Chinese C3?

T

truckerdave10

New member
Uh, since everyone seems to be having a collective orgasm about this studio works C1, wouldn't a C3 be better if money wasn't a problem? I know everyone is grabbing C1's like hotcakes but anybody got a C3? It's not much over a $100 more and i'd kind of like to have one with switchable patterns since my AT 4033 doesn't. I had been using the 4033/mindprint envoice to mike my tricone from about 4 feet away. After countless hours and several different mikes experimenting on getting accurate sound from it, this was the only way i ever found since the sound is coming out of 5 different places. Figured a mike with figure 8 pattern might have more options.
 
I Do.

So I played with the C1 and C3 in my studio for a few weeks... Didn't really do any direct, right next to eachother comparisions between them or any other mics I own. I simply used them in real situatrions. But I came to the conclusion that I wanted to keep the C3 and not the C1.

Now let me tell you how I came to this conclusion...
I noticed the C1 had the presence I like and look for in a "budget" mic as that's not all too common, but it still had the high-end "bite" that most "budget" mics have; which is NOT a "bad" thing necessarily, but just not something I was looking for at this time as I have enough "budget" mics with high-end "bite".

Of course, the C1 had that MASSIVE low-end I actually found too annoying... Yeah, you can move it far enough away for the low-end response you want, but that only worked good in an iso-booth, otherwise I found I got WAY too much "room" when in a live room; good as a cardioid room mic.

With the C3, I right away notice the smooth high-end because it a rarity to find that in "budget" mics. In cardioid, the low-end was reasonably tame. In figure-8, the low-end was too MASSIVE for me again. And in omni, the low-end was nearly just as MASSIVE as in cardioid; which is VERY odd for omni.

I haven't try it yet, but with having so much low-end in omni, I have a feeling it'd work nicely as an omni room mic; which is a very good + for the C3 as a good low-end from ANY omni mic in relation to the high-end when far from the source is pretty rare; let alone for a "budget" mic.

In an iso-booth, I always found a use for it; and for the most part, got a pleasurable frequency response. In a live room, it got rather tubby and I seemed to be achy for more high-end.

So, I found two "rarities" in the C3; one for "budget" mics, and the other for ANY mic. And the price is crazy low, so...
 
truckerdave10


The C3 is a better mic than the C1. Its just that everyone is paying so much attention to the C1, that the C3 seems to get forgotten. If you look at the C3 just as plain ole mic, it has everything you could want, multiple patterns, hi-pass filter, and a 10 db pad...and its only a little more that $100.00 more than the C1.

The C3 is smoother, better responding (proximity), tighter low end, but still there just not as apparent as the C1. The C3 is an amazing mic for the dollars. While we are selling them, I am surprised they have not taken off as big as the C1 has, although the C3 sells better in Europe as the value seems to be more recgonized there.
 
Thanx guys. I'm probably going to order the C3 monday. I guess the price is the reason C1 is selling so well. I believe it will be useful for my amateur recordings. I face particular problem in miking steel bocy tricone and singing at the same time. Bass frequencies come from upper and lower lattice holes and resonator sound from the three cones. You can use mic at 12th fret and in front of resonators but it just don't sound right as far as i can tell. I figure by the time all the sound coming from the five different places blends together you have to be a few feet away to hear it as it really sounds. I think i can use one mic as a "room" mic to capture accurate sound from guitar and use another for close miking vocals and it ought to do the job. I'll just have to play with the C3 and the AT4033 to see which one does which best, although i bet i'll wind up using the C3 for vocals.
 
Take the body length of the guitar and place the mic AT LEAST that far out in front of the instrument..................it is approx that distance out before frequencies from the different parts of the body are combining.

Peace..........ChrisO :cool:
 
Yep, been miking it from about 4 feet away. Just have to do it in a good room. Going to have move stuff out of small bedroom into end of living room to do it. I checked around house and it's the best sounding location. Fortunately, i'm single with no wife to bitch about it being there. Ordered the C3 today and at this very moment it is headed to my front door.
 
If anyones interested got the C3 in, played with it for a few hours just experimenting with patterns, etc. Both AT 4033 and C3 give accurate sound miking steel body tricone from 4 feet away but C3 did the best job on close miking vocals by far in cardoid pattern. My stuff sounds like it was recorded with something way more better that $350 mic. Only thing is, i have to drape a quilt over my entertainment center with the big TV screen or the sound reflects back from the side.
 
I bought the C1 because I already have a competitors variable pattern mic and because I was blown away by it through my Mindprint Envoice. I have never seen this much top end in a budget mic. I don't find the top end to be frizzy or sharp at all. Maybe because I have a good quality Preamp.Just a little bump about 300HZ. I am waiting on the T3 now. It's about $1200. Canadian unfortunately. Alan if I sucked up enough.....you can email me with a great deal! I would love to have been the distributor for these in Canada. I think I could have sold quite a few units. There is so much hype attached to so many manufacturers out there especially the larger ones, that people are afraid to stray from their magazines. ....By the way.....after all that, get the C3 if you don't already have a mult pattern.
 
Sorry this is my first time in this forum. Quick question: where can I find a decent deal for a C1/C3?
Thanks
 
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