Studio Projects C1 vs C4

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mullin

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hi,

what're the difference between C1 and C4? i saw the C1 is selling $200 and C4 in pair is selling $320.

i want to record some acoustic instruments e.g. guitar, violin and vocal

thanks!
 
The Studio Projects C4s are small condenser mics that seem to be getting some good word from the taper crowd (people who tape live concerts as a hobby). I've thought highly of them for drum overheads.

The C1 is a decent large condenser for the price. It has a bright top end. So, it usually goes better with male voices in the mid to low registers. I've heard lots of good home demos where the vocals were tracked with this mic.

A good all purpose mic I would suggest that might cover your listed uses would be the Audio-Technica AT4040.
 
The C-4's rock, but they are waaay down on the list of vocal mics. They are good on guitar and strings, and as Ozraves suggested, they are pretty good for remote recording. I did an 88 piece orchestra twice with them and they were pretty good. I used them and an AKG C414B-ULS as a spot mic for a harp solo, etc. I had fun. I don't use C-1, but I have a C-3, and although I've been told C-1 and C-3 sound different, everything Ozraves said about the C-1 applies to the C-3.-Richie
 
here's a demo of some unmixed and unmastered stuff I'm recording for a guy. Both songs were recorded with a C1. Vocals and Guitar that is. So check that out. There's a quick eq thrown on each and some compression because he wanted it fast, so check it out.

http://purevolume.com/justingreen/
 
John, dear Lord, that clip sounds nothing short of amazing! What preamps were you using. Do you do 5 year layaways on guitars?

thanks John,
Rafe

sorry to hijack your thread
 
Rafe,

thanks. I used Some TL audio Preamps. (PA-2)

JoeMeek Compressor plugin on individual tracks and Waves compressor on Master. No EQ. 2 tracks. The guitar is a Mayes Slope D Adirondack top east indian Rosewood Back and sides.

The C4's are really nice mics no doubt even in a amateurs hands (that would be me)
 
John Mayes said:
The C4's are really great. I have a pair and use them on guitars. Here is a clip of them in action. (beware the clip is a .wav file 15 MB)\

http://www.mayesguitars.com/eli.wav
Click to expand...
WOW! I burnt that shit to CD! I hope you don't mind, but its great! And a ringing endorsement for the C4's!
Good job!
 
I still have it. Let me know. Thanks guys for the nice words. I think the reason it sounds so good though is the player. The guy (his name is Eli) friggin rocks on guitar. He just made that up on spot.
 
Nice job on on the recording !!! How were the mics placed, and what capsules did you have on them? I found the capsule without the holes on it sounded very very dull , and the ones with the holes sounded a little bright, (I'm not sure what top is cardiod & what is omni ) but you did a great job. I am comparing them to the Rode NT5 though, which don't have quite so hyped a top end. Any info would be greatly appreciated
 
I used the Cardiod heads. the Omni heads are the ones with the little holes in the capsules.

I placed them in a strange place actually. One of them was between the soundhole and the players knee about 8 inches out, and the other was pointed above the fretboard at the upper bout again about 8 inches out. But it does not matter really where I placed them as every guitar is different, and the mics will sound better in different spots. I just spent a lot of time finding the sweet spot for this guitar. I have found them to be neither dull nor bright. They can be a little aggressive in the midrange in a API kinda way (which is good on lots of things), but other than that I find them to be very truthful and pleasing. I used to have a set of NT5's as well and I like these better. The NT5's are great for the Money no doubt, but can sound a little too dark on certain guitars like mine who already have lots of bass as well as crispness and such. On a Taylor guitar they work well though as they tend to be on the brighter side.
 
Thanks for such a quick response John. There must be a problem with the cardiod capsules on mine then, because the recording I did with with them sounded like I had a wet blanket on the mics. The omnis were nice though. Do you ever record with the omni's ?
 
I have not used the Omni's yet at all. you gotta have a nice room for them to sound good and the rooms I have suck (living room was where I recorded the last one.)
 
