On Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:27:49 +0200, "Iain Churches"
wrote:

Some time before Christmas, Don made an interesting comment in
that he was "surprised that the AKG C1000s was still in production
due to its poor reputation"

The AKG C1000s is as a budget level condenser mic ("condensor"
for Arny) and, according to the dealer I spoke to, one of their
strongest selling lines.

So who buys them, and for what purpose?

It seem that theatres, churches, and concert venues are the main
customers. The mic is popular due to its "enhanced speech intelligibility"
option, an insert module which shapes the response between 4kHz
and 9kHz.

When I asked a colleague of mine in the UK about this mic, his
first reaction was "great for rock'n'roll piano" He later modified
this to "groove piano" which allows an easier association.

His technique was similar to that used back in the 60s, a
Fairchild 670 compressor set with fast gain and a slowish
recovery time. To compensate for the roll off of the HF a
Pultec EQ was daisy chained before the insert return to
brighten the sound.

The dealer offered me a pair for extended evaluation.

The mic, which measures 23cm x 3cm comes in a sturdy
aluminium foam-padded case, together with a six-language
manual. The case also contains the clip to attach the mic to a
stand, a wind shield, and two plastic inserts, PPC1000 and
PB 1000 used to modify the polar and frequency response
of the microphone.

http://www.kolumbus.fi/iain.churches...G-C1000S01.jpg

For clarity, here are the bits and pieces out of the case.
http://www.kolumbus.fi/iain.churches...G-C1000S02.jpg

It requires DC (phantom) power from either the recording
console, or internal batteries (included) An AKG N
series phantom supply (not included) could also be used.

The mic, made in Poland, is solidly constructed, with a substantial
wire mesh top cage. It has a recessed ON/OFF switch for the
internal batteries if used, and a LED indicator to show state of charge.

The PPC 1000 insert is a polar pattern converter to change the mic's
pickup pattern from cardioid to hypercardiod, which makes it
even less sensitive to pickup from the sides and rear, and allows
the use of higher gan before feedback when using stage or
playback monitors.

The PB 1000 insert module is a "presence boost adapter"
which gives a 5dB lift between 5kHz and 9kHz for optimum
speech intelligibility.

For music, the C100S is a bright mic as it stands, and a very
bright mic with the PB1000 insert fitted:-)

My colleague had recommended it for "groove piano" in
concert applications. I have to say I was a little disappointed.
Maybe I was expecting too much? The brightness at the top
end made the LF sound a rather light, and it was not easy to
achieve the full, firm (but not fat) LF sound one gets from a
pencil Neumann in this application. But then, one has to
remember that the Neumann is nearly than ten times the price.
You get what you pay for.

It struck me that the bright characteristic of this mic could be
used to advantage other than in concert applications, for
recording of instruments such a celeste, or tuned percussion,
glockenspiel, bar chimes, bell tree, etc. The sound was
pleasing - clean, clear and bright, with adequate gain.

My next thought was to try the pair of C100s as a top
pair on drums to cover the two loose cymbals
(the lack of a 10dB input attenuator probably makes
this mic unsuitable for general drum use, snare, toms etc)

Top mics on drum kits get hit fairly often by flailing
sticks, and the cost of replacement for capsule and cage
for this mic is only a fraction of the cost of replacement on
a Neumann. Once again the mics performed well in the
chosen application. With a forward facing capsule you can
set the mic very close to and in line with the rim of a ride,
sizzle or rivet cymbal and hear the air "swish" plus a Doppler
effect as the cymbal swings.

The dealer offered a three year warranty (not covering
physical damage) which indicated faith in a keenly-priced
product.

There is a mag review at.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec9...gc1000.576.htm


I have this pair on extended loan, so will have the chance to
try them in a number of different applications. I don't think
baroque cello will be one of them:-)

Iain


Yes, that pretty fairly sums up this mic. Bright - too bright for many
applications and harsh is a description I've often heard. Of course
any flavour of mic will find an application, even if it is "enhanced
intelligibility" in a church, oxymoron though that clearly is.

d