Samson C01

I've been recording music for about three and a half years.
I Compose and record a lot of original stuff at home.
Play guitar, bass, piano, drums and trumpet.
have been singing for over sixteen years.
I also have the experience of recording choir and jazz bigband.

Using this mic for vocal and Acoustic guitar.
ran it through a M-audio audiobuddy into Audigy 2 card of the computer

I Monitor using a pair of panasonic headphones (noise cancelling)

This is a mid-diaphram condenser mic with cardiod pattern.
Whether it's a good mic or not really depends on your personal taste. This is a very smooth sounding mic for vocal. (at least for my voice, I am a baritone/tenor) Nothing harsh, pretty natural. Although the highend is a bit dark but it's REALLY REALLY responsive to EQ. I use +3db at 15k to add some air to my vocal track and it sounds wonderful! This mic sounds exceptionally good on my Yamaha CPX700 acoustic guitar. It's bright but it does not sound too thin. Pretty rich in the low end. I paid $50 for my old apex dynamic mic and the C01 sounds ten times better but not even double the price.
It's worth the money!

Alesis Monitor One and
Alesis Monitor Two and
Yamaha NS10's
JBL 12" sub active monitor

The Samson CO1 condenser used as drum overheads and room ambience

I'm playing the guitar in a Grindcore band called Nyctophobic and used this mic for the china cymbal, as a kit mic and for guitars. I've been in the band since twelve years and we've recorded two albums and several smaller things in between. Now that we want to record a new album I thought it would be a good idea to get a set of mics and some recording gear and record everything ourselves. I used this mic on an Alesis I/O 26 interface.

Personally I can't complain about this mic at all. I received great results on the china cymbal without any clipping (our drummers snare is incredibly loud, so I was concerned it would make the mic clip). I also used this for guitar recording and it sounds very nice. For the second guitar track I used a small Engl tube amp with an Ibanez Thrash Metal pedal and just this one mic and it sounds really nice with little EQing. I also used it on a Marshall Valvestate 100 watts head with a 4x12" Hughes & Kettner cabinet combined with two other mics and the results were great with this mic. I haven't tried it on vocals yet but all in all I'm very pleased with this mic.

* Making music for over 30 years.

* 2 Albums in major studios.

* Currently using Cubase, Nuendo, Avalon 737 vt sp, MOTU 827

* Using it for vocals.
* I was using an AKG 414. Have had experience on several high end mics.
* I like everything about this microphone.

I first encountered this mic while working in a someone elses studio. When I found out the price of it new, my mouth dropped to the floor. It will hold its own against Micrphones well over a $1K. I have put my 414 back in the box. I may pull out the (AKG) again as a companion mic to this one for miking guitars. I've recorded using Neumann mics several times. This mic holds it own against them nicely. (And it cost less than the sales tax on a Neumann.) Some folks have mentioned that it is little noisy, and I was leary of that when I ordered the mic, But then I said to myself ,"It's only $70 bucks, give it a try." Any noise generated by this mic is not noticeable to me. Air vents generate more noise than this mic. I record acoustic music and any noise is way far under the noise floor, not noticeable at all.

If you have a home studio and are thinking about spending and saving money and still sounding great, The Samson CO1 is a great way to go. Spend the big bucks on great quality converters and a quality mic pre. Although I have heard the CO1 sound good on with just decent converters (Lexicon Lamda $140).

This mic is an incredible value! Way 2 Go Samson...hat's off...take a bow!

And no... I don't work for Samson : )

Playing for maybe 30 years. Recorded 4 CDs of original material with my old band. Did relatively well but never made the big break.

I use a Zoom MRS1608 which for the price #450 is stunning :) and various guitars through a Boss GT8 and also the Zoom internal effects.

It's a condenser mike and tbh it does all I want it to. For me it has a reasonably rich tone and it certainly works well with my voice.

It's cheap and effective. I'm sure that if I spent more I could get a better mike but for what I need it for it's excellent.

I've been making music for over 15 years. My recording experience is self taught. I record using a Roland VM 3100pro rbus going into my computer running an old version of Logic. My monitors are Behringers and I know they are not great.

