Episode 94 - AKG C1000 Possibly the most hated microphone ever?

[@anneshnaidoo2218]

Yet, there are other very experienced mic users and recording engineers who swear by this mic. Maybe originally they were cheap to buy but not today. In Australia they sell for $399 new. I have 3 of them and love them. For singing directly into it remove the inner wind sock , add the plastic tip which makes it super-cardioid, and use a very thick external wind sock.

[@rickrockzyootoob]

I never understood the malice for this mic. Mine came in a set with my C4000B. It's bailed me out a few times with surprising results. My Blue Spark stopped working while recording an acoustic guitar in stereo, so on a whim, I pulled out the C1000S and used it on the fretboard side, and it ended up sounding great! I also used it on a violin, the bottom of a snare and a backing vocal, all with very usable results. And for hi hat, I swapped in that hypercardiod cartridge, and it really cut back on the bleed. And even on YOU, Paul, it didn't sound much different from your SM7B, except it gave your voice a much more controlled low end. PS -- you're really rocking those salmon trousers!!! 😊

[@pauljohnson4590]

I know! I just cannot understand my long term prejudice!

[@redcabinacoustic-official]

That is the Mark IV, FYI

[@kw9172]

Here in Austria, the C1000 has been everywhere, and still is. They´re all over the used market, too. They never were hated, they were marketed as what they were - budget, reliable condenser mics with practical features for the time (phantom power on your 4-track tape deck? dream on!) and people got that.

[@pauljohnson4590]

Yes. It took me 20 years to realise they were actually nice mics. Here, they launched just before the huge explosion in music technology in schools and colleges so at the price sold into them in huge numbers and maybe that was the cause. A mic for beginners that often sounded horrible just because it was used poorly?

[@mrrgstuff]

Interesting video. I know very little about mics, but wanted to improve the sound on my KZbin videos, and decided to buy an AKG P170 to use as an overhead mic (seemed like a reasonable price point to stsrt at). I was planning on moving it around my workshop as needed, but then found very cheaply a C1000s. There are apparently 4 versions of this, the middle 2 are silver and one has an LED indicator. Mine is the silver LED version and I am just as happy with the sound from it as the P170. The body is certainly an odd shape though. I really need to 3D a mount for it. Apparently you can 3D print the plastic insert, though my original one is still there. Thanks for posting 😀 👍

[@Yoda8945]

The C1000 was a really decent mic that was really bright. At the time in mid 80's I preferred the Shure SM81, but the battery power of the AKG was an advantage.

[@MrTubbyguy]

Thanks for the fair review.

[@dannyharvey8470]

my wife sings and loves this mic, I can't prise it off her! I have the Hypercardiod widget fitted. I have another two that I used for drum overheads and they worked fine, but then got a couple of Beyer M160's which worked well with the snare and wasn't so bright on the cymbals - the M160s just sounded more classic rock and worked with less eq!

[@ProAudioIQ]

So bizarre how different people can experience such different things in the same industry. I’ve been a sound engineer since 1994 and this is the first time I’ve actually ever heard of anything negative (reputation or performance) surrounding the C1000s. It has always just been a great studio and/or live workhorse mic. Almost like a condenser equivalent of the sm57. I’ve actually owned one since 2002. Zero complaints. I still use it when the right need comes along.

[@pauljohnson4590]

Yes - I'm very guilty of underrating this mic. The explosion of music tech in schools and colleges in the late 90s meant they were buying gear very quickly, and the C1000 was the cheapest and common condenser at the time. It got used for so many things and some were rather unsuited to its design. Not the mics fault, but the users. Having to listen to hundreds of rotten recordings all with the common feature - the C1000 biased me - plus, the forums at the time used to tell C1000 jokes. Like - what is the difference between a C1000 and a hammer? The C1000 is better at driving in nails.

