Oktava 012 vs. AKG C1000

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kdoggity

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Hey everyone. I'm considering purchasing a new condenser mic. I would just like some opinions on the pro's and con's of these two mics, and how they stand up against one another.
 
IMO the Oktavas are much, much better mics. The C1000 might be one of the most useless mics ever made. I've heard them on acoustic guitar, vox, and drums, and they are just nasty and brittle. Some like them on guitar cabs, but I haven't heard them on cabs. The Oktavas, OTOH, are consideed to be one of the best bang-for-the-buck mics ever made by many pros and home recordists for applications like acoustic guitar, piano, drum overheads, and percussion.

Here's just one review: http://www.mojopie.com/mk012.html

On acoustic guitar, I really like the Marshall MXL603s also.
 
the consensus seems to be the oktavas. why are you looking at these two in particular? do you have a particular application in mind or is this your first condensor? if so there are lots of others you should look at.
 
Thanks guys.

Hey guys, thanks for the responses. Yes, it will be my first condenser. My recordings consist of an acoustic guitar (seagull s6), male and female vocals. It's not terribly important to have the best gear, I just want to make some good sounding recordings. I'm not limiting myself to just the two, either. Those are just two I've done some research on. I'd be glad to hear any suggestions you might have. Thanks again.
 
The Oktavas are great overheads at their price point, and make a pretty good remote stereo pair. Thay are fair on guitar. They can be used for vocals, but are prone to popping and would not be my first choice for vocals by any means. For an all around guitar/vocal mic, I would choose a mid sized or large diaphragm mic, not a small diaphragm mic. The C1000S is one hell of a night stick that can double as a coffee stirrer. For general studio application, I'm a fan of AKG C2000B, which is pretty good on guitar, voice, or as a pair of overheads. It's not AKG I don't like, it's that mic (C1000S).-Richie
 
at 3035 is a nice place to start
a cad m37 is "okay", even a little cheaper
I still use both of 'em (not too often) but they should work very well for you
In His Name
BK
 
Richard Monroe said:
The Oktavas are great overheads at their price point, and make a pretty good remote stereo pair. Thay are fair on guitar. They can be used for vocals, but are prone to popping and would not be my first choice for vocals by any means. For an all around guitar/vocal mic, I would choose a mid sized or large diaphragm mic, not a small diaphragm mic. The C1000S is one hell of a night stick that can double as a coffee stirrer. For general studio application, I'm a fan of AKG C2000B, which is pretty good on guitar, voice, or as a pair of overheads. It's not AKG I don't like, it's that mic (C1000S).-Richie
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i've used the C1000s, own the 2000b, and own the Oktava's.

I'd agree with everything he said. The 2000b is a real workhorse on acoustic guitar, and so are the Oktava's, and the 2000b is also pretty good for vocals, i've also used it as a mono room mic and thought that sounded pretty good, and i've used it below the snare drum and really liked that alot.
 
I've used the c1000s & own the 012 - I think they're both great mics to be honest. The c1000s gets unfairly trashed round here IMO - I've made some great recordings of acoustic guitar with it & I love the way it sparkles.

You can hear the C1000s in action on some of my stuff here (listen to the first song in particular) - scroll down to the bottom of the page.

http://www.truthisacoustic.com/promotion.html


The Oktava is also marvellous - but be careful with placement. It can pop from the air generated by even strumming - or breathing down onto it whilst playing.
 
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The C-1000 is a great snare/tom mic. It's also good on a guitart amp. For acoustic instruments or drum overheads however, it's pretty lame. The Octava is much better in that application. The Octava on the other hand sucks on snare/toms or in front of an amp. Proper tool for the proper job. YMMV.
 
It seems to me that bashing the C1000 is kind of cool.
The mic doesn't deserve that because it can sound great on distorted guitar amps, on bass amps and it will sound decent on percussion, horns and winds.

Having that said, it's overpriced. You can get a better sounding mic for less money these days.

But otoh, C1000's sound pretty much alike, which can not be said from the Oktava's.
 
