AKG C1000

I've been recording since the Teac 144 days (1982) with a hiatus from about 1987-1997. I'm basically a hobbyist, using a Yamaha MD8 and occasionally a Korg D1600; a track-at-a time bedroom hero. I do, however, know what I like, gear-wise -- mid-level stuff that doesn't have more bells and whistles than I need (or than my little rig is capable of capturing.) I use either Byerdynamic DT770 or Sennheiser HD570 phones for initial monitoring / mic placement.

I bypass the MD8 channel circuitry by using the Aux inputs, putting my mics through either a Mindprint Envoice 2 or a Jemeek 3Q channel strip. Both pres deliver more-than-adequate gain to get the C1000 onto the disk without jacking in a lot of extra noise.

Fetaures are well-known. I like the battery option -- I've used it to run into a cassette machine which doesn't offer phantom power.

I've found that I really like the C1000 best on acoustic guitar. It's a very good match for my Wechter Pathmaker, reproducing this guitar's good note separation and fundamental tones pretty accurately and pleasingly. The highs don't sting, the lows don't extend down far enough to be boomy (unless the placement is off) and the mids stay pretty accurate. Both of the pres mentioned above are essentially solid state, although the Envoice II offers a bit of tube which can be either dialed-in or bypassed. With the C1000, I like the sound of 100% solid state for rhythm (using either pre) with a little Envoice saturation dialed in for leads or to help differentiate secondary rhythm tracks.

I've used the C1000 a few times on octave mandolin with similarly good results.

On an amplified electric, I've tried it with my Strat through a Koch Studiotone set clean. I've found that while the C1000 is acceptable in this application, it comes in second to the Shure KSM32, which captures the details of the Vox-ish jangle just a bit more pleasingly.

I've not put down keeper vocals with this mic. Like a lot of mid-diaphragm condensers, I feel that it's better suited to instrument mic'ing. It'll do vocals in a pinch (if you can find the right distance) but you're generally better off using a mic optimized for vocals if you're looking for "magic."

The C1000 sounds cleaner to me than an MXL603 I tried (pinched, audibly hashy top end on the MXL) and similar to (but less detailed than) the KSM32.

For the price I paid, it's a very solid value. And what else can one buy which is manufactured (solidly) in Poland?

8 years making music, not much experience of recording gear, this was my first of 3 unsatisfacory budget condensers i've owned. Recording to pc and listening back on a pair of KRK RP-6 monitors with a lexicon lambda as my soundcard.

SDC Back electret mic. Cardioid but comes with hypercardioid and presence boost adaptions.

This mic is designed to be serve the purpose of 2 mics: 1 an all round studio workhorse. 2 a stage vocal mic. Not surprisingly this mic is very much like a cross between a condenser and a dynamic mic.

The frequency response is defined by a bass rolloff at 200hz (to counteract the proximity effect when close micing) which can make slightly further sounds a little bottomless, a rather pleasing warmth in the lower mids, and a slightly closed top end despite the presence peak.
Have been using it on vocals but largely just because i had no other mics. Could sound a little lacking in bass when further away, lower mids were sometimes a little too warm and needed to be cut for clarity's sake, not great for that breathy open sound but a decent, pleasing, fairly clear sound overall.
Fantastic in giving a rounded tone to twangy acoustic guitars. A pleasing fullness of tone on distorted guitars which can translate to a slightly muffled sound on softer sounding guitars.

Generally gives a very pleasant and musical tone to most sources but not suited to anything that needs a solid bass or lots of clarity.

Have only used one other SDC, the mxl 603 which had more (too much) bass and a clearer upper mid range which was better at adding clarity to some sources but meant it lacked the same pleasing warm tone of this mic.

Very solid, sturdy, satisfying build quality. Perhaps a bit big and heavy. Battery power is useful for gigging with it or if you have an unreliable phantom power source like many of these usb powered interfaces. Havent had much use for the plastic presence boost and hypercardioid adaptions but imagine the hypercardioid one might be useful in live situations. Anyway they are a little fiddly to attach. Sensitivity at 6mv is noticeably hotter than your average dynamic mic but is pretty poor in terms of a studio condenser though still not a problem if you have a good preamp.

