PDA

View Full Version : AT Pro37 or AKG C1000



BenE
Mar-08-2004, 9:27am
I have narrowed down my mic choice to the AT Pro37 and the AKG C1000. Any help you guys might offer would be appreciated!

moxledb
Mar-08-2004, 9:45am
Depends on whether you have phantom power or not. The AKG C1000 can run off of a 9v battery when phantom power is not available, whereas the Pro37 always requires phantom power. Personally I like the sound and response of the Pro37 better, but I actually own a C1000 primarily for the reason stated above. Don't get me wrong, the C1000 is a great mike but I the times that I have used the Pro37 I preferred it to the C1000.

BenE
Mar-08-2004, 10:14am
phantom power is not a problem...I'm just wanting the better of the two. Most mixers I will be using have PP onboard. I also have a Rolls PP supply.
Thanks!

moxledb
Mar-08-2004, 10:33am
In that case, I would definitely go with the Pro37. I believe that it's less expensive than the C1000, too.

Brain
Mar-08-2004, 10:42am
I have two Pro 37Rs. I use them a lot in my
little, home-built studio. In a stereo pair,
they really drink up the sound from my mando,
fiddle, and HD-28. I've been very happy with
these mics. Hard to beat in that price range.

Good luck.

mandoJeremy
Mar-08-2004, 11:25am
I too would recommend the Pro 37R for the money. #If you don't mind spending more, I would also take a look at the Shure SM81. #I used one of those for a gig last weekend and it sounded great for mando, but it is a good bit ($385.00) more than the AT or AKG.

Randy
Mar-08-2004, 12:12pm
I have been using two 37's for the last year or so. It's a good all-purpose mic at a decent price. I have recorded with it onto personal recorders and it delivers well. Also use it with group vocals in live settings and it ain't bad for that. However, I know nothing about the C 1000.

Spruce
Mar-08-2004, 12:48pm
It's a no-brainer...

Go with the Pro 37R even if they cost the same amount....
Can't you get 2 37R's for the price of 1 C1000? In that case it's really a no-brainer......

A pair of 37R's mounted with the caps 90 degrees to one another is a nice little rig for recording a mandolin or just about any acoustic instrument....

Luck!

Bradley
Mar-08-2004, 8:55pm
I will chime in with another vote for the 37R...I actually have tried the SM81,then the C1000 microphone.Then one day I was turned onto the 37R and fell in love.

It seems to be more directional which allows more specific placement of the Mandolin for various sounds.

And another extra, it will fit very easily into your case where the other ones will not. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

Crowder
Mar-08-2004, 9:18pm
I don't know what the normal street prices are, but I watched ebay for a week orso and got a gently used C1000 for about $105. I've been extremely pleased with it, though I've never tried the other mic mentioned. The battery operation is a big deal to me because I want as simple a signal chain as possible. It gives a warmly accurate tone to every acoustic instrument I've tried it with. FWIW.

mandoJeremy
Mar-09-2004, 12:09am
Okay Bradley, next step up since an SM81 doesn't do it for you, is the Neumman KM 184. If that won't work I have a Sennheiser that dealer cost is $5,000.00! Look at freq. response, or just look at normal live situations. Truth is that the human ear will not hear any difference in any of the mics listed in this post, it is all up to the sound man. Does he know that most feedback and "roars" come in the 2K range? The mic does matter, but the sound guy matters a whole lot more regardless of the mic you choose. You would have to go to the recording studio and compare any of them, which is not going to be the same as live, there again! BenE, what is the reason that you want either one of them? Live or recording?

Bradley
Mar-09-2004, 7:51am
MandoJeremy,I didnt say that the SM81 didnt do it...I just liked the 37R better. Again it is more directional for my usage as I play alot of Country things with steel players, and tele players that are always to loud http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif I do not like mandolin pickups so I opt for a mike,However my guitars have pickups

It allows me to have a hotter mike without picking up more
things around the stage area. Also, "I feel" that it works well in a Bluegrass setting and a studio setting as well.I just did a project with Mando and acoustic guitar which it performed as well as any mike in the studio both expensive and not....I am sure that there are mikes out there that will outperform this $110 microphone,but for my pocketbook my search is over...