The AKG C1000 and C3000 have some rather tall high end peaks in their response which, when excited, can produce some unexpected results, usually harshness or overly bright response. Not all sources will excite these peaks, so these mics can sometimes produce quite acceptable results, "under just the right conditions".

The big problem is that you never know when they're gonna work well. For a home studio that has the time to play with positioning, or for less critical projects, they might provide "acceptable results". But when you're charging a client a lot of money, or you're going for a nationally released album, it's not worth the time to experiment with them on the chance they may work in a particular application.

There are a lot of "one trick pony" mics out there, but most are used because they do that one trick particularly well, and you can count on them to always come thru, so they become your "GoTo" mics when you need that trick. The C1000 and C3000 just aren't as well suited for general purpose recording, or even "one trick pony" status for most studios.

If you have a lot of time to experiment, yes, they can provide usable results for some applications, but they're usually just too unpredictable for regular studio use. They're NOT a POS, just not useful enough to keep on hand, when there are so many better choices in that price range.
 
In the interest of fairness, if people would like some of us to stop bashing the C1000, then I too have a request.

Anyone posting "I use a C1000 all the time on (insert application) and I think it sounds great!" should please indicate compared to what. If it is the only mic you own or have ever heard, then your statement isn't particularly useful. If you say: "I chose it over a Studio Projects C4, (or an AKG 451, Josephson C42, DPA 4011, Schoeps MK4, etc.)" we at least have some idea what your standard of reference is.

I bought a C1000 many years ago when it was one of the few inexpensive small diaphragm condensers available. It had two problems: it sounded like crap, and it picked up an FM radio station when hand-held (though not on a stand). I sent it back to the factory, thinking something had to be wrong. They sent it back, saying it was working "perfectly".

It still sounds like crap, although it works pretty well as an FM antenna.

I don't know how else to describe my experience. So if that's bashing, so be it.
 
Hey lo beam, that acoustic guitar really doesn't sound all that great, although it's by no means horrible (playing's fine, it's just got an unpleasant sound to it).

That being said, I REALLY liked the song (Do that again) and your voice is quite excellent. Especially the part where you sing "And I'll never do that again", that's really nice even though I think it would do better to be played at the end of the song if you're going to play it only once. Anyways I'm way off topic but I felt like I should tell you that I liked it.
 
Agreed, great song indeed. Are you influenced by Crosby, Stills and Nash?
 
I hear CSN and alot of wilco! Can never get enough wilco. that vegas nerve song blew me away. It's got that great slow vocal line over a fast acoustic guitar, that's a real contrast that I always that Radiohead had down really well (see Paranoid Android). Seriously man, I'd buy this cd. But this topic should get back on topic too :)

Angels choke on dirty words.
 
Track Rat said:
The C-1000 is a great snare/tom mic. It's also good on a guitart amp. For acoustic instruments or drum overheads however, it's pretty lame. The Octava is much better in that application. The Octava on the other hand sucks on snare/toms or in front of an amp. Proper tool for the proper job. YMMV.
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I agree with TR, except I don't really care for the AKG C1000S on guitar amps.
 
The only good thing I ever found for the C1000 is the fact it will work with a battery and can be a decent interveiw/spoken word remote mic.As far as music it is ,as Harvey said, very unpredictable and at its price break,is very low on the food chain in this range.
 
With the pad cylinder screwed in, I've used the MC012 successfully on the snare bottom and kick beater. And even occasionally snare top (but only for jazz or lighter acoustic-style music - it's not going to give you a classic rock snare sound). Never tried it on toms (I'm perfectly happy with 414's for that).

Another good example of different strokes for different folks, I guess.
 
Hey thanks for the kind words guys!
Glad the tunes were appreciated - the whole thing was recorded at home on a Yamaha AW16G with what most would consider to be pretty trashy mics & equipment, but I think it goes to show that sometimes limitations can force you to get the very best you can outta what you got.
Just finished a new album too - so mebbe I'll post some more links soon.

Cheers!
 
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