What do you think of the "Samson C01"s

[Mr Blues]

I hear on the grapevine that the Samson C01"s are very good, what are others thoughts on this?

Dave

[Mr Blues]

What you rate these as good budget mics for vocals?

Some say the Studio Projects B1 are good for female vocals and guitars?

Is there any listening rooms on the web where I can hear a Samson C1?

Dave

[PhilGood]

The grapevine is obviously deviant from this forum! The C01's would effectively be scraping the bottom of the proverbial budget mic barrel. Most budget condensers have a harsh high end at more than twice the price. Imagine what these sound like.

[sile2001]

Personal opinion? I wouldn't touch one with anything but a sledgehammer.

[metalhead28]

I have one and I consider it one of those rash decisions that I made a couple years ago out of extreme ignorance!
Seriously.
I now have a couple more LDC's including a Audio Technica 3035 and a Studio Projects C1 and either of these are much better than the Samson. I am confident the Samson will probably never be used again.
To be more specific, I found it to sound quite unnatural and to be pretty harsh. It may be suitable for certain things but I guarantee you'd be happier with a Studio Projects B1 for just a tad more money or a C1 for just a little more money than that.

[mrface2112]

Originally Posted by PhilGood

The grapevine is obviously deviant from this forum!

me thinks "the grapevine" is the sales droid at Scam cAsh.

run, run far away from the C01. pick up an SP B1 and/or an MXL V67 and be glad you did--two very different mics that compliment each other nicely. do searches around here for their strengths. if budget isn't of the utmost concern and you can spend a few hundred, pick up an AT4040 or 4033.

all 4 are good mics that will serve you well (and none of them will be "won't touch it" level gear in a year from now). i've "moved up" from my B1 in many respects, but it still gets regular use when i want a nice, neutral "what goes in comes out" sound. excellent on hand percussion (congas, shakers, etc), especially.


cheers,
wade

[treymonfauntre]

the C01s make everything sound harsh and cheap. i have a frien that used them on a good majority of his bands album for drum overheads and vocals.. oh god i feel so bad for them.

[stetto]

I have a CO1 that came "free" with my $1099 purchase of a Yamaha AW1600. I put it side-by-side with a <gulp> Behringer B1. The B1 kicked the CO1's ass, which I guess says less for the Samson than more for the B1 (though I don't have any problems with the B1--It's clean and crisp and fairly flat for a cheapie)...

The CO1 has a thick, almost muddy response, the advertized "extended" response nonexistant in the mic I recieved. Adding eq obviously helped. I have no idea what I'm going to use the CO1 for, but it was thrown in on the deal, so I'll hang on to it just in case I get a vocalist with a REALLY shrill voice in my studio ...

I have an AKG 414 and a pair of Sennheiser 421s on order, it obviously wouldn't have been fair to compare the CO1 to those...

[Kevin Deschwazi]

Originally Posted by metalhead28

I have one and I consider it one of those rash decisions that I made a couple years ago out of extreme ignorance!

Ditto!

It's also worth bearing in mind that despite the size and shape of the case, and Samson's claim that it's an LDC, the diaphragm is actually 19mm (about 3/4"). So what's that, a mid sized diaphragm?

Anyway if you're after a generalist vocal mic then it probably wouldn't be it for that reason on top of the quality issues.

[noisedude]

Originally Posted by Mr Blues

I hear on the grapevine that the Samson C01"s are very good, what are others thoughts on this?

Dave

Go to Digital Village - www.dv247.com - and buy yourself some Studio Projects B1s. They walk all over the Samson! I've also used the SE Electronics SE2200 / Joemeek JM47 (same mic), which is much better than the Samson too. I still have my SE2200, and an SP B3, which is a multi-pattern brother of the B1.

They would be my first choices (B1, then SE2200/JM47), with the cheaper Rødes and Behringers a little behind.