Basically this is a noob's mic. It can do lots of things pretty well but doesnt turn in outstanding performances. If youre new to the whole recording game and just want a solid, reliable, versatile mic with a pleasing overall sound to start you off, this is an excellent choice. If you have a little more experience and are simply looking for more mics to add to your locker i'd say "move along, nothing to see here", a mic properly designed for its specific purpose will give better results than this.

I bought this mic because i'd never bought a mic before and i didnt know any better. All i knew was it was a very popular budget mic so i ordered one. Now I'm looking for mics that perform better at individual tasks but all things considered this was a good mic for me to start off with and i don't regret owning it. I like the sound overall and the sound it gives on acoustic is really gorgeous. Though i hope to upgrade to better mics i'll probably hang on to this one. Reckon i'll probably always find a use for this mic.

Working Musician (Drums, Vocals), Project Studio Engineer (MacBook Pro, Logic, Alesis Firewire 16 Channel Interface, Rode NT1A (LDC), AKG C1000S (Pair)(SDC), Shure Beta 58, Audix VX-5, Audix I5, Shure SM-57.

Small Diaphram Condensor
-I use it for Overheads on my kit to capture cymbals and ambient room vibe (recording). I also use it for recording acoustic and amplified guitars. It is also a good live instrument mic. My overall results have been pretty good, but could be better(but this is probably more due to my inexperience as engineer and not the mic's fault).
-I considered the Shure 81 (more expensive)
-I chose the AKG because of it's value and recommendations from reputable sound engineers (I wanted a pair)


Conclusion: A great "swiss army mic". I agree with a previous review that talked about the impact your engineering chops have on the recording quality. If it were so simple as to put a Neumann in the middle of a room and press record...everyone would be Tom Dowd. Truth is...very few are...and the AKG C1000s is a great tool for us to aspire to capturing moments like Tom did (as an example, "Layla's amazing slide duet with Eric Clapton). Buy a good instrument...but if the result is not what you are looking for...look in the mirror before you blame the mic. They don't lie (unless you are using the worng mic for the application or it is broken)....

I've been making music for close to 10 years, and have been involved in recording for 7 or 8 of them. I've tracked and mixed in professional environments, recording to Pro Tools 5.1 and listening on NS-10s, Tannoys, and Genelecs. Right now I'm working in a home studio environment with Pro Tools LE and YSM1Ps.

The fact that the C-1000 is getting bad reviews on here just shows that you have to treat these open forums with a healthy grain of salt (and suspicion).

Professionals have been using the C-1000 for just about everything and getting amazing results with it for years. Some guy with a pair of headphones and no understanding of mic placement will get a crappy sounding track with this, but the same guy would get a terrible sound with a U-87 if he could get his hands on one. Every microphone will sound like junk if you don't know what you're doing with it. And, knowing what you're doing means more than being able to plug it in and point it at the guitar's soundhole. (I'm not being mean- we were all there at one point.)

So, a tip for those who are wondering about the C-1000: do a lot of reading on proper mic placement (and learn from a good engineer if you can). Then, rent one of these back to back with a cheap pencil mic (like the Apex 180), put them side by side, and record something- even just a person talking. Listen to the tracks back to back on some good reference monitors. Then you'll be ready to develop a good educated opinion about the C-1000. And I can already tell what it will be!

Listen to the pros: this is the studio's workhorse. Yes, the box says you can use it for vocals. That's for live stuff (which is why it comes with a pop filter and can be powered from a 9v battery). You should always use a large-diaphragm mic for vocals in the studio. But in its place, properly used, the C-1000 is a solid piece of gear.

I've been playing for about 20 years (guitar, bass, piano and vocal) and recording at home for about 10 years. Mainly solo singer / songwriter type original material, but this occasionally extends to more complex arrangements including drum machine / bass guitar etc.
Recording to either digital or analogue multitrack and mastering to DCC, DAT or CD.
I use an Audio Tecnica AT4033 large diaphram condenser for vocals and acoustic guitar or a Shure Beta 58 for vocals if recording vocal / acoustic guitar simultaneously.

