Well... got a Studio Projects C1 early this week...

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...(the ones Alan posted a deal on a little while back) and I tried it out on a session tonight.

Being that I'm usually a firm believer in "you get what you pay for", I guess I was expecting something along the lines of the MPX2001 (which, for those that don't know - would NOT be a good thing!)... no offense Alan - I'm just not prone to hype, so until I try something, I won't buy into it!

Before I tried it, I read thru the manual that comes with it - I raised my eyebrow at the fact that yet another manufacturer writes specs without tolerances - a bit telling in that the specs were written by the marketing department as opposed to the engineering team.

A freq. response of 20-20000hz is absolutely meaningless without an indication of variance (ie -2db, +1db), so why even bother writing it??? Minor point I suppose, but it is a pet peeve of mine.

BUT anyways, although I only used it on one vocalist so far (so I've hardly used it enough to declare it the "RNC of mics"), I must say it worked very well as I listened to the monitors while the vocalist was warming up....

I like the mic - I used it on a fairly deep-voiced male singer - somewhat throaty - and it captured the sound excellently -- smooth, airy, no harshness, nice depth... I was impressed... upon listening to the track after the session was over it struck me that there was more "space" to the vocals than I'd heard when tracking vocals with other mics... it reminded me of the dimension of sound I noticed when I first tried mic'ing guitars with a Beyer M160... there was that "little bit deeper" sound to the track. Very nice.

It doesn't have the slightly-mid-scooped, sweetened highs of the Rode NT2 and is rounder and smoother (on the top-end) than the AT4033 (a mic which, although I like, I find can be harsh at times.) I'm looking forward to trying the C1 on voice-over work - I suspect it will help minimize overly-bright speakers with sibilance issues, since it sounds smooth....

The C1 will be put to some good use at Blue Bear Sound -- I'll try to find time to post more mic comparison clips - maybe using acoustic guitar....

While I personally can't say if it holds its own with the Neumanns, Schoepps, B&Ks, etc, of the mic world - even if it doesn't, considering the price, and assuming the quality control is consistent, in my opinion - it's definitely very usable and a good value for the money.

Bruce
 
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You're game Bruce.........I hope you have fire-proof underwear, 'cause from past experience you are likely to get flamed.

BTW, I happen to agree whole-heartedly about the sound and value for money.

:cool:
 
Hey Bruce....

....Nice post and review. Cool to hear one from a "known tell it how I see it" sorta guy.

I've been thinking a bit about mics lately as I plan to get a few in the near future. Oddly enough, one of the mics in consideration besides an NTK and a KSM32 is a 4033 because I know of a few records that make them sound quite nice (Beulah, Apples In Stereo, New Pornographers).

How do you think the C1 fares against the 4033 as an "all around" sort of mic. I know this is a YMMV question but I mean roughly? Is there anything you wouldn't do with the C1 that you would do with the 4033? And since you mentioned it....any idea how it sounds micing guitar cabs?


Thanks Bruce,

heylow
Rock Jedi/Indie Snob
www.heylowsoundsystem.net

Oh...PS Shut up Bruce! You're mics are....are....stupid! And Bears are not BLUE!!!:D :D :D

(thought I'd at least try to flame:D :D Oh well...so I suck at it:rolleyes: )
 
I've got one comin' and have been reading all the reviews with interest. (The suckers are out of stock most places right now, so that's another indication of the mic's popularity.) Will be my first large diaphram condenser, and for the money, it seemed a "no-brainer". Lookin' forward to Bruce's observations about the mic after he's used it a bit more; I know he'll be critical. Bruce, let us know how it works on acoustic and cabs. Thanks, Gelon
 
why would Bruce get flamed for thay post?....that was a very honest opinion of a damn nice mic for the price (though he coulda got the v67 cheaper).......

flames come when something like that is posted by a person with monetary ties to the C1......see, if Bruce posts it, its a review....if Alan posts it, its a commercial......
 
Great post Bruce.I have a friend who is considering a C-1 and I'll refer him to this post as I know you always call it as you see it.I haven't heard the C-1 but it sounds pretty decent for the money.

The friend I refered to can get Shure and Audio Technica at dealer cost but he would have to pay retail for the C-1.He is also considering the at 4033SE(I told him to check out the 4050 as well)and the Shure KSM series and also the Rode NT2(not sure if he can get the Rode at dealer cost).My instincts tell me he should get ine of the mics he can get at dealer cost(esp the AT 40 series)but I'm not sure.

Given his circumstances do you think he should still consider the C-1?And if you were in his position what mic would you choose?

Thanks for your help Bruce,I always find you shoot from the hip and really know your shit so your opinion could help greatly.
 
Thanks Bruce, I value you opinions.
I have a Mann tube condenser which is very sweet on the female voice and accoustic guitar. I've been looking for a mic for male vocals and have been leaning towards the C1. Now I'm sold.

Allan, I'm assuming you're following this thread. I'm in Country Victoria, Australia. Where do I start looking?

