Testing AKG C 1000S

[Anonymous]

Had my a Sax lesson this morning, The sax teacher is going to teach me the Blues. lol

I asked him what he would recommend for recording sax/guitar/singing –
he said Shure SM57 , AKG C100S – for good mic in my price range.

He lent me his AKG C100S , a microphone stand & a xlr cable for the Mic. He wanted me
to try the AKG C1000S in stead of his Shure SM57 as he thought it was slightly better.

So he gave a blues track for G.

So took me ages to set it all up in logic pro x,
and recorded 3 tracks (his blues track, me playing sax, attempting to sing)

Overall i reckon i’ll buy one these microphones

[Anonymous]

Yep definitely buying a AKG C1000S

[Anonymous]

then later on i might buy this mic – slightly better than the c1000s,
hope to try this next to see what it rcords like

http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/microphones/detail.asp?stock=10041910305232

[Anonymous]

Hi Sxpoet. This sound-check is miles better than the other one, which sounded like the mike was smothered under a pillow!
It comes across as natural and clear, how about letting rip with your sax, playing from the deep low notes and up in the altissimo?
I think this is the clearest recording I’ve heard at this mid-price range.

[Anonymous]

Hi Jeff –

The other mic (C519M) i found if you talked directly into it, then it picked up my voice clearly, the minute i moved sideways away from the direction the mic points in, my voice really drops in volume and clarity.

The problem with that – to get a clearer recording of the sax, the bell has to be pointed directly at the mic, in my recording i pointed it at my left hand, so it could also pick up the sound coming from holes higher up, which is why its not as clear.

Another problem is very low notes can cause the recording to go into the red if the mic points at the bell. So it seems ok for any music which you wont let rip on the low notes for recording at home.
So could be useful for classical stuff.

What amazes me is when i 1st played back the recording i was going to delete it as it sounded a 100 times worse than that, so i tried out the audio interface equilizer plugin in logic pro, played around with 12 gain controls and it made it a lot clearer and less cluttered with key clunking, breath noises and spit on the reed noises (should have put a cloth thru the sax neck & mouthpiece to de spit it),
but for mic testing i wanted it to pick everything up – to get a raw recording.

What i need to do now is try out the C519M putting it in the clearer sound position and listen to it with headphones and get the best logic pro settings for the sound and write it all down.

The C1000S mic i had no problems picking up a clearer sax sound – just had to hear what it sounded like if i got too close or too far away, or pointed the sax bell in a different direction.

The singing part – i was moving from 3 feet to a couple of inches from the mic and also turning round while singing to hear how the mic was picking up from various distances/singing directions so don’t let that fool you – ignore my singing – i cant sing properly, but the various ranges in my voices helps give me a feel for what the mic is picking up. Like the sax positioning for recording its just a case of find the best proximity for recording and staying in that zone.

But hey – you guys that already do recordings with audio interfaces and recording software know all this stuff. Its just the first time for me.

It will take me a couple of weeks to work out a reasonable logic pro settings, for the room i record in, in relation to positioning the mic, sax , music stand.

Once thats out the way i can stop tinkering with physical recording positions and logic pro settings – and get back to playing the sax and hopefully just press record.

I still need to record guitar as well to find out how the mic copes.

later on i will buy the
AKG C414 XLS Large Diaphragm Condenser mic
, as its the dogs bollox in comparison to the c1000s. When i get that one i will do a test recording

[Anonymous]

Sxpoet, I see! I just had a search for it, I didn’t realise it was a clip-on mike! That makes sense because it is supposed to be in-line with the horn.

“The C519 professional miniature condenser microphone clips gently onto the bell of a trumpet, saxophone, trombone, tuba, didgeridoo or any other wind instrument. Its tight cardioid polar pattern makes the C519 an ideal tool for use near monitor wedges, and its flat frequency response delivers a natural, powerful and clear sound.”

You’ll have to try it again with it mounted in the optimum position.

I adjust my mike on the low notes because if it stays below zero dB there, it will be okay.

Try to get the strongest signal from the microphone before you amplify/process it, because this will keep noise at a minimum.

I’m wishing I spent more money on my mike now, because I’m not at all happy with the lower note range of my sax recording.
My wife’s cellphone seems to be better at recording the sound of the sax! Ah well, education is expensive!

[Anonymous]

Sxpoet, what are you connecting the mike to? How many devices do you have between the mike and PC USB or RCA input?

[Anonymous]

i’m using a mac pro + clarett-2 pre audio interface (connecting to the mac pro via a thunderbolt cable instead of usb, which is faster)
+ with rolland 200s sterio headphones + choice of 2 mic’s (akg c519m which is mine, and the akg c1000s which is my teachers).

I haven’t bought my yamaha hs7 monitors yet, so i have to listen back thru headphones connected to the audio interface.

Today i ordered the akg C1000 MKIV mic which should arrive tomorrow. So i’ll give my teachers his akg c1000s back, and on thursday
i’ll have more time to try out both mic’s again. So i might re-record the same stuff again to see if it has improved any

[Anonymous]

Sxpoet – thanks for the info, you are certainly buying quality gear and your recordings should be better than CD quality by the time you’ve finished!
Do you have a name for your record label yet? 🙂

[Anonymous]

Jeff – hadn’t thought about that! Any suggestions ? lol

my Sister-in-laws son-in-law did music at university – he plays guitar, and sings in pubs etc.. he can play drums a bit, i’m hoping to get him to do me some tracks later on. The only problem he lives two hours away and has a day job, so its not easy to organise.

Two more of my cousins – one used to play lots of gigs, and the other one has a music degree and teaches piano i think she has played a few concerts a long time ago. Going back in the family tree i’ve got 2 irish ladies who used to teach the piano, and all the irish males into marching with brass bands in the past long time ago – musics in the blood.

I can remember visiting an irish aunts house when i was very small, and
everyone got round the piano and sung songs – times have changed laddie.

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