Mics: more of an obsession than a real difference?

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Bobbsy said:
However, the C1000 is my least favourite, most hated mic in the world. It's screechy and harsh at the top end--and I speak as somebody whose taste tends to run to bright mics. I've yet to find ANYTHING that sounds good on a C1000. My definition of hell was a few years back when somebody miked a violin with a C1000 and asked me to mix it!
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I can really feel your pain on this one Bob.

Betting if there were to be a most unlikeable microphone poll posted here. We would get votes from people in the know that would put the AKG C1000 very close to the top - if not being the *all time most hated microphone in the world*.

MORE TO COME
 
moresound said:
I can really feel your pain on this one Bob.

Betting if there were to be a most unlikeable microphone poll posted here. We would get votes from people in the know that would put the AKG C1000 very close to the top - if not being the *all time most hated microphone in the world*.

MORE TO COME
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That may be the case, but why is it the case? Is it really that bad, or is it just a group-think thing (like the way Behringer is knocked)?

Sound on Sound, which I had regarded as being fairly objective, although not gushing with praise, was reasonably positive about the C1000: AKG C1000S

In this industry, there are numerous occasions when people have said things like: "Don't buy XXX, it's total crap", and when I try to get to the bottom of it, there's more often than not no basis for such total condemnation. Sometimes the basis is personal experience that didn't go well, and from the specific has come the general. Sometimes the basis is someone else's opinion.
 
I also used that mic (C1000S) and hated it, nasty/harsh. Couldn't think of anything I wanted to ruin by using it...and had at least 3-4 other people there at the time who reacted in the same way to it....so I think it's more than just a legend IMHO.

AFA magazines....mmmmm...most are very careful NOT to trash anything, so as not to kiss their advertising income good-bye.
 
I use a pair of C1000's on my overheads. I'm sure there are better mics, but they haven't ruined my drum sound either.
 
I did not take the time to read through this, but I'm all for what you are saying up to a point. I so agree that any recording starts with the quality of the instrument/voice and the performance. All of the recordings that I have done that I think sound the best, were the best performances,performers, etc., and I still manage to screw them up. But all of us do ourselves a great service by researching and knowing how to find the right tools (mics, pres, room) to capture the performance the best way possible. I agree, sometimes my 300 SM-7 sounds better than my 2,000 Kiwi. Sometimes its a different mic. The possible case is a great performance captured by a great enginneer. It takes both. As far as a home studio, I so agree with spending the time on the room and the performance before the gear. A U87 will sound like ass in a bad room.
 
RAMI said:
I use a pair of C1000's on my overheads. I'm sure there are better mics, but they haven't ruined my drum sound either.
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Impossible. According to this thread they are the worst mics ever, so you sir are a liar!
 
RAMI said:
I use a pair of C1000's on my overheads. I'm sure there are better mics, but they haven't ruined my drum sound either.
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Well, I can vouch for that. Rami certainly pulls a good kit sound out of his system!
 
gecko zzed said:
Well, I can vouch for that. Rami certainly pulls a good kit sound out of his system!
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Thanx. At the same time, I must say that it's the only pair of overheads I've ever owned, so I have nothing to compare them to. I'm sure if I tried a "better" pair, I'd probably notice how much better my sound can be. Or maybe not. Who knows. The most I can do is make sure I'm giving them the best drum sound I can and let them do whatever they can.
 
RAMI said:
At the same time, I must say that it's the only pair of overheads I've ever owned, so I have nothing to compare them to.
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I am in a similar situation. I don't have a vast locker of mikes on hand, so I have to make best use of what I've got. I use a pair of NT5s for overheads, and I've had no cause for complaint. Again, there are probably better mikes out there, but the ones I have work just fine.

For many years I had a pair of NT1As that I used for vocals. Some people say they are too bright. Maybe, but they worked ok for me. I only recently lashed out and got a C414xls, which has taken top spot as my most expensive mike. It is not as bright as an NT1a, but it is certainly very smooth and even over the frequency range. It is also extremely versatile: I can do a vocal track with it, then just swing it around onto a guitar and pull a highly satisfying guitar sound.