Mark
 
Gidge,
I have no doubt that Bruce's comments are totally honest..........but you should be as aware as I am of the few "naysayers" around that can't help but attempt to disparage any positive comments about the C1.
I was on the receiving end months ago when I posted about a mic shootout we did here. What really annoyed me at the time was the number of people that apparently hadn't even used a C1 at the time but were prepared to find fault somehow/someway.
At least we actually did try things out before posting.

ChrisO :cool:
 
Mark,
Try Music Lab in Melbourne......alternatively contact Mixmasters in Adelaide, they are the Aust. distributors.

:cool:
 
heylow said:
How do you think the C1 fares against the 4033 as an "all around" sort of mic. I know this is a YMMV question but I mean roughly? Is there anything you wouldn't do with the C1 that you would do with the 4033? And since you mentioned it....any idea how it sounds micing guitar cabs?
Click to expand...

Randy Yell said:
Given his circumstances do you think he should still consider the C-1?And if you were in his position what mic would you choose?
Click to expand...

Heylow and Randy.....

I like the 4033 (I have the SE) and it is an excellent mic -- I have found that it can sound a bit "edgy" on certain sources - sometimes that's entirely appropriate for the application, other times not... I can't yet comment on "general" use of the C1 - I haven't used it extensively yet. I bet, however, there are going to be plenty of times when the C1 will be inappropriate too.

When someone asks me what's a good "all-purpose" mic - I honestly can't answer... there's no such thing. You can have 2-3 very excellent mics in your hands and only 1 will work best for a given application... the best someone could do would be keep slowly adding to their mic arsenal as the need arises - trying mics that suit their needs and rejecting ones that don't...

I'll try to get on that mic clip test - including both a 4033 and the C1 - at least then we'll be able to hear the difference.... maybe sometime this week or next - (maybe!) :)

Bruce
 
Good review Bruce.

I don't have much to compare my C-1's with other than my other condensers (AKG 1000s, Oktava 012's and 219, and an EV BK-1) which all have their points. If it came to a one word discription of the C-1 it would be 'smooth'. And I'm now making very few eq changes in my mixes when I use this mic.
 
Whoa...

He likes it.... Hey Brucie!!!


Queue

(in my best Life cereal Mikey voice) :D

Thanks for the review, I was already sold, but it is good to see a positive review from someone like yourself who has a known anti-hype policy.
 
Hey,

If you can afford a few extra bucks get the C-3. It is even smoother than the C-1 and has multi patterns. Very nice mic for the price. I will post some acoustic guitar recorded with the C-3 Sat. morning.

Bruce,

I hear ya about the specs. I would love to see a printout of each mics freq. response included in the package. CAD was doing so with thier mics. You could then look at some data and pick a mic that has the best response.
 
I second getting the C3 over the C1 based on the other mikes
mentioned here as alternative choices.
Even though my C1 works great for my voice, the C3 sounds clearer and gives vocals greater definition.
This assessment is based upon the Studio Projects listening CD.

P.S. I'm running my C1 through either a Aphex 107 tube pre>
RNC or Joe Meek channel strip (compressor is "tube like").
Sounds good so far....
 
That would be great if you could post a comparison of the C1 vs. 4033. These are the two mics I'm deciding between at the moment - this will be my first proper mic! I'll be recording vocals, and perhaps acoustic guitar down the line.

I would try them out together, but over here in the UK, the C1 is only available from the UK distributors. It's not yet in the shops.

Cheers!
 
nwsoundman said:
Hey,

If you can afford a few extra bucks get the C-3. It is even smoother than the C-1 and has multi patterns.
Click to expand...

Thats what I have been trying to tell you all for a long time. The C3 is killer, sorry for the commercial Gidge :D

Bruce,

Glad it got there in one piece. We are working on the specs, but Stephen Paul has been a busy boy, so we hope to have the full data shortly. Keep on the C1 and play with the proximity, it is a versitle mic. I think it will be a mic that will grow on you the more you use it.

Alan Hyatt
 
Cuzzin' Bruce,most of the music I record is instrumental! Recently
i have endeavored onto a duo, female R&B vocalists whose voices
are in the alto/soprano range, lite and basically commercial-oriented (re:Brittany,DestinysChild,Christine) and some (I try to avoid this big time) some rappers(my younger bro,my cuzz's protege). As U have stated that this mic is flexible enuff for mid-rangey to deep end vocalists, is this mic worthy of upper register
vocs!!??
Question 2: As self-proclaimed "KING of WIERD-@SS AMP-MIC'ING" techniques(I'll mic a bass-amp with 3 diff mics in most wierd configurations),is this mic decent enuff for bass and git mic'ing??
Thx
Mr.Q
 
Can't answer right-off Q, I haven't used it enough yet! I'll try to post some clips - may have time on the weekend...

As for upper register - I don't see why the C1 couldn't handle it, as Alan says - you could probably play with proximity effect to get depth if the vocalist is "reedy"...

Regardless, the mic is certainly inexpensive enough to add to your arsenal anyways, though!

Alan...
Thanks for the special-rate mic deal - I appreciate it... as I said, it will find some good use in the studio!

Bruce
 
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