Akg C1000s quality?

M

M-Skeleton

New member
I am looking for drum overheads and saw that Musicians friend was selling a pair of Akg C1000s for about $300. I did some research on them and recieved mixed reviews about their preformance: some said they were great overheads, and others said they had a hideous sound. Are they bad microphones or is their sound qualitiy purely subjective, more so than most mics?

any info would be great

thanks

M
 
Much has been said about the C1000, most of it is negative, but there are a couple of applications where the C1000 can do pretty well.

There are many mics these days that cost less and sound better than te C1000.

I've never liked the C1000 on OH, but it can do well on snare, percussion, guitar cabs and woodwinds.

IMHO the C1000 is to expensive for what it can, the SP B1 will do better and so will do the MXL V67.

Maybe you'd better get a pair of MXL 603S for OH, though I don't own them, I've read many good things about them.
 
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I use a pair of C1000s with the hyper cardiod inserts. I then use them almost exclusively on snare and high hat.
 
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These mic are well constructed but are one of the crappier mics you'll ever use. They have a grainy sound. I am surprised they haven't been pulled from AKG's lineup. Evidently, the uninformed still buy them...or maybe there is one thing they do do well.

Bob
 
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My AKG'S

I recently purchased 2 AKG'S and they are far superior, for my purposes, than the sm58 & sm57 that i was using. I'm strictly acoustic and was using the Shures for micing my dobro. The sound quality was to twangy but the AKG's solved that problem. I can't speak for the electric sound quality. There is some good info at reso-nation.org on these and other mics for the acoustic community. The AKG and KSM32 are the most sought after for dobro players. Most of us have budget constraints that prevent us from purchasing the high end mics. Good Luck.
 
Ksm 32

Its my understanding that Jerry Douglas uses several types of mics in conjunction with his performances with the different DOBROS he performs with. I don't follow his career that much but his website jerrydouglas.com has a large following and I'm sure there is plenty of info about his preferences on the site. I'm a frequent visitor and sometime contributor at reso-nation.org. Lots of technical info about the DOBRO there as well as info on several other types of microphones. If you have plans to do DOBRO recording I highly recommend visiting the site and checking out all the posts by Erik Waynesmith. He made a recent post of all his inputs and it is easy to find.
 
M-Skeleton said:
Are they bad microphones or is their sound qualitiy purely subjective, more so than most mics?
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It's not a matter of being subjective. The C1000S is brittle sounding and overpriced. They can be put to use but there are better choices for less money out there. I sold mine and bought two MXL 603's based on advice here and am considerably happier with the 603's. The 603's have a more natural sound (less grainy) and are also less expensive. Haven't used them as overheads yet but they've been very good for acoustic guitar. Hope this helps!
 
I'm taking it your budget is around $300.

The Studio Projects C4 instrument condensers put across a musical sound on drum kit overheads. It's one of the best drum kit overhead sounds I've heard regardless of price.

Here's our review: http://www.mojopie.com/c4.html
 
Just browsed reso-nation.org, and it's a pretty cool site. Erik is indeed a treasure over there, and pretty damn sharp.

You might wanna hip some of the folks over there about the RNP mic preamp and RNC compressor, along with listening to the MXL 603, the SP C4, and the Oktava MC012. That would be a mighty clean, and transparent setup for most dobro players at a pretty low price.

And yeah, it seems like the Shure KSM32 is at the top of Jerry Douglas' list. Every TV show I've seen with AKUS has Jerry using a KSM32.
 
UB802 said:
It isn't as "grainy" "harsh" "brittle" as most make it out to be. Most likely, they are using it on instruments that already sound that way. No problem. A different mic was the key for them.
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I have the AKG C3000B which is considered to have the same problems as the C1000 and believe, my D41 isn't "grainy, harsh, or brittle", but I'll be damned if that C3000B isn't the cause of the shit sound I get. Tossed a RODE NT1 out there and fixed the problem like that.

I believe the "C" series is utter and complete shit.
 
Due to the fact that the C1000S and C3000B *are* harsh and brittle, the C2000B is often overlooked. It's a very good overhead, and I bet it wouldn't be too bad on a Dobro , either.
 
akg c1000s

i own the akg c1000s and use them as drum overheads and i think they soudn great. they are nice and bright and do a good job of recreating my cymbal sounds. Ive also used one on vocals a few times when i was in a pinch and i thought the soudn that i got from it was more than useable.
 
As far as being overpriced goes, I got my C1000s for "free" with the purchase of my Akai DPS16 DAW a few years back.

I use the C1000s for a variety of things....I also own an SP C1, B1 and 58s. I think it sounds pretty damn good much of the time....the tracks seem to sit in the mix quite well.
 
Several of my songs on NWR have C1000s on OH. I thought them overly harsh, but definitely not unusable. I've had better results with 603s and SPB1 than with C1000s in general.

Follow the link in my sig. Blue Sky and Penny O'Doule are C1000s (OH) and SM57(kick, snare). Everything you read is 603s(oh) D112(kick) and SM57 (snare, toms).

You can really hear the harshness in Blue sky during the Bridge.

*edit - these are all Zildjian Custom A cymbals and TAMA birch drums.
 
c1000s

I bought a c1000s and thought it was good until I saw what people on this bbs had to say about it. The only reason I bought it was because it can be powered with a 9v battery. I didn't have phantom power at the time.
I haven't sold mine but I'm considering it. I have purchased some better mics but I've found it does sound good on my dobro. I've read other reviews that praised it for live fiddle but the same review warned against recording with it.
The consensus around here has been consistent. Invest in something else. The c1000s has few fans at HR.com.
 
I think just about any SD condensor in the same price range as a C1000 sounds better for most things. There are a few things that the C1000 does pretty well though. Overheads is DEFINATELY not one of those things in my opinion. They work great on banjo's though and even some dobros and the occasional mandolin in a live setting. There is not much I would ever use them for in the studio though:(
 
Ive found they can be useful for micing dark guitar cabinets, too. A few times I have recorded and a C1000 had just the right cut to make an otherwise muddy guitar sound ok. And they are tough, thats for sure!

I have used a C1000 live on a guitar cab, also, and really liked what I got. Sometimes when a mic has a nasly top end, you can find situations that it just works well in. Thats whats good about having so many mics to choose from.

H2H
 
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