This mic was mainly used for vocals but I have recorded a trumpet with it. The mic is a condenser. At the time I got this mic I didn't consider anything else. There are no favorite aspects to this mic. I've used it on a full length album but I tell you, you will have to use a bit of EQ to get the sound you want. If you are on a budget then get this mic but if you got some dollars look for something better. You get what you pay for and this mic doesn't work well in upper mid frequency ranges or highs. I don't use the mic anymore but it was still usefull. My advice, save some money and get a better mic.

Check out some stuff recorded with the Samson C01.

I have been making music since 1950. (55 years) Which, of course, is hard to believe since I am only 49 years old. (actually 65) Been recording since 1969. First as a musician (bass, singer) then opened own studio in 1973, on til now my own home studio recording my wifes songs and others. presently employed by church as music misister. I use cubase sx, wavelab, sonar, etc, etc. Yamaha amp powering alesis monitors, (old, can't remember name) and several Hi-fi speakers for different sound. oh, and earphones.

this mic is a condenser, several patterns, omni, 8, and cardiod. I bought this mic cuz I needed an omni mic to record a group of singers. I have only used it for solo vocals so far and it does not do the job. It has a tiny thin harsh sound set to cardiod. Omni is a little better, a little more open, but still harsh. I have other mics that do a much better job on vocals. My SM58 sounds better than this mic. In my opinion this is $70 I would like to have back. I can't think of any thing this mic could record with any degree of professionalism. Maybe for a certin harsh distorted guitar amp sound, it might work. Other than that, it will sit on the shelf in my studio, or perhaps, ebay here i come.

I have been making and recording music at home for only a short time but have played music for many years. I have a Fostex VF-08 digital recorder and play back through headphones and monitor by way of nEAR 05 nearfield monitors.

Condensor mic by Samson CO1. I use it for vocals and as an overhead for drums. I bought it because of the price and because I had been told that it was better value for money and a better mic than a similarly priced MXL. I do not know if this is correct as I have ot used the MXL. I also use an SM58 and 57 but for vocals the CO1 works well. It has good clarity and for the price is an ideal starting grade microphone. It doesn't particularly suit my voice but I'm not sure I want to spend $1000 on a mic that may not be any more suitable. Maybe its my voice and not the mic but I am quite happy with the ay it performs.

I've been making music all my life (21 years) recording at home mostly for the last 10. I've been on both 4 track cassette Tascam setups, PCs for 3 and converted to Mac using Digital Performer 4.6 (that's right, there's an update)
I monitor through a pair of Roland DM10 monitors and a pair of audio technica mtch240s.

A goofy little Condenser Cardioid mic, the Samson C01 is the ideal entry level condenser. I bought this almost 3 years ago from Sam Ash in White Plains NY while it was on sale. I remember not being impressed by the plastic hard case that the mic came in until I bought a R0DE NT1-A which only has a pouch. (So does the NT2-A if you're curious) Now I feel like I should have been more impressed with that feature. Someone told me back in the day that a good telltale sign of quality is how it is intended to be stored. After using this microphone for years, I've become rather enamoured and disillusioned by it. Proximity Effect is HUGE on this mic and placement is very important. As always, use your ears. I've recorded this on everything from drums to guitars, congas, vocals, pianos and amps. I think this is a great mic if you don't mind EQing it up a bit in the end.

Overall this is a great microphone for a great entry level price. You probably don't have the money for a U87 if you're reading this so I'd recommend this at the $99 level. I'd also check out the Audio Technica 2020 in the price range.

I have been a musician for 12years and have been working on my own recordings for 8years.
I curently use a Zoom Mrs-8 digital recorder to put down my song but have used and owned pc's and Analog recorders.

I monitor my music thru sony headphones M-audio Monitors and Cheaper multi media speaker(for reference).

The C01 is a Condenser mic.
I Use this on Acoustic guitars and percusion and vocals. CLose and distance miced.
I looked at M-Audio And Mxl mics as well but chose this one as a good inexpensive mic. I am planning on getting a M-Audio Luna, An Mxl Studio Pac +, and the Samson C02, and a Oktava 319 to round out my collection a bit.

