it comes from AKG and is built like a tank.

[@mikes425]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff Hey man, meant to ask, what Capacitor value did you mod it with? Just curious what the difference might be between different pF. Mine for example - a 220 - i used a 540. As i recall from the original KingKorg thread different values produce different results that can be closer to a vintage 87 like with a 470 pF whereas higher values would perhaps be brighter and closer to an 87ai. Getting into the weeds LOL..(or weed as the case may be haha)

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

@@mikes425 680pf on mine.

[@mikes425]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff ok thanks! Hey i JUST realized that the "donor mic" i used for this mod last year was a 200, not 220. i guess i just spaced out on it at the time - or...maybe saw evidence that there's no appreciable difference between the 200 and 220 (except the pad, i think). Do you know offhand if if in fact, the 200 cap and circuitry is essentially identical to the 220. -and this is the original Perception series also, not the newer "P" series -P220, P420. I don't really need more than cardioid and AFAIK the capsule and circuitry are identical across all of these models and all use the same capsule. Thanks!!

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

@@mikes425 They changed the pad from -10db to -20db when they went from the 200 to the 220 and the p series is the exact same circuit.

[@trilllife28]

ive had that AKG 5 times in my life i wanted to like it and now i see this mod im sad

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

You know what they say… Sixth time is the charm.

[@demodeiowa]

i did a simlar mod on my own replacing the capsule on a perception 100 with an AA67 and capacitor swap to shape it and it gets pretty close to that 87 sound

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Welcome to the Perception Mod Club. It’s incredible how much it can be improved with such a simple fix.