SAMSON C01 STUDIO CONDENSER

I have a pair of these that I have had since about the year 2000. I bought them as vocal Mics for my home studio and actually used them as such for several years, albums and demos.

The Mics are pretty decent sounding. They are large diaphragms and give a decent enough sound for the price but they tend to distort fairly easily under load. So I would not recommend using them in a Kick drum or on a powerful male or female voice. You will get some distortion even with a pad on your pre-amp.

They require 48-volt phantom power as do all studio condensers and you will find, as I did, that they sound a little thinner than your average large diaphragm condenser Mic.

All that being said, these can be gotten at almost any music store for around fifty dollars US and when you look at them in that context. They are a great Mic.

If you have an average voice without a bunch of power and use some distance between you and the Pop Filter, you will get good useable results.

I have a low baritone voice and I need to stand about 3 feet away to not distort it. My wife, on the other hand with her higher female voice, uses this Mic and sounds great on it. So if you look over the response curve and try it on some real world situation tests, you should get a lot of good out of these.

The unit comes in a cheap plastic case; one of mine is still in great shape the other has pulverized. Invest in the shock mount, you will need it to save you from stand, floor noise.

I have since moved to a better Mic but keep the Samson C01s for drum overheads and they really ROCK there.

Because this mic boasts multuple patterns it is a versatile powerhouse of ambient recording options.
What I found was a brilliance of sound reflection, and an excellent transient response that is smooth throughout the whole range. It has a fairly detailed top end and warmth in the bass frequencies, but is rather neutral when I began comparing it with some other budget mics in my arsenal, so apparently this mic does not overtly "color" the sound of your signal. Impressive in this range.
I found this mic to be incredibly crisp and clean on acoustic stringed instruments such as guitar and mandolin, and retain an articulate bass response from an electric bass cab when paired with a dynamic mic off center by utilyzing the bass cut.
I found it to be more transparent and ultimately not as "warm" as my mxl v67, but it was more accurate by far. Again, this mic does not color the signal to a noticeable degree in my opinion.
This mic might not be my "go-to" for recording guitars, but it could certainly provide just the right frequncy response for tracking an accurate uncolored vocal, or piano. I would reccomend this to anyone who needs an affordable large diaphram condensor for live purposes, like a bluegrass band who needs a crisp figure-8 mic for jamming out.

So basically, don't let the 100 dollar price tag fool you, this mic is quite capable, accurate, and responsive while being incredibly versatile with its multi-pattern capability. This is a perfect choice for guys just starting out buying their first condensor, or for those who need quality go-to microphones and are on a budget.

I bought this in 2000 or so and never once regretted it.
It's a transparent mic, flat across the whole range you can hear...20hz to 20.000hz.
It's very sensitive and detailed, sometimes can seem a bit harsh so if you have a warm preamp you might want to use it in conjunction with the C3000.

You can use this on acoustic instruments, it works just as well as with vocals. I've recorded a cello, violin, wooden ladder (yes, a wooden ladder!), toy keyboard, guitars, flute, clarinet, etc. It's good. On strings you might want to prefer an Audio-Technica ATM-33 though, that works wonders on violins & cello...but the C3000 is good for pretty much everything.
It's unforgiving and don't expect that flattering high-end from this mic, but if you're looking for a real good all-rounder and you have a sound-proofed room then this is definitely worth considering.

I use it for three year, when I havn't enough money, it returned services!!
Of course high-pitched are missing but you can use a multi-band compressor (or de-esser) to correct it...
This was my first microphone, for 100$ only its a very good choice! Now, I'm going to buy a Neumann U87 because I've got a good job but When I was a student, this product saved my life!

If you have access to more expensive mics then you probably won't like the 990. Its fairly bright, very "live" sounding, and the high end came become brittle and harsh. Its fairly unforgiving of room acoustics, high frequency reflection especially. The smaller diaphram makes it less forgiving of proximity; i.e. like you can't move around too much when singing or playing in instrument in front of it.

I did not care at all for how it sounded on my acoustic guitar. It was harsh when I wanted warm, bright when I wanted full, crisp when I wanted "round". I never bothered to sing into it. I have used it for mic'ing up an electric guitar amp fron a couple feet away, and it suited this well in my opinion. The guitar I tracked came out very "live" sounding, fairly bright with definition and attack. This mic might be nice to have around for a slightly more bright sound that you want to cut through a mix. Basically, I say you should have a quality LDC first but if you can buy 2 of these, fool around with them in stereo, if you hate 'em sell them to someone online or keep them for rare moments you want a different sound.

I've been using this microphone for about six months. Its got a very clear and full sound to me, although it does color it a bit. I went with the thinking that you really can't go wrong with a Shure, and I was not disappointed. The price is very reasonable for a great sounding condenser mic. The shock mount it comes with is a great feature as well, as it makes it extremely easy to place. I also have a MXL 990 and an Audio Technica and I would have to say that this is my favorite of the three even though it is the most expensive. While it doesn't have the craftsmanship or sound of a Neumann, it doesn't claim to and for the price you shouldn't expect it. To me it is worth the price to have a great sounding condenser built with the quality that I am assured of with Shure products. Overall, if I were to break mine I would certainly get a new one.

I've had this mic for about 3 years and the things I like most about it is the great clarity and the price. I've used a few other low end small diaphragm condensers and I would say I like this one the best because it has a great high end frequency response and sounds great on acoustic guitar and cymbals. For the price I couldn't find a better small diaphragm condenser mic and even though it doesn't sound as great as some higher end mics, its got the best price of all of them. I bought it in a pack with the MXL 990, and I like this mic much better than that one. I would have paid the same price I paid for both just for this one. Just because of how cheap it is I plan to keep my MXL 991 for a while even if I decide to upgrade later down the road.

I've had this microphone for about 2 years now and while I'm not totally in love with the sound it produces, I am in love with the price. With microphones like this being as cheap as they are, its feasible for one to have a pretty decent microphone collection at a very nice price. I have a few other condenser microphones such as the Shure KSM27 and an Audio Technica, so this isn't my top microphone, but I love having it around when I need it. The sound quality isn't perfect, but its decent enough to make demos with and for when I need to set up a few condenser microphones. It comes off a bit thin for me. I do like the mid and low range frequency response on the mic though. It does look and feel a bit cheap though, which I guess it is. While if I could do it again I might spend a few more bucks on a better condenser, but for the price this really can't be beat.