I think it sound very nice and warm not much to realy complain about considering the price.
I would definatly recomend this mic as a starter or as a diferent tonal color for any mic collection.

It works well in my diferent situations.

Recording for about 5 years on a hobby basis, PC cubase system, Genelec A1029 monitors + sub.

Cheap, cheap carboid condenser mic. I use it for everything, really, it's the best mic, I've got. Mostly vocals, though.
I'd say it does the job, on some sources even very nicely, but can sometimes come on as a little lacking in presence and warmth compared to an expensive mic ( I work in the radio... nothing but Neumans there, so I know the sound of good mic ).
The off-axis rejection on this mic is interesting; it's kind of terrible, it does not allow for real directivity, but recording something off-axis (about 70 degrees) can give a kind of dirty sound, which can be useful..

I've been recording for 10 years

I've studied audio engineering in college

recording to a DAW

primary monitors: Audio Centron ce6
primary phones: Extreme Isolation phones and sony mdr7506's

Cardoid condenser, non-switchable pattern

used on vocals, drum overhead, acoustic guitar, guitar cabs

Price and reviews made this thing the obvious low-budget choice

Nice and capable, nice transparent sound...wish it had a bass rolloff- i believe the 2 element version (c02) DOES this.

Yes, I'd recommend this mic to others....great for the price, sounds like mic's much more expensive.

I've been playing professionally for about 25 years, and have a fair amount of experience on both sides of the glass, although most of my production experience was years ago in an analog project studio. I'm currently getting back into recording, this time doing computer based, using a PC running Cakewalk Sonar. At the moment, I'm just using the Soundblaster that came with the machine, and I'm running the Samson through a Presonus TubePre. My current monitoring setup is virtually nonexistent, using a set of Infinity powered multimedia speakers and, more often that not, headphones. I test mixes on a Sony hoe theater setup, and a cheap boombox.

It's a large diaphragm condeser mic requiring phantom power, standard cardiod pattern. I use it exclusively on vocals, using close miking techniques, sometimes with a pop filter. I did consider some other mics before buying, but settled on this one because it was such a bargain. On my current setup, I only have an old Shure SM58 to compare it to, and it is infinitely better for recording vocals than the 58. Years ago, I did a lot of work with several different models from AKG and Electrovoice, and I would have to say that the Samson's performance is on a par with those mics, although since I don't have those mics to compare directly, I'm just speculating. Like most cheaper condensors, it can get a little brittle under high SPL conditions, but not really any worse than anything else I've heard in the under $100 category. Seems to be a very good multipurpose budget recording mic.

15+ years experience...Have recorded in well equipped pro studios...starting to transform basement into DAW...Needed to add a condenser mic to clean up some vox!

Essentially and entry level condenser mic (i also picked up the shock mount which works just fine)..I added this unit to my setup @ the same time as adding a M-Audio DMP3 preamp to my signal chain...I have had the pleasure of working with Neumann Mics & high-end studio mics...So, needless to say, the character of this condenser fell short of those units BUT for the price it is a clear, slightly dark sounding interesting alternative...I recently recorded using my ole trusty Shure SM58 through the M-Audio DMP3 preamp & through an ole vintage tube head with reverb & it made me wonder how much better off a guy is with a low-end condenser...My advice would be to shy away from the really LOW end condenser's and try an upgrade to a Rode, AKG or perhaps the M-audio Luna or Solaris...Not bad there Samson, but not exactly oozing professional grade condenser!!

Making music for about ten years. Home recording only, DAW (PC and Sonar 2.0).

Condenser mic, that I use to record vocals. I choose it because it's really cheap, thanks to that chinese guys. I don't know if it's good or not, cause I never had a condenser before (used to record dynamics like Shure SM-58). I recommend it, cause you can't get anything cheaper than this. I mean, you can complain about nothing, unless you are a stupid man that buy a mic for a hundred bucks expecting a huge sound from that. In other words, if you are a homerecorder (as a hobby), you can't go wrong with the mic. Sounds better to record vocals than any dynamic (unless you can't control the noise where you record). Comes with a shockmount (spider), wich increases its value.