Samson Technologies C02

I bought mine from AMS (American Musical Supply) For $119.00

Great mics! Very professional sound!
I recommend this set of mics to anyone recording or using live on acoustic instruments. I don’t have any thing really good to compare them to except for the Shure SM57 and the Audio-technica AT811 condenser, and it beats both of these easy. These mics are especially good for acoustic guitar, they give it a nice bright end, however I don’t think they wood make good vocal microphones.


There is really nothing that I don’t like about these mics

They are very well made. Looks even better than my Shure SM57 (the industry standard)

You will NOT beat them for the price!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

We use the Samson Technologies CO2’s primarily as a vocal mics but where it really shines is on instruments. I have a small 12? SWR bass amp and I put this mic up to the speaker and it sounded fantastic. I really couldn’t believe it. I had been recording bass direct but from now on I will be sure to use this mic (even if I record direct as well). It does perform well as a vocal mic but does not have the high end boost we are use to hearing on vocals (by design). This mic was not designed to be a copy of other high end mics. It really has its own sound. Despite its relatively inexpensive price, it has found usage in many high end studios for a reason. I am very happy that it is apart of my mic locker.


OVERALL OPINION


This mic has a huge low end and major proximity effect, which may mean rolling off some of those lows further down the chain. It's thick and rich with the included Sovtek 6922 glowing inside, and while there isn't much top, it's there and quite usable. Softer transients. It will work on some vocals primarily, but you can also try it in front of a drum set, on background vox, and on cabs. Maybe a cello or double-bass would work too.








Setting the Samson technologies mics up on the included stereo mounting bracket flared out from each other at about 110 degrees two feet away from an acoustic guitar yields a recording identical to how my ears hear it. I got these mics to record some acoustic guitar parts for my own tracks and some side work I do recording my church choir. I couldn't be happier. I run these through the FMR audio RNP and the natural sounding recordings you get with these things are great.

Very simple matches pair of condensers. No filters or any excess features. Just two cheap matched pair mics.

OVERALL OPINION

No let's be clear. Nothing beats a pair of $700 shure mics for overheads in the studio. Nobody is debating that. I'm not going to write this review and tell you that a pair of Samson cheapo mics for a little over a hundred bucks can compete with a pair of mics over five times the price. But am I about to bring my $1000 set of matches condensers on tour with me? NO. I've tried before and they've been destroyed, stolen, you name it. So case in point, if I ever do drum tech work, I need a go to matched pair that's reliable and cheap. The Samson C02 set is just that.

I'll start with the sound. They are very very clear. When I listen to a pair of overheads in a mix, I have a method for evaluating whether I like them or not. I isolate them in a stereo track. And I listen to them all by themselves. I listen to see if it sounds like I'm standing right above the drummer as he plays. (this is what the good pairs sound like) If I can hear that, it's a great pair. The Samson C02 comes pretty darn close to that and it's almost scary. No they aren't perfect and don't expect miracles, but for the money I'm impressed.

Now, durability. These kinds of mics are at a disadvantage because not only do they get dropped the most, but they are also the most fragile sometimes. I see matches pairs all the time with dents in the grills and it gets annoying. People drop them. Okay. The question is, have these held up to me dropping them? Well yes. Although as far as I can remember I've only dropped them 2 or 3 times in the couple of years I've used them, they haven't suffered as a result. So I'm satisfied. If they break I'll write another review. Till then, you can bet I'll be using these on every tour I drum tech.

The Samson Audio C02s come as a pair of small diaphragm condenser microphones that are designed for use in the studio or for recording live shows.  I don't believe that they are sold alone and only come as a stereo pair.  The mics have a cardioid polar pick up pattern and come with both clips for the mics and a case.

OVERALL OPINION

Overall, the Samson Audio C02s are a good option for home studio owners looking for a dirt cheap pair of small diaphragm condensers.  While these definitely don't have the best sound quality out there, for a small home studio or project studio these will work fine for applications that require small diaphragm condenser like acoustic guitar or drum overheads.  They don't have the cleanest or the most crisp sound like a lot of other mics like this do, but they will get the job done in a lot of situations in small studio setting.  I definitely don't use these very often but I've used them a few times at a friend's home studio and while I can't say I was too impressed with them, for the price this is a great deal since you are getting two microphones at an incredibly cheap price.  Samson isn't known for making top tier microphones, but instead they offer well priced microphones for home studio owners.  I definitely can't say that I would recommend these to anyone who is a professional engineer or studio owner, or even for a well experienced home studio owner as the sound quality just isn't up to par.  However, they will get the job done for beginners who just want to get their feet wet with a new set of microphones or are looking to expand their microphone collection without spending much money at all.  I would definitely recommend this for those people looking for a cheap set of mics, but beyond that these aren't a viable option for high quality recordings.