Cardiod pattern electret condenser mic with additional fittings to convert to hypercardiod or presence lift. Can be run from external phantom or internal 9V (square) battery.

I was looking for a pair of mics for recording acoustic piano in stereo, but also to use for other acoustic instruments such as acoustic guitar. The possibility also there for stereo 'field' recordings i.e. stereo performance straight to DAT.As I am happy with the AT4033 use of the C1000 for vocal wouldn't be priority.

Had a good read about before purchase and checked the specs in comparison to other budget mics. There is a big choice now in that end of the market and one thing that cannot be stressed enough is that there is no such thing as a universal mic, one mic that will do everything. ON paper, the C1000 seemed to offer the most for the range of applications I needed it for. Big advantages were the ability to change between cardiod and hypercardiod polar patterns, battery power (so no need for external phantom) and a very compact size and light weight (compared to large diaphram mics).

I purchased a pair and set up to try to record stereo piano. I initially recorded in mono and A/Bd against the AT4033, but found straight away that due to the size and shock mount, the AT4033 wasn't too practical and was difficult to position and get directional control. Already the C1000 had a huge advantage.

Initially I was very disappointed with the sound from the C1000(to the extent I nearly returned them in exchange for a pair of AT2020s), with recordings seeming to lack warmth, however what quickly became apparent when A/Bing in mono against the 4033 on acoustic guitar is that although there were differences in sound / volume between the two mics it was pretty subtle, what produced the biggest change in sound was the placement of the mics relative to the source and the C1000 could be warmed up by turning off axis or moving to a different area of the instrument to record. Even more important when usig the mics as a stero pair was the position of the mics relative to each other, too close and I was getting phase concellation and the resulting sound was very thin. Moving the pair further apart and pointing at teh top of the soundboard I got a lovely sound out of my old upright piano, with very little pedal noise. I effectively had to tune the mic positions to optimise for my own piano. What was also very noticable is that they were very tolerant to small changes relative to the source, so everything didn't need to be inch perfect and this made getting an optimal position straightforward.

The spec sheets for the C1000 show it to have a flattish response and you get a flattish sound back, un-coloured and maybe a little bland initially. It presents a little too much of a true picture of the sound. If you accept this then you tend to work more with optimising positions and possibly using a little EQ. I've really warmed to these mics now that I've learned to use them properly and can understand why they are considered industry standard.

Vocals are a different matter and the mic choice is more important. I haven't tried them much on my own voice, but initial results seem OK. Lacks a little of the high end detail and air you get on the AT4033 and some of the bottom end warmth. A valve preamp helps a lot. Although I wouldn't use the C1000 in preference to the AT4033 for studio vocal, it would still be capable of a decent recording. Lets face it, you wouldn't use a 4033 for live vocals, but you might consider a C1000.

The lesson I learned was that if you're getting a poor sound, don't rush to blame the mic first. The C1000 are really useful mics and capable of a great recorded sound. They are not large diaphram condensers, so don't compare them to that, but what the C1000 does offer is a mic that sits between a dynamic and a large diaphram condenser. Small, tough and flexible in the way of a dynamic, but giving a much more detailed sound that moves it more towards the large diaphram condenser. A great little all-rounder of a mic, but you may need to brush up on your mic technique to get the best out of them. At the current market prices (just over the cost of an SM58) it's getting on for being a pretty top value purchase.

Use this mic as a overhead for cimbals.

This mic does many jobs if you believe the company of AKG.
I personaly think it works very good as a overhead microphone.
It will give you the best result to use the presents booster.
So i wil give it not a 10 because it isn't a great alround mic.
A 9 for the great use on cimbals

Pro/semi-pro musician for over 20 years.
I've recorded in pro studios, broadcast and do a lot of recording at home as well these days (decent setup - fast PC, good DACs, good nearfields).
I work mostly in the folk field (UK "folk" is our equivalent of US "old time" by the way), playing a range of instruments. Plus some blues/rock and other oddments.

I'm adding these commetns because of the diversity of opinion in other reviews. Just a few thoughts to add to the rest...

There's enough people listed what these are so I won't repeat it all.

