Pawn Shop Deal - Please advise

  • Thread starter Thread starter TexRoadkill
  • Start date Start date
I already have two. I don't need a third one. Thanks anyway. Hmmm... To be honest the only small diapragm condensors I've used have been the C1000 and the Octava mc012. I find that they each have their uses. I just don't understand the utter contempt people have for these mics. One of these days I'm going to have to do a serious A/B between the AKG and my Octavas just to see if I've just been deluding myself into liking them.
 
C1000

$100 for a C1000 is a good price if that is the mic you want. I use C1000s for live performance, micing mandolin and fiddle. They are good for that. For recording the same instruments I use a KM184 on the mando and a Royer R121 on the fiddle. Ribbons almost always make fiddles sound best in my experience.

Pete
 
Michael Jones said:
Take that $400 bucks and put it into one, fairly decent, Large Condensor mic.
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A better idea would be to buy all three of these mics at the pawn shop and list them on ebay....I sold that same octava mic on ebay for 147, so I know you could make money on all that stuff. Then you'll be able to buy some fat mics...even look into buying some mics on ebay.
 
cominginsecond said:
To be honest the only small diapragm condensors I've used have been the C1000 and the Octava mc012. I find that they each have their uses. I just don't understand the utter contempt people have for these mics. ...
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I haven't used very many SD condensors myself, but the 2 pairs I tried were the C1000s and the AT4041s for drum overheads. Also tried them as a stereo pair on a Baldwin Hamilton (conservatory) upright piano just for kicks.

I have to say the AT 4041s had higher highs (not surprising), fuller lows (somewhat surprising), and more defined mids.

I don't think you're finding utter contempt ... just opinions from people who have used other mics and truly found them to be better.

Also, I think $100 to $125 each is a fair price to pay for C1000s, if one wants them. Consider that MF sells them at $300 per pair new. I've seen them in used-gear stores for $125, private parties often will sell for less (they get 100% of the profit as opposed to half, or in case of consignment around where I live, maybe 75% of the price the store puts on it).

The upshot of all this is, I discovered the 4041s after I borrowed a pair of C1000s to record drum overheads. An engineer who mastered one of the songs for me commented that they sounded pretty good, nice and clean. When I told him I used C1000s and was surprised he liked the OHs, he was visibly VERY surprised. So, your mileage may vary. I just imagine how well the drums would've come out if I had recorded them with the 4041s, because I KNOW those sounded better.

If I were buying my own, I'd get 4041s or demo other mics. Don't think I'd go with C1000s.
 
To my ear, the AKG C1000 has some serious high frequency peaks which I find too harsh and disturbing to use for most applications. Possibly it might sound good as overheads where you're not dealing with specific frequencies that would make the problem more apparent.

I just don't find them to be a good value, especially when compared to a good example of an Oktava MK012, the MXL-603S, or the Behringer ECM8000 for that same application.

I don't HATE the C1000, I just won't recommend it as a useful mic for most recording applications. If you already own one, use it, and I'm glad if it works well for you. I just find it a little too harsh for my needs.
 
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