any opinions on this? i found one really cheap local and wondered if it was worth it. i've heard more bad than good i'm afraid.

No.

nope

Depends on exactly how cheap, though. I might pick one up if it was $40-$50. I'm sure there's SOMETHING it would sound good on. Maybe one of those thin sounding acoustics.

It's best to not pick it up at all, for any price... do your music a favor... stay away. I mean, maybe if you can get it for SUPER cheap, like under $40, and that is all you can possibly afford, and you are just doing some rough demos, I guess it could be used... but otherwise, save your pennies for something better.

This mic is HATED around here.... be afraid!!

The only instrument I used it for once with good result was a Dobro. Bob Brozman recommends them, but he probably endorses them..

I got 3 of them. Dont mind them on Overheads. Great on Banjo and Dobro.

Great for live stuff, thats all.

Meant more for live I think....

No, they suck for live too. I have a pair, used to struggle with feedback on stage - even with those nasty little hyper-cardiod adapters. When I bought my first SM57, I could have kicked myself for putting up with all that crap. I had believed the hype at the time - what an idiot.

I actually hated them way before I ever even found Gearslutz. I think I had sold mine before Gearslutz was even born. I bought a pair new on a whim without having tried them... then once they went into use, it was soon evident what they were about, sold them shortly thereafter... just about gave `em away actually, the sooner they were out of my studio, the better. I can understand people being on a tight budget, but in this case, work that extra shift at White Castle or whatever, save up another hundred or so bucks and get something that can capture audio in at least a semi-decent manner.

Boy, this mic inspires a lot of hate....I have a pair I bought when I first started up.....I've gotten very passable results on acoustic guitar, grand piano, drum overheads and hi hat, trumpet too. While it's not a "go to" mic for me anymore since my collection has expanded, I sold my C3000B and chose to hang onto these. I have a 2 mic bracket mounted to the peak of the cathedral ceiling in my big room and occasionally throw them up there for room mics.

horrible mic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow. I'm glad I read this thread. I though maybe they were a good bang for the buck. Guess not!!! Anybody have any suggestions for something else in the same price range (See them selling at $329 for the pair).

-ScottyD

Actually,
In spite of how much folks rag on the C1000s, I have a pair of the old gray ones, and they make really nice snare mics.
Put one (with the hypercard cap) shooting almost parallel to the head about 2 inches from the side of the shell barely facing down ward toward the head.

The bad thing is the body is so freaking long it often gets in the way.

Oh yeah... worked on tuba OK,... if you record a lot of those.

The ULTIMATE mismatch.... BAGPIPES!

Mine hasn't even been out of the case in at least 4 years if not more. I only found one acoustic guitar that it sounded good on at it wasn't mine. I used to try it on hi-hats but eventually gave up. It's an overpriced piece of crap.


If you can get one for $20.00 or less, sure. Anything over that would be a waste of good money.

I have 2 and can't give them away. I asked a while ago what to do with these.
They make great interview mics in the rain!!!!!
No worries and they are built like tanks - very hard to break.
m

I have one because it came in a package of with my C4000B and it was only 500 bucks for the two. In other words, I saved $150 on the C4000B and got a free C1000S... It was worth it.

Does a decent enough job on snare (and kick, in an emergency...*shame*). Not spectacular but quite usable I think. For the price.

I do, however, love the way it sounds on acoustics. Gives a really... woodey sound, if you know what I mean. I'd reccomend it just for that.

I've been using a pair on acoustic guitar for years and am happy with them. I know there are better mics for the job and someday will undoubtably find them, but for now i like them better than my 414EB, 4060, 57s, B1, C1. I just got a pair of R121's but my guitar player hasn't been around to try them. I can even envision a combination of R121 and C1000s working well on acoustic. They've also worked well on viola and banjo.

MattJazz - should you try to give them away again - PM me...

I agree it is pretty good on snare and acoustic guitar. The mic has a sweet spot in the midrange that I haven't heard in many other mics- that might be what makes it good in so few uses.

Pretty crappy and as already mentioned, I'd limit to live app's only, namely drum OH's. I'd also tried them before the internet, let alone GS...bleh..

