Samson C03 - dissapointed

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kilfin

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Samson C03 - disappointed

I suppose I should have read a little more on what I was getting into before I ran out and bought this and the noise is driving me insane. I am very new to recording and have not had the opportunity to listen to very many mics...I am very curious as to what the noise levels are on other mics (to actually hear them and not just a stat). Anyone that has some nice mics and would be willing to post a vocal sample and the mic it was recorded with (completely effect free...including reverb) that would be really great.

And a question to go along with this...is all this noise that I'm hearing "in my head?" I've read on here that 23 -dB is very high and it seems like when I record vocal or acoustic all I can hear is that noise because I'm so focused on it now I guess. I can get rid of most of the noise if i want too but it pretty much ruins the tone no matter what I'm recording.

Also if anyone knows of any sites that have mic audio samples would be great too. Hopfeully someone takes the time to read this I know its awfully long.
 
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kilfin said:
I suppose I should have read a little more on what I was getting into before I ran out and bought this and the noise is driving me insane. I am very new to recording and have not had the opportunity to listen to very many mics... And a question to go along with this...is all this noise that I'm hearing "in my head?" I've read on here that 23 -dB is very high and it seems like when I record vocal or acoustic all I can hear is that noise because I'm so focused on it now I guess.
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The noise is not in your head. It's in the mic. I owned a pair of CO1's. VERY hissy and very noticeable, unless you're recording a very loud source.

Trust me. Get a Studio Projects B1 or B3, and it will be dead quiet in comparison. Or a CAD M177 or CAD 179... I hope you can return your CO3. But in any event, the mics I suggested will be much quieter and better on anything you choose to record them with.

Specs don't always tell the whole story, but in this case they are spot on and eminently meaningful.
 
Are you sure the noise isn't just the microphone picking up the noise in your recording environment? Condenser microphones are VERY sensitive; they will pick up EVERYTHING! The fridge in the next room, the wife doing laundry downstairs, etc...
Oh, and if you have a PC in the same room, the microphone will pick up the noise from the power supply fan and the hard drive.

Good luck!
 
I have heard that this mic is noisy, but what phantom source are you using, Its pretty commen that on some of the worse boards, that the phantom will be incredable noisy, while the strait pre is clear. Its probably the mics though.

Ben
 
Gordone's right, these recording-specific mics will pick up everything in the room, omni, cardiod, whatever, unless you've got a dead quiet recording environment. I have to "turn off" the whole house and send the wife and kids to the mall if I want to record anything with microphones...My setup is in a basement and my mics (from B1 to C4 to 421 to JM27 and so on) will even pick up and amplify cars going by outside that I CAN"T HEAR...

I have a C01, haven't recorded anything with it but have plugged it in, and besides having a "thick" response, isn't any more or less sensitive to it's environment than my others...

Eric
 
None of my LDCs or SDCs are even nearly sensitive to pick up the other guys talking in the room when recording a band live. Then again I'm recording in a 50' x 30' room.

Ben
 
emergencyexit said:
None of my LDCs or SDCs are even nearly sensitive to pick up the other guys talking in the room when recording a band live. Then again I'm recording in a 50' x 30' room.

Ben
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Heh heh heh, one guy per corner then? :D

Every recording situation I've ever been in that involved an actual band and did NOT involve an actual studio included the most cramped, claustrophobic environment that could be concieved...One was in a 20x10 storage unit in Mesa AZ...It was also stuffed full of the owners furniture and stuff...I still remember the smell of being that close to three other guys for hours at a time....<shudder>... :eek:

Eric
 
stetto said:
Gordone's right, these recording-specific mics will pick up everything in the room, omni, cardiod, whatever, unless you've got a dead quiet recording environment.
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You're right, but with respect, the Samson Condensors are very noisy all in themselves. If you're doing just voice, or voice and acoustic guitar, the hiss is very noticeable, regardless of the preamp...

With my SP B1 I can record all sorts of very, very quiet things (and yes, pickup some extraneous sounds I may not want), but unlike with the CO1, I never have to edit out empty sections loaded with hiss.

The first voiceover I did using a CO1, my wife said, "What's that noise in the background?" For loud vocals with guitar, no problem... But anything relatively quiet sounds like an old cassette tape recording without the Dolby switched on.
 
I agree that it's the mics. I've never been able to get a usable sound out of a Samson condenser just because of all of the noise. There are much better mics out there for a similar price or just slightly more. Samson, Behringer, they're all just the same thing.
 
Thanks for all the responses.

Someone asked me about the noise level of the room...well the room I record in is a bit noisy...but thats definately not it...I've tried eliminating every possible noise and still the same high pitched hissing.

Someone also asked about the preamp...right now I'm plugged into a PreSonus Inspire 1394. I'm going to see if I can take back or exchange this Samson over the weekend...wish me luck.
 
kilfin said:
I'm going to see if I can take back or exchange this Samson over the weekend...wish me luck.
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That's the solution. If you can't do a return you can use the mic for a very loud source (drums, locomotive). Good luck on the return.
 
tell them when you got home you just decided you didn't need it and you never used it. almost no stores will let you return a microphone if theres a chance it was used
 
Hello!

Does anybody have Samson C03U mic? Is it noisy like C03? :)
 
i_looove_music said:
Hello!

Does anybody have Samson C03U mic? Is it noisy like C03? :)
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If that's one of the USB ones then the chances are they're even noisier as a result of having all the components in the same spot.
 
Could someone please post audio sample of C03u?

Thank you :)
 
I doubt anyone here will have one ... they're kinda crappy.

Good luck though.
 
I agree that certain mic's can be really noisy (never had this Samson mic, but I had a Shure Beta Green as my first mic...imagine my surprise when I learned that other mic's existed, made by Shure even, that weren't so hissy!).

But pre's can be hissy too. I don't think that's the problem here, but I just want to add that I have two behringer boards (both for rough monitoring only...only so much money around here), and the difference in hiss between the two is actually pretty dramatic. One is the newer UB1202 - *very* hissy and awful sounding pre's, and the other is the older Eurorack MX - not great, but quiet pre's.

Good luck, there's enough stuff available these days that you shouldn't have to put with with massive hiss...
 
they always seemed like a very nice price to me, but from what i've read from searching around here, i didn't find much positive stuff, and not much stuff at all, so i stayed away, there are so many cheap mics that are only a little more money than those, so i went w/ the stuff that got decent reveiws, and i'm really impressed with the lack of noise on my recordings with $99 mics and even $69 mics, my ecm8000 $39 mic has some noise, but it's workable, but for most stuff i use the other ones. have you tried them w/ high level - loud stuff? if you go w/ low cost, mxl990 991 603s v67 960 Behringer b5 i don't like that much but it's not noisy, nady 9xx tcm 1150 sm57 58 - gotta run and catch the phone, but these low cost mics haven't given me any trouble yet. gud luck...
 
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