Equipment Review
Product Reviewed:
AKG C1000S
Made by: AKG
Cost: $179 USD
Submitted by Todd Wilcox
Rating: 
Features:
The C1000S is a small-diaphragm condenser mic with a cardiod response pattern. It accepts phantom power and has an internal 9-volt battery compartment. It comes with a two "adapters," one changes the pattern to hypercardiod, the other adds a frequency boost somewhere around 10 KHz.
Technical Specifications:
What I liked:
There's another review of the C1000S here, but I wanted to mention something this mic is perfect for. I used it to mic an acoustic guitar in a fairly quiet pit for a musical. The acoustic was the only miced instrument, and let me say, this mic is GREAT for acoustic guitar. It also sounds pretty good in the studio for acoustic, certainly a big step up from a dynamic mic. It does reasonable well on vocals for me, at least for it's price. It has a great, warm SKG sound, but not as much crispness as some of the better, more expensive mics out there. The ability to use a condenser mic with a battery in a pinch is nice.
What I didn't:
DON'T get this mic for micing electric guitar. It sounds terrible (at least with distortion, I haven't tried clean). Also, the presence boost and hypercardiod adapters are pretty lame. You have to take apart the mic to install them, and they really don't have much of an effect on the sound of performance. I think they're just gimmicks. The on- off switch is a pain. I think they recessed it to make sure you don't accidentally turn it on or off, but it sucks when you WANT to turn it on or off.
User Tips:
I'd say this mic is well suited for live acoustic guitar and vocals, where the stage is a bit quieter and you'll be able to hear the nuances that don't get picked up by dynamic mics. It's also cheap, which means you won't be out as much if something happens to it on the road. I've never tried, but it might also sound good on other string and wood instruments like violins, cellos, etc.
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