A lot of hate for the AKG Solidtube...

[Tim Gillett]

PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS...

Speaking of a bright sounding mic, I recall a dynamic mic from probably the 60's. It was a small omni dynamic which came with a cord which was designed to hang the mic from a person's neck so you could speak/lecture hands free. But there was a trick to using it. There was an optional presence boost feature which was not electrical but mechanically operated. For the presence boost you slid the collar which held the cord up to the highest position so that it formed a collar above the dynamic capsule's opening. The mic was not exactly hi fi to start with but the presence boost feature made it even less so. But that was not the point. It wasnt meant to be hifi but rather emphasised speech clarity especially since a mic sitting on a person's chest is not the ideal position for clarity or fidelity. The booster helped speech intelligibility at the expense of high fidelity.

Interestingly the mic was an AKG. Coincidentally the much reviled C1000 has a similar mechanical presence boost adaptor. Definitely not designed for high fidelity but for speech clarity if and when it's needed.

Unlike the older dynamic omni with the hands free cord, looking at the C1000, you cant tell whether the presence booster is engaged or not. You have to unscrew the top cover and expose the capsule to find out. And unless you know what you are looking for, you probably wont even recognize the booster even when it is fitted. It can just look like a permanent part of the capsule. I suspect many people who are not used to the mic, or only seldom use it, have no idea about this little fitting which admittedly is unusual. Or maybe they just forget about it. Unless you read the instructions, or somebody cued you in, how would you know?

I say this remembering a live outdoor gig I video recorded January last year. I was preoccupied with videoing, and thankfully sound was done by another fellow. I just took a mixer feed to my camera and set up my own audience mics (H4) for the video recording. This guy had onstage two C1000s - as well as a few SM58's I think - which he'd owned for a long time. To cut a long story short, he had a lot of feedback problems in the first half of the concert. Then at half time he told me he "remembered" that he had the C1000s mics in the "omni" position, and he opened up the C1000s and turned them back into "cardioids", after which he said they fed back less.

Problem is, there is no omni feature on C1000s. There is a cardioid/hypercardioid feature. There is also a presence boost feature. And you cant use both the presence booster and the hypercardiod feature at once. Each fits over the mic capsule and there's only room for one at a time. But the point is this guy who had owned two of these mics for a long time:

1. Forgot about the internal changes possible with the mic.
2. When he remembered he only partially remembered what they did.

So unusually the mic has not one but two different adaptors which change the mic's characteristics. Both are invisible from the outside, could be confused with one another and even when the mic is opened up it may not be obvious they are optional fittings.

I've done a bit or research on C1000 "hate threads". In all the comments I read, not once did anyone mention the presence boost feature. Not even a complaint about how it would have been nicer to have an external switch for the presence boost rather than a fiddly little plastic widget which you cant even see is engaged unless you pull the mic apart... No complaint that even though the mic is too present, that's nothing compared to when you fit the presence booster... No, nothing about the booster.

That's odd because the main complaint, as here seems to be its overly bright, "present" response.

Is it possible many have used this mic over the years totally unaware that the presence booster is fitted, or that the mic even has such a feature?

Yes it is an unusual mic. All the more reason perhaps to...

PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS before using.

Just a thought.

[johnny h]

Yes it is an unusual mic. All the more reason perhaps to...

PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS before using.

Just a thought.

Waste of time and effort. If you can get any money at all for a C1000, sell it. Otherwise, the bin.

[ConcertinaChap]

Aye, I remember those fiddly little caps and how difficult it was to get them off without pulling the capsule off as well.

It's not a mic I would have around now regardless of its qualities as it has become a sort of reverse Neumann. It can damage your reputation simply having it lying around the studio.

CC

[Exalted Wombat]

Hands up everyone who owns (or owned) a C1000?

Why did you choose to buy it?

Did you dislike it straight away?

[Studio Support Gnome]

Hands up everyone who owns (or owned) a C1000?

Why did you choose to buy it?

Did you dislike it straight away?

Hand up .

1) I needed a mic that could pull double duties as a hammer, or night stick, as well as get used in a PA with no phantom power, and worked on sax for a guaranteed raspy tone…. .

2) yes.

[Hugh Robjohns]

I've done a bit or research on C1000 "hate threads". In all the comments I read, not once did anyone mention the presence boost feature.

I suspect that's probably because no one would normally choose to use it, and no one would install it from new and then forget about it. The C1000 already has a 'presence boost' of some 4dB between about 4-10kHz and it sounds 'bright' (yet strangely fuzzy and muffled at the same time) straight out of the box. I'd suggest it actually sounds 'artificial' or 'unnatural' more than bright, to be honest.