I've been using C1000s since the very early 90s (and they cost less than half now than what they cost then), for recording and for live.
The C1000 is like most mics - good for some things, less good for others.

If they have an overall characteristic it's a bit bright, a bit lively, and, maybe as a result, quite detailed. There's quite a presence boost, though if you get close to it the bass proximity lift helps to cancel that a bit. They can overdrive a little if the source is too loud, so brass/saxes are out, and I personally wouldn't mic a loud guitar amp with one either.

The capsule is mounted (behind a decent grille) on a rubber neck, which does a reasonable job of keeping floor-carried noise out of them. To switch from cardoid to hyper-cardoid you take off the grille and fit a cap over the capsule. A bit of care is needed as there's a risk of tearing the rubber (and AKG say this isn't covered by the warranty). They also have a presence boost adaptor which also clips over the capsule. It's not possible to use both the hyper and presence adaptors at the same time. The presence adaptor is a relatively new addition to the mic. Personally, I never missed it on older mics and I don't use it now.

They seem to work much better fed 48v phantom than a 9v battery (though I can't see why that should be).

I'll talk about the things I play into these -

First, recording.

Vocals. Not ideal but can be pretty acceptable depending on the voice. Getting close to it helps.

Guitar and mandola (acoustic). Recording only (I DI live) with 2 mics aimed at 14th fret and body below and behind soundhole. Not bad at all, generally acceptable results, with a gentle brightness that suits slide and fingerpicked steel strings.

Melodeon (or diatonic accordion as the rest of the word has it). Now, these things are absolute ****** to mic. Sound emerges from a large area at both ends, and one end is moving. The tremelo produced by the reeds has masses of harmonics in the 2-4.5K area and the whole thing can be turned into a screaming, mid-laden distorted mess very easily. And the output is pretty loud. Serious upper-mid cuts are usually the order of the day. The C1000 copes with this scenario very well indeed and is a favourite for quite a few people.

Live usage.
The sound is good - beats the SM57 and 58 for most instrument applications, is as good as any condensor you're likely to find on a stage and is a good vocal mic for the right voice (detailed, light and expressive singers seem to like them. Death metal vocalists may disagree). The big problem with the C1000 as a live mic is its sensitivity and pickup pattern - they are very prone to feedback. To put that in perspective - acoustic percussion/guitar/vocals kind of band = no problem, good results.

Make the band electric, add bass/drums/synths and a noisy audience and getting an adequate stage volume on e.g. accordion beomes a nightmare. Everything bleeds into them, and shifting the foldback around doesn't help much (accordion players note - try the AKG C416). The hypercardoid adaptor doesn't help much either. On the other hand they're excellent drum overheads, and great for hand percussion.

No one mic can do all jobs equally well, but as workhorse all-rounders go the C1000 is OK (and sounds better than equivalently priced dynamics), with a leaning towards favouring the less loud and brassy end of things.

P.S. Don't break the AKG supplied mic clip. Replacements are slow to get hold of and ludicrously expensive. And most cheap clips won't fit...

The rating takes cost and easy of use into account. On a toe-to-toe in the studio against a Neuman valve mic the score would be a bit lower :-)

I record most of the time metalbands and punk,
I use Roland vs recorders like the vs 1824 midi linked to a vs 1680, and have also a vs 880.
I do recordings for 8 years now, an i'm busy with school as a produser

Great mic for overhead!

I've been making music for about 15 years, both in the studio and live.

I picked mine up on e-bay. $150 included shipping.

I use this mic on stage for my guitar cab (4x 12 loaded with Weber Ceramic Sig 12S). Placement is about 2" away from the speaker grill (the speaker is about another 3/4" behind the grill), 1/2 way between the dust cover and the surround, 90deg. to magnet. The amp is a 30 watt head that I designed and built.

I've been told by sound guys that this is one hot mic. It sounds great from the black face Fender tones to the Marshall grind.

AKG got it right. This mic sounds GREAT without the hugh price tag.

Great mic, you have to know how and WHEN to use it!!!

The guy that said it was noisy, shows you, that anyone can post a stupid rant here. This is a dead silent mic. I suppose if everything else you have in your chain is junk, you will have noise, period. This is older technology, it works, if your brain does!!