I notice no one really wants this one...I hope you have a good return policy where you got em.There are some folks(only a few) who would swear by these mics.My favorite thing about em is they will work on a battery thus making them very portable.Also they have lots of highs....hopefully you have a decent EQ.

if your personal preference is for harsh, thin, and crispy... you've got the perfect mics!

I'll concur with the above replies.
They do have their uses...... but they are few and far between.

get a pair of used sm81´s

Wow! Such hatred for C1000s! I personally think they're pretty good mics. I use them for stereo mic'ing acoustic guitars, and I like them for drum overheads as well. But - that's just my opinion. I'll have to admit there are better condensers on the market, but at what price?

Just remember this - when asking for opinion - which is terribly subjective - you're going to get answers from every end of the spectrum. To quote a line from Supertramp, "Some they do, and some they don't, and some you just can't tell." My advice is to use your own ears, with your own gear, and see what you think about the sound. If you have to use an eq, or a pre-amp, or compressor, or whatever, so-be-it! That's why those things are made, so you can use them to improve your sound. Of course if you have to buy those things to augment something that sounds like poop, then maybe you want to replace the poop with something better. The bottom line: if you like it, it's good - if you don't, it's crap.

I will agree with styles - that saying a mic is crappy is meaningless unless it is qualified with a "compared to x". But the same would be true for saying a mic is great.

So in that spirit I'll say that if you go down to guitar center and audition a bunch of Oktava MC012's and pick out a couple of good ones, it would be my opinion that you will end up with a pair of mics that MOST people would prefer on MOST sources to the C1000's. And for no more (or maybe less) money.

It would be interesting to hear what mics Styles has compared the C1000's to in forming his opinions. That would give us a hint as to whether he just happens to like harsh and crunchy... :)

Great for portability and not too expensive.. Slightly crisp sounding for my taste, though.

Had a pair a few years back. Sold em. David

Ah... the C1000's again. There has been quite some discussion about these mics on many forums.

Some say they're only good for holding sigars.
IMHO you could make a Grammy winning award with them.

Not the best mic for the money, the NT3 has a nicer sound, but you can make decent sounding recordings with a C1000.

Woodwinds, percussion, and many acoustic instruments will sound decent (not great) with C1000's

And this is even more surprising: the C1000 can sound great on distorted guitars.

So: not a great mic, but not bad either.

For the money, I think they're great. I've used them at times for drum overheads, snares and acoustic guitars. A pair of them work pretty well when recording an acoustic guitarist/vocalist. I don't know that it's fair to compare them to SM81s when the cost of a pair is about 33% higher.

The reason I did NOT mention to the original poster any alternative mics is simply because it seemed he had already purchased the mics and at this point it will be up to him to determine their value to him.In asking others opinions it seemed to me he was simply attempting to validate this purchase.I could write a page on mics that are 'better' and some for a better price, though I dont know what he paid...
So Matt, let us know how it went with them.And if in the future you decide to upgrade, please dont be afraid to ask..theres plenty of opinions to go around.

The C1000 is like the Rode NT1. You're getting what you paid for, and you're not paying a lot.

The difference even between the C1000 and the C2000 is phenomenal, given the marginal price difference...and yet the C2000 still has some brittleness issues.

If its all you can afford, take em. But if you can squeeze out for some Oktavia's or C2000/3000 or the NT3 (already mentioned) you'll reap the rewards.

Last friday I bought an sm81 and paid only $350.
I imagine in the USA they are cheaper!
Dig e-bay!!

They make great doorstops. Seriously, though, there are less expensive condensers that will do any job you can name better. I agree with the suggestion of aquiring a pair of Oktava MC012's. I'm a big fan of several other AKG mics that are often overlooked, especially C2000B, but I really don't think 1000S is worth the money. I'd rather have C2000B's (about the same price) or the Oktavas, or Studio Projects B-1's-Richie

Thanks for all the different points of view. Having used them in a variety of applications, I agree and disagree with many of the comments. I guess we have to keep in mind, what is plesant to one set of ears, hurts another's. As far as what I paid for them, for a factory matched pair, I paid $210 including tax. It was the best thing, for the best price I could find. I couldn't find another matched set, in that price range.
I agree, if they were more money, I wouldn't have bought them. If I had more money, I would have bought a pair of KSM 32's or something.
Oh well, just food for thought. I love this bbs. It is the ultimate why to learn what people are into and not.
Thanks again for all the feedback! I REALLY appreciate it!

-Matt Feddermann
Phase Productions
http://

Hey there!

I've been using a pair of C1000s for about 3 years, and they've been fine. My overhead tracks aren't the textbook-perfect sound, but they're good. I don't need to EQ too much, and since most of what I record is heavy metal, they work fine. I know I can do better- I've been eye-balling SM81s or large-condensers for a long time now.

But I've got bigger fish to fry, so I'm still using C1000s.

You have the C1000s and they'll work. Unless everything else in your system is above the 'it could sound better, but it works' level, then worry about upgrading these. Oktavas or ATs or SM81s will make a noticeable difference, yes. If it doesn't strain your budget to upgrade, go ahead. If there are other weaker points in your signal chain, don't worry about 'em.

But this advice goes for just about everything else an engineer has; upgrade the weakest point in the signal chain until there are no weak points (which is pretty much NEVER but you get the idea).

Good luck!

Kase

BTW an added side benefit to using less-than-optimal overheads is that if you get used to getting good sounds out of the C1000s, once you do get a chance to upgrade it'll be a cinch to get good sound out of 'em...

what about the RODE NT5?