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kondwanikaphaizi « Jack of all trades master of none »
Published on 07/11/14 at 02:39The C1000s is a versatile XLR, condenser mic which can be used for in-studio recording or live performances. It has a frequency response of 50Hz to 20kHz.
The polar pattern by default is cardioid, but it can be switched to hyper-cardioid by slipping on a polar adapter. It requires phantom power. A unique feature that it has is that it can be powered using a 9 Volt battery, which is what attracted me to it initially. This makes it very convenient when you're on the move or you don't want to spend extra money on an audio interface or mixer. I often carry it around when I'm travelling and don't want to carry an audio interface with me.
The mic comes in a very nice, padded carrying case. It also comes with a polar adapter for hanging the polar pattern, a stand adapter for mounting the mic on a mic stand and a wind screen which you can slip on to avoid plosives or if you're using it in a windy environment. It's quite solid and sturdy. I've dropped it from a height of about 4 - 5 feet a couple of times and it's still intact.
It's targeted towards the lower end of the market; home studios and the like. I bought mine for about $80 at a sale.
OVERALL OPINION
For studio use the overall performance of the mic is just decent. It's nothing special but it will produce acceptable results. It normally requires a bit of work and experimentation to get the best sound out of it. The bass and low-frequency response is rather on the poor side which is one of my biggest gripes with it. However, it captures the mid and high-end quite well so if I do use it in a mix it's for recording backing vocals and elements that remain in the background; elements that don't need bass. The signal of the mic is also quite low. I have to crank up the gain on my audio interface to get a signal that's loud enough to rival some of my other mics.
Other than in the studio I use this mic with my video camera as a boom mic for capturing sound. In that area it performs quite well. It doesn't capture sounds that are too far away so the background noise is minimal. It stays focused on the sound source that is being captured. The wind screen is very handy in this scenario especially when recording outdoors.
The only live environment I've used it in is at a few small, family and friends-type gatherings for speeches and the like. This is where it performs very well, providing sound that's clear. With this in mind it should perform quite well for podcasts and speech oriented work that doesn't need very high quality audio.
Following are pros and cons of the mic:
Pros:
- Can be powered by a 9 Volt battery. Convenient when phantom power is not available via a mixer or audio interface. Also makes it handy for use on when mobile or away from your main studio setup.
- Can be used for both studio recording and live performances
- Produces good results in live environments, podcasts/voice-overs and as a boom mic for capturing sound when shooting video.
Cons:
- The biggest con is sound quality for studio use. While it often produces decent results it doesn't capture bass well.
Given the chance to buy it again I probably wouldn't because I rarely use it in the studio, which is where I spend most of my time. It's a mic I use mostly to get out some quick ideas when I'm away from my main equipment or occasionally as a boom mic for video projects. I rarely use it in actual song mixes. It was my very first condenser mic at a time when I had no other recording equipment, so I was particularly captivated by the fact that it can be powered by a battery, which made it a cheaper option for me than buying another mic and a mixer/audio interface to power it.
Over the years I've found better mics within the same price range so the AKG C1000s wouldn't be my first choice if I had the chance to go back and purchase my first mic. It will however produced acceptable results in many cases. It's a versatile mic. I can describe this mic as a jack of all trades but a master of none.
The polar pattern by default is cardioid, but it can be switched to hyper-cardioid by slipping on a polar adapter. It requires phantom power. A unique feature that it has is that it can be powered using a 9 Volt battery, which is what attracted me to it initially. This makes it very convenient when you're on the move or you don't want to spend extra money on an audio interface or mixer. I often carry it around when I'm travelling and don't want to carry an audio interface with me.
The mic comes in a very nice, padded carrying case. It also comes with a polar adapter for hanging the polar pattern, a stand adapter for mounting the mic on a mic stand and a wind screen which you can slip on to avoid plosives or if you're using it in a windy environment. It's quite solid and sturdy. I've dropped it from a height of about 4 - 5 feet a couple of times and it's still intact.
It's targeted towards the lower end of the market; home studios and the like. I bought mine for about $80 at a sale.
OVERALL OPINION
For studio use the overall performance of the mic is just decent. It's nothing special but it will produce acceptable results. It normally requires a bit of work and experimentation to get the best sound out of it. The bass and low-frequency response is rather on the poor side which is one of my biggest gripes with it. However, it captures the mid and high-end quite well so if I do use it in a mix it's for recording backing vocals and elements that remain in the background; elements that don't need bass. The signal of the mic is also quite low. I have to crank up the gain on my audio interface to get a signal that's loud enough to rival some of my other mics.
Other than in the studio I use this mic with my video camera as a boom mic for capturing sound. In that area it performs quite well. It doesn't capture sounds that are too far away so the background noise is minimal. It stays focused on the sound source that is being captured. The wind screen is very handy in this scenario especially when recording outdoors.
The only live environment I've used it in is at a few small, family and friends-type gatherings for speeches and the like. This is where it performs very well, providing sound that's clear. With this in mind it should perform quite well for podcasts and speech oriented work that doesn't need very high quality audio.
Following are pros and cons of the mic:
Pros:
- Can be powered by a 9 Volt battery. Convenient when phantom power is not available via a mixer or audio interface. Also makes it handy for use on when mobile or away from your main studio setup.
- Can be used for both studio recording and live performances
- Produces good results in live environments, podcasts/voice-overs and as a boom mic for capturing sound when shooting video.
Cons:
- The biggest con is sound quality for studio use. While it often produces decent results it doesn't capture bass well.
Given the chance to buy it again I probably wouldn't because I rarely use it in the studio, which is where I spend most of my time. It's a mic I use mostly to get out some quick ideas when I'm away from my main equipment or occasionally as a boom mic for video projects. I rarely use it in actual song mixes. It was my very first condenser mic at a time when I had no other recording equipment, so I was particularly captivated by the fact that it can be powered by a battery, which made it a cheaper option for me than buying another mic and a mixer/audio interface to power it.
Over the years I've found better mics within the same price range so the AKG C1000s wouldn't be my first choice if I had the chance to go back and purchase my first mic. It will however produced acceptable results in many cases. It's a versatile mic. I can describe this mic as a jack of all trades but a master of none.