[@ProAudioIQ]

Yeah, that’s crazy. My first experience was actually pretty fantastic. The mic was about 8 feet from the source on stage in a loud environment in a live performance scenario and there was no feedback. Sort of blew my mind and I had to figure out what mic it was. The mic won’t create world peace but it has just been a great performer on literally anything I’ve put it on. But I’ve aways been intentional with how I’ve placed it/used it. To me it’s like an SM57 with more polar pattern and frequency choice and faster transient response. And like you mentioned, they even share the same hammer comparison 😁

[@ExpandingSound]

I don’t hate the c1000 at all I like it

[@Squirberus]

This is a useful comparison, i've been a bit sensitive because I've seen all the hate and haven't been thrilled with my VO sound using a c-1000s. But I don't see a huge difference with the sm7b(the 'standard' but I'd probably go for a re320 or mv7, the simpler/cheaper sm7b). Seems I don't need to replace it. I noticed you speak a lot further from the mic than I do but still get a really good sound. Think that helps with stuff like mouth sounds and plosives? You seem to also have a very quiet recording enviroment though. I am like, inches from it when record. Is this a bad thing?

[@pauljohnson4590]

Possibly but a foam windshield works pretty well. My space is petty dead. My distance sounds horrible in live rooms. I just hate the things being huge in the videos! Give yours a go.

[@Squirberus]

@@pauljohnson4590 thanks for the answer!

[@sl3102]

I have a couple of them (Austria made - haven't tried the new China ones, but I don't think sound quality has improved) for drum overheads, mostly because they're dirt cheap, and they work pretty good for gritty rock drums. I've tried them on acoustic slide guitar as a stereo pair and they get the job done. Absolutely terrible for singing though. All the eq and de-esser in the world couldn't get rid of the sibilance. Wouldn't recommend it for guitar cabs either. Like any mic it has its uses - you just have to find them.

[@ScottGrammer]

We had a pair of C1000's in the studio in the early 90's. The studio owner bought them because they were AKG's, and they were relatively inexpensive. I didn't care for them. The felt, looked, and sounded cheap. I rarely used them.

[@pauljohnson4590]

That’s how I felt then too but now I’m not certain

[@kellymichael9567]

From what I know. I have two of them they can seem to be' fizzy 'over drum cymbals. I can get a very good guitar amp sound with one of these and a Ribbon mike. ( this can be processed mid/side with the cardioid c1000 as the mid and the figure of 8 ribbon mic polarity flipped out of phase. I have heard sound engineers say wanna fry some bacon? Use the c1000. It is a metaphor for a bright mic! The capsule is apparently a really good one and there is a couple of mods that you can do. It involves changing a tiny capacitor and even cutting into the body of the mic. I actually know backing vocals as a group of singers can be done with the akg. I have found it very sensitive to placement. Even use it off axis. People get impatient with this mic! But use your creativity and explore what it can do.

[@CHAOSMOVEMENT]

I think it's very versatile mic. It sounds fine for spoken vocals and acoustic guitar. I have the SM7B, and side by side it was a bit noisier.

[@ngocehgayabebas2118]

Which one is noisier?

[@CHAOSMOVEMENT]

@@ngocehgayabebas2118 They are both similarly quiet, but only if the Cloudlifter is on the SM7B. They both require preamp volume that is fairly high to attain reasonable\usable volume levels, and if you go a touch beyond reasonable, you introduce a significant amount of noise. Now this can be tamed with a good noise gate. This can also be mitigated with a good external preamplifer that is more than just the basic preamps offered by the interfaces you use. But adding equipment in many cases can add noise, so there is a balance that must be considered. Then the frequency response of the microphones also has to be considered. I love the C1000S for Discord and voice overdubbing, but the SM7B is just a monster of a vocal mic for all types of vocals, streaming, podcasts, etc. The C1000S is very crisp, but it's also very bright in certain upper frequencies.

[@Sentientfx1]

I like 'em. They sound nice and airy but not thin like A C451.

[@gabsriel]

I vastly prefer this AKG to the Shure for video podcast...I hate the warmth of thr SM7b