akg c 3000 condensor mic

[Mikeeley]

i have an akg c 3000 condensor mic i use for vocals. i also have digidesign 002. i was planning on getting a grace 101. do you think it would be worth getting this preamp? or would it be a waste of my money because the mic isnt nice enough to compliment it? if not any ideas on mic that would work well with a grace?

thanks!

 

[Mikeeley]

no reply????

 

[paddyponchero]

no reply????

I'm sure by now you've discovered that everybody hates that mic, it still has reasonable resale value on ebay.co.uk and ebay.de which is where I'd send it.

As regards a different mic you could describe what kind of music, what kind of voice or best of all link to an mp3 and people might be able to make a few suggestions.

 

[Stefan Elmblad]

The C3000 is not worth the money.

 

[Mark7]

Is it bad on all platforms or just digital?

 

[Mark7]

Same question for the C1000S.

 

[Stefan Elmblad]

Forget the platform, it's just bad. Sounds harsh both on harddisk recording and analog tape. Same answer for the C1000, although some say that one is good on snare. Never tried that myself.

Look for something like the AudioTechnica AT4033 and Oktava MC012 instead of the C3000 and C1000.

However, I must also add that the C2000 and C4000 are good mics, so it isn't a problem with the entire range.

 

[paddyponchero]

Also check out AT3035, nice vocals for not much money

 

[ch2os7]

AKG c3000 and c1000s

i have an akg c 3000 condensor mic i use for vocals. i also have digidesign 002. i was planning on getting a grace 101. do you think it would be worth getting this preamp? or would it be a waste of my money because the mic isnt nice enough to compliment it? if not any ideas on mic that would work well with a grace?

thanks!

Those 2 AKG mics have a bad rep on this board. I got the same results when I mentioned my c1000s. I found out that you can't trust the manufacturer's promotional hype. Look at independent mic reviews. Try them out if possible. Take note of which used mics are not flooding ebay. Thats how I figured out which ones were "keepers". I read that the 3000 and 1000 are good for live applications but not recording even though they are promoted as studio mics. A good preamp couldn't hurt.

 

[noisedude]

That's a very good point - you won't find tonnes and tonnes of second hand CAD mics on ebay, for example. And re-sell values of SM57s and 58s are always high compared to their brand new price.

I sold my C1000S to a friend recently, I would've felt bad but he only wanted it for hand percussion and it's not quite so bad at that. He tried it for a vocal last week and sent me the results ... then I started feeling guilty

 

[Mikeeley]

i actually used the c1000 and c3000 for overheads and they sounded decent.

as for what i want my vocals to sound like... it will be used for vocals on some hardcore and rock bands. also it will be used for rap. so i basically am just looking for an all around pretty decent mic. (warm, full and clear) something a few steps up from that c3000 ive been working with for the past year.

thanks!

 

[noisedude]

You know, I don't want to be rude, because there's no reason my opinion counts more than yours. But my feeling is that if your C1000S sounded decent as overheads, you weren't hearing right. For some reason there's some hype about the C1000 being a 'Swiss army mic', as in, it can do anything well. Well, the anything part is true, but I would swap 'well' out for 'badly'.

 

[Mikeeley]

haha they didnt sound amazing. but i didnt pay very much for them and ive only worked with oktava's for overheads other than them. but the oktava's definatly made the akgs sound terrible

 

[Mark7]

The weird thing is, we're talking about mics made right in the heart of Europe. I mean, in theory they shouldn't be that bad. So, what went wrong?

 

[mandocaster]

I have found that the C3000 works very well with my upright bass for live sound reinforcement. When it is set on its hypercardiod pattern you can get great volume out of it without feedback.

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Mike of "da" Mics:

Looks like the AKG 3000 is taking a real beating. I got a KSM 32 to replace my AKG C3000. I got some good time out of the 3000 doing vocals; however, I used an ART dual mic pre, and still do, to enhance the signal of the 3000.

You will find that the AKG 4000 gets good grades but isn't advertised like the 3000. WHY? I would think the 4000 is a better mic.

Grace 101? A very nice mic pre. I have one. But, its lack of ins/outs might not be what you need; you might want a larger Grace. If not, the Grace 101 has a H-Z 1/4 inch input in the front; it has one XLR mic input; it has one XLR balanced output; it has one 1/4 inch balanced out. Needless to say, it also has phantom power and an HPF button plus nice good sized gain and trim knobs. The price of the 101 has dropped. NEW should run less than 500 pezzutos.

You will find you can use the Grace 101 for more than just vocals. I often run my synth into it and then into an RNC and then into the recorder. Depends how much you want to experiment for different results. Are there better mic pres? For sure. But, for the money, the 101 is a quality piece of gear.

I agree that the AKG C3000 isn't up to par with many of the newer mics; but, I haven't put mine into the storage locker yet--have to admit though, the Shure KSM is a better mic.

Happy Spring
Green Hornet

 

[Herm]

I had the c3000 and thought it was a bad mic when it first came out and sold it cause of the harshness I kept hearing. Now I wish I had held on to it long enough to find out if it sounded as bad as running it through an analog recorder. I Bought mine when they first came out cause it was the only cheap large condencer you could buy at that time. Back then they where 500.00 new.
After beating my head against a wall for 3 years with it Im not so sure alot of the harshness I was hearing didnt come from Junk alesis adats, (the first ones) and
Crap Mackie preamps. Thats when all of the c3000,s got their bad name.

I dont think it was all of the mics fault.
Sadly there are those that are still using cheap digital recorders and cheap preamps like mackie. And the combination of the 3 is a ear splitter for sure.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

When the AKG C3000 first came out, they were over $800 new.

 

[Mark7]

Boy, they should at least have been tolerable for that kind of wonga

 

[Yareek]

Akg C3000

I remember that these mics came out before the flurry of Russian and Chinese condensers. It was the first condenser I ever bought, because it was cheap (300 bucks) and widely recommended. I think a lot of people billed it as a poor-man's 414.

It sounded okay on overheads (a bit too bright/harsh for the cymbals, especially for LD's), and good on acoustic sometimes, but too harsh on vocals. I sold mine because I got a used Rode NT2 for my LD, and a pair of C4's for overheads.

- Jarick