I got a good laugh the other day. I went into a local studio that's pretty well equipped and see the owner (the less experienced of the 2 that run the studio) has a pair of 1000's on OH's when he had: 184's, 414's and KSM's available.

I dont think the C1000's are that bad at all. Im wondering what some peoples opinions would be on this:

They used to be revered as a great all round mic, but now they totally suck. Why?

1. All the newer mics are better, and technology ran them over?

2. They used to sound good with tape, and never made the crossover to digital?

3. A few people said they were horrible, and the repeating snowballed?

4. They were never good to begin with, and the snowball went the other way for years?

5. What would a fifth one be?

They were revered? Perhaps by AKG advertising only.

Well, the first one could be:
-They just don't sound good, period... end of story.

I suppose you could put the cheapest crappiest mic on the planet in front of a source and the mic might actually seem to work well... the weaknesses, limitations, quirks, distortion etc of the mic could potentially "flatter" or add some type of favorable color or vibe to a very specific source... it IS possible! So, with that in mind, ANY mic can potentially be "useful", even the one inside a $9.99 Radio Shack telephone. You get the point.

The only true useful feature of the C1000S if I recall correctly was the ability to put in batteries for phantom power when being used remotely. This was helpful if your mobile recorder did not have phantom power. But these days most good field recorders have phantom so I have to wonder how useful this feature is anymore.

To the original poster: Get a used AT4051 or SM81 or something instead... yeah, it'll be a few more bucks, mow an extra lawn or two and you've got it covered. Life is too short to ruin your music with crappy gear. Been there, done that... it can turn out to be a very painful experience later on... once great music / performances have been laid down through lousy mics and lousy mic pres, there's no fixing it... EVER.

I cannot stress enough to audio newbies to EARN some extra dough and SPEND it on GOOD mics and GOOD pres. If you capture your tracks well, you can always remix / remaster etc in the future on great gear and yield something decent or even excellent. But, if your source tracks are mangled due to bad mics and bad pres, forget it. It's all just a big waste of time.

I soon have to remix / remaster some great tunes / performances that were recorded about 15 years ago all through Mackie pres and cheap mics (including c1000Ss too!)... oh boy, what a nightmare... I'm thinking of abandoning the project... the fidelity of the tracks is just god awful... there'll be no saving it, it'll be a good mix... of garbage. What a shame it hadn't been recorded through decent mics and decent pres... oh well. Don't learn the hard way.

Had a pair, sold em cause we have another pair at the studio. We have 451s, 4051s, sonys.. And these make it out every now and again..

Used them a bunch on electric w/57, 2nd snare mic, spots here and there.

Wasn't there a Black Crowes album where the guitars were cut w/ c1000/57 combo? Amorica..?? Did I imagine this..??

I need them for a few outdoor things or I would give them to you.
In all fairness, they are not unusable. They do have a very annoying metallic sound.
I wonder if it is a flaw in the grill design. If you tap on the grill you can hear what I mean.
This really bothers me the most about these mics. I have an older grey one and think it is darker, but also a little muddy. I also agree the hyper cardiod cap is awful.

Again, they work very well for interviewing outside. With some home made wind screen - sock combo. I am going to try them for bottom snare duty - why not , sounds like a use for them?
m

I guess you have never heard a Behrry B-5?
I doubt also, that the whole reason that the C-1000 was due to AKG marketing......I would think it would be due to, at least some user feedback.............in ALL the years??!

But, as you said, end of story. HEHEHE! Thats comedy....."my way, or the highway".....we should all comply. I dont even have the c-1000 pair anymore, but I can bet almost anyone.......these mics probably are not the only problem withya system.

BTW, your attitude about remixing and/or saving an old recording pretty much sux, and yes, I would abandon it. Someone probably cares whether your heart is in it or not!

- have an old one ($75 used - to help out a friend of a friend). It's probably my worst mic, but it's there when I run out of mics - kind of like those solid rubber mini-donut spare tires. I have the inner foam taken out, which seems to improve it a bit.

you'd have to threaten to rape my dog to get me to buy a c1000.