Good thread guys... now if someone will post a Wave file of vocals using the C4 for mullin, that will cover the C4. Then all mullin needs is Wave files of vocals & acoustic guitar using the C1.

revsound said:
Thanks for such a quick response John. There must be a problem with the cardiod capsules on mine then, because the recording I did with with them sounded like I headad a wet blanket on the mics. The omnis were nice though. Do you ever rcord with the omni's ?
Click to expand...
Maybe the PA-2 works better with the C4's than the preamp you used?

John Mayes, you and your friend Eli did a good job... and I'm kind of surprised you guys used a Tayor rather than one of your Mayes guitars.

EDIT: Oops, my mistake, I see you did you a Mayes guitar. Anyway, good job and thanks for the Wave file... I hate MP3 files.
 
revsound said:
Thanks for such a quick response John. There must be a problem with the cardiod capsules on mine then, because the recording I did with with them sounded like I had a wet blanket on the mics. The omnis were nice though. Do you ever record with the omni's ?
Click to expand...

revsound,

It is not a problem with your mic. Room conditions, placement have a good deal to do with how a recording sounds. It also has to do with John's amazing guitars. This is why it ended up sounding so good.

You can also add on another mic as a room mic 2 feet away to pick up more ambiance, which will also help you. It takes many factors to get a great recording, or a lot of luck... :)
 
John Mayes said:
I used the Cardioid heads. Tthe Omni heads are the ones with the little holes in the capsules.
Click to expand...

Isn't that backwards? The capsules with the holes on the side are the cardioids (so the sound get also get into the back of the diaphragm to form the cardioid delay). If the capsule doesn't have any holes on the side, it's an omni capsule.
 
The problem is not my guitar , mic pres or set up!!! I use Avalon 737, Mogami cables, and a Ted Thomson accoustic. My test was as follows: Rode NT5's in an XY possition in front of the guitar 10-12 inches at the 14 th fret, sounded beautiful. Then we left all stands as is, in place, and just put the C4's in with the cardiod caps, and it was horrible! Extremely dull !!! So we did the C4's with the omni cap and it was nice but just a tad bit brighter than the Rode NT5's, and obviously not quite as focused, but it would need less eq'ing in a dense mix. Please forgive me if I sound even remotely arogant, because that is not at all my intention. I was just really impressed with John's recording and depressed at how dull mine was with the cardiod. I also have a great 8x9' iso booth that I have had tremendous luck in the past with recording accoustic guitars. Also , no eq or compression was used during tracking. I will post my recordings tonight if I get a chance when I get home. Again , thanks for the swift replies !!!
 
Thanks Harvey !!!!!! That makes more sense to me. I am a little new with the C4's and did not dig into what was what, I just plugged them in and compared all the capsules in XY, but not miss matched capsules. So my above post is opposite. The capsules with no holes (now omni) , was the dull one , and the capsule with the holes (now cardiod) was the little brighter ones. Maybe it is my problem then. I regularly mic that close with a number of different cardiods, but my iso booth is treated with accoustic foam so the omni's would pick up more of the darker sounding room, therefore a very dull sounding guitar. I will have to try recoding in a church with the omni's and see how it sounds. Thanks for you help.
 
John Mayes said:
I used the Cardiod heads. the Omni heads are the ones with the little holes in the capsules.
Click to expand...

John, those sound like the omni heads. The cardioids have the little holes in the capsule.
I find the sound of the unwound strings on the guitar in the clip very interesting. I have a cd by a Boston guitarist named Fred Fried which has a similar tonality. Incidentally, I found out about the CD through Mr. Fried (cool name, huh?) himself who was buying a pair of the C4's and had some questions. His guitar is a 7-string made by Mark Wescott. What I am hearing seems to be a quality of the guitar and not a technique. I know this sounds vague, but I'm sure that you are aware of which I speak since you were able to craft it into the instrument. It's an emphasis in the high mids.
Also, on your site, you have "Acer Pseudoplatanus" referred commonly to as "Big Leaf Maple". Its common reference I believe is the "Sycamore Maple". "Acer Macrophyllum" is what I have generally seen referred to commonly as the big leaf maple.
I'm really happy to hear the C4's put to such good use. What models of guitar are used in that recording?

Regards,

Brent Casey
PMI Audio Group
877-563-6335
 
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