I expect that my situation is similar to that of many other home recordists: you accumulate bits and pieces over the years, some good, some not so good, and do the best you can with what you've got. Although my 'studio' is very modest, I'm gratified that I am kept very busy. I don't advertise, and what I get is repeat business and referrals, so I must be doing something right with the stuff I have.

I note that Highriser has been doing mike shoot-outs with a few that he is considering. I can't get all that excited about that effort, because although mikes are important, it's how you work them that's even more important.
 
RAMI said:
I use a pair of C1000's on my overheads. I'm sure there are better mics, but they haven't ruined my drum sound either.
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That might be about the best place for them....not too close up on any source, and I'm sure as OH mics, they pick up the high-end and that might work for your overall mix since you are also combining them with your spot mics...so the overall drum sound is a mix and not just those mics.

People ask for opinions of others, and you will always get both pros & cons....those mics just tend to get more cons, that's all....in your case, they get pros.

As I mentioned...I tend to not like bright & edgy sounds...some folks do and make good use of them in their mixes. The C1000S has that bright & edgy sound quality and why I give it cons.


Just personal preferences about sounds...but it's nothing personal personal. :)
 
miroslav said:
Just personal preferences about sounds...but it's nothing personal personal. :)
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I would never take anything about my mics personally. The only thing I do with them is record. :eek:

I think the reason I got lucky with these mics is because my girlfriend at the time bought them for me. She always had a knack for coming through. So, I'm sure if I bought them, they would have sucked. But since she bought them, they worked for me. :D
 
Ask her if she wants to pick out a guitar amp for me...I'm looking to fill out some missing tone flavors. :)
 
miroslav said:
That might be about the best place for them....not too close up on any source, and I'm sure as OH mics, they pick up the high-end and that might work for your overall mix since you are also combining them with your spot mics...so the overall drum sound is a mix and not just those mics.
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What you say "might" be true of the AKG C1000 except that the official AKG published data seems to contradict it.

Firstly, " that might be the best place for them, not too close up on any source":

1. The polar pattern displayed on the AKG graph of the C1000 appears to be unremarkable. Quite normal.

2. The proximity effect, displayed on the AKG graph at 1cm also seems unremarkable. A very smooth, predictable bass boost typical of a cardioid mic.

3. The maximum SPL is quoted as 137db. Such an SPL is in the pain area of human hearing and continued exposure to this SPL deafens people.

Secondly, " I'm sure as OH mics they pick up the high end":

1. Yes their high end response is fine. Quite useable out to 20khz, with a mild, smoothish presence boost of about 3db max.

2. At the low end there is a gentle roll off starting at 200hz. Obviously not the first choice mic for recording a double bass, a big pipe organ and the like.

But would that roll off below 200hz have any effect recording a violin? What's the lowest note a violin can play? Perhaps somebody here can tell us.

C 1000 S - Specifications

Cheers Tim
 
Question for you, Tim:

Are you basing your defence of the C1000S purely on published specifications or have you ever listened to one?
 
How about everyone just makes themselves happy with their own crap? I personally don't care to hear about others opinions when it comes to 'what is best'. There are to many variables (voice, range, talent, timbre, distance, room, time of day, drugs/alcohol, mic, pre, engineer, vodka, humidity, meds, dogs, money, ......and whether mom lets you make noise at 2AM).

It all smells like crap to me. Smell/sound/specs...all the same. No meaning in the real world.

What works for you, well, it worked for you.

Recommend sure, argue what is better? Nope, go be a candidate for elect. Then piss off. :)

Just sayin...
 
jimmys69 said:
How about everyone just makes themselves happy with their own crap? I personally don't care to hear about others opinions when it comes to 'what is best'. There are to many variables (voice, range, talent, timbre, distance, room, time of day, drugs/alcohol, mic, pre, engineer, vodka, humidity, meds, dogs, money, ......and whether mom lets you make noise at 2AM).

It all smells like crap to me. Smell/sound/specs...all the same. No meaning in the real world.

What works for you, well, it worked for you.

Recommend sure, argue what is better? Nope, go be a candidate for elect. Then piss off. :)

Just sayin...
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This ^^^^^^^^


It is funny though how offended then defensive these old "pros" get over nothing.
 
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