Is it possible many have used this mic over the years totally unaware that the presence booster is fitted, or that the mic even has such a feature?

Yes, anything is possible. But a 9dB (very lumpy) presence boost (which is what you get with the adapter fitted) is pretty obviously savage. I can imagine someone installing the hyper-cardioid adapter and forgetting about it, but not the HF pressure build-up adapter.

And BTW, pressure build-up rings (and cones, and balls, and grids) aren't that unusual in high-end mics. Neumann, Sennheiser, DPA, and Gefell, all employ them with various models, to name just a few.

H

[ConcertinaChap]

I bought one in about 1990 during a first phase of interest in recording using a cassette based multi tracker. The recordings I made were - not good, but I don't think it was the mic's fault. I stuck the mic away at the back of a cupboard for 15 years until I started getting interested again, then sold it almost immediately because I wanted to fund an LDC. So I can't really say I ever gave it a fair trial. As I say above I wouldn't have one now because of the reverse Neumann factor. Unfair maybe, but there it is.

CC

[Studio Support Gnome]

i'd also note, for balance, that I actually HAVE uses for the also much maligned C3000 , (pref the pattern adjustable earlier of the gold versions… ) it's got a hard higher mid tone that is a bit nasty on many things, but works well on certain electric guitar tones.

also sometimes good for some male voices that are "too sweet" for the material they're working with…… if you want to inject some edge ….. use a C3k

[James Perrett]

I've used a pair of C1000's quite extensively as they came as part of a package that someone bought from Thatched Cottage Audio and contributed to our studio setup. They're very useful when you don't have anything better available and tracks I've recorded with them have found their way into all sorts of places. If you can't get radio play for your tracks don't blame the C1000's - there are probably other more important problems with your recordings.

[niallharp]

One time we made a record with a singer who had a big honking head. massive mid range resonant spikes. Recorded thru the solid tube. Sounded Fab. Next record. Engineer insisted on his new top of the line mic. Horrible Honking. You never ever know. Try Everything.

[ConcertinaChap]

Ah, Thatched Cottage Audio. I bought my C1000 from them but wasn't expecting the free mic stand they included with it. I may have got rid of the C1000 but I'm still using the mic stand, it's one of my favourites.

CC

[Exalted Wombat]

Ah, Thatched Cottage Audio. I bought my C1000 from them but wasn't expecting the free mic stand they included with it. I may have got rid of the C1000 but I'm still using the mic stand, it's one of my favourites.

CC

Ah, Thatched Cottage Audio indeed! That's two of us got our C1000s from them. I knew little in those days, simply asked them to recommend a pair of "decent" mics to go with my new recorder.

Not sure I KNOW much more now, except about equipment I've personally used. But I've absorbed a lot of second-hand opinion from reviews etc.

[johnny h]

Working with bad equipment is like working with bad musicians. Once in a blue moon, if the wind is blowing correctly, the stars are aligned and you have your lucky blue hat on, you might accidentally get something half decent.

Most of the time its painful and futile.

[shindigger]

Had a Solid Tube a while back.
Had it apart several times owning to an annoying hum, which could often be cured by giving it a mild slap on the side. Never did truly nail the hum. Caused by grounding issues i believe.
I seem to remember i swapped the valve out and that improved it.
Improved it to such an extent, that i now realise it was a flattering mic for MY voice.
I flogged it and bought a TLM102 and i wish i still had the Solid Tube for recording my own songs.
Sure, the TLM is fine, but does not appear to impart the extra required warmth to my honky squawk.
I wont buy another as i dont want to be buggering about with fixing hums again, but i thought it worked for me.

[shindigger]

This was my exact experience. It rounded my edges off a treat.

[Aurasphere]

What I find hilarious is all the “pros” speaking up with advice here that is so dodgy
Firstly mics react to impedance loading...so when you make all these claims about good and bad, I guess that based on everyone comparing based on identical pres...right?

The pre choice alone can be highly affecting

Take the “horrid” nt1a

Well turns out if you plug into a typical cheaper hiz pre...it’s harsh blah blah
But
If you plug that into say, sebatron vmp valve, with a low z ( and Vovox cable), the blind ab is insane. It works so well on practically every fem Vox I put in front of it and overhead is wild

So to anyone reading any of these posts, get to know the WHOLE story of the gear you use...and you might find that’s a big factor in perception

The best gear is the gear you know best

[jimjazzdad]

a bit late to the party aren't you?

[James Perrett]

Firstly mics react to impedance loading...

We were talking about condenser mics here which are relatively insensitive to load unless it is ludicrously low.

[MarkOne]

Is it me, or is someone using their inaugural post to zombiefy a 10 year old thread a teeny bit odd?