Happy Pickin http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

Spruce
Mar-09-2004, 2:00pm
"Truth is that the human ear will not hear any difference in any of the mics listed in this post, it is all up to the sound man."

The point of picking the right mic for the right job is to find a mic that works even if soundmen didn't exist. #Or more precisely, if EQ didn't exist. #You want a mic that will go straight to the pre-amp by-passing the board, and then straight to tape (or your listeners ears) and sound exactly the way you'd like it to sound, without a soundman adding his "magic"...

And in that case, there is a vast difference in each and every microphone in terms of what you're trying to record, and the human ear will indeed hear a vast difference between them....

"I am sure that there are mikes out there that will outperform this $110 microphone,but for my pocketbook my search is over"

Money and mics is an interesting subject....
Price is not necessarily an indicator of what will work in a given situation...
For instance, there have been literally hundreds of occasions (last night comes to mind) when a $115.00 Pro37R will kick a $7K Neumann U47's butt. #The U47 is my mic of choice on quite a few things (vocals and string bass are good examples), but I'll take a 37R on mandolin any day. #The articulation and chop of the mandolin are more to my liking, and it seems to be "faster".

These days, it doesn't take a whole lot of money to get some great sounds onto tape...

BenE
Mar-09-2004, 2:42pm
MandoJeremy....I'm looking to use it live.

mandoJeremy
Mar-09-2004, 3:57pm
BenE, if you are using it live I would definitely go with the Pro 37R or the C1000. #I have a friend (Jim Van Cleve) who plays fiddle with Mountain Heart and he bought the Pro 37R after we let him use it on one of their sets at a festival. #I don't know if he still uses it or not but it is a great mic for live performance and you can get a lot of volume before feeding back. #For the record, I think if you guys read my first post you will see that I stated that I liked the Pro 37R for the money (I do own one also) and I don't know anyone that would use a U47 for a mandolin. #When I record I actually use a KM184 or the Blue Bottle Mic and I get great results out of either but I would only use the KM184 in a live situation. Bradley, when I used the SM81 it was on stage with two praise and worships teams at once and the drummer and bass player were right behind me and I didn't have any trouble with the mic picking them up. I did have to roll off the -10db switch on the mic. I guess mics are the same as mandolins, we all like something different!

BenE
Mar-09-2004, 4:53pm
MandoJeremy...
thanks!

Spruce
Mar-09-2004, 4:54pm
"For the record, I think if you guys read my first post you will see that I stated that I liked the Pro 37R for the money (I do own one also) and I don't know anyone that would use a U47 for a mandolin"

Check out the "Down from the Mountain" live video shot at the Ryman Auditorium with all the "Oh Brother" folks....
I think they had something like 6 U47s on stage...
Sounded horrible IMO, with tons of phasing problems, etc.

Sure looked cool though.....

TonyP.
Mar-09-2004, 5:02pm
I really agree with Spruce, there is a ton of difference on all mics, that's why a good studio has a bunch of them. 99% of the time we don't have a soundman either. Most times we go through several mics to get the right sound and it's not always the more expensive one that wins!
I don't know if you have access to one but one time we did a blind test between a sm81 and a audio technica 4031 and the 4 of us could not tell the difference. If you see 'em on ebay they are pretty inexpensive,not as cheap as the 37R, just another bit to add to the confusion. I am going to look into a 37R because of so much good feedback. Sounds like another good addition to the palette.

mandoJeremy
Mar-09-2004, 5:05pm
Hey Spruce, 6 U47s?http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif!!!!!!! I bet that did sound horrible but I also bet that it looked cool! Are you sure they weren't using the U87s?

Spruce
Mar-09-2004, 5:26pm
They used U87s and a couple KSM32's when I saw them live, but in the video it's a parade of U47s...

TonyP.
Mar-09-2004, 6:52pm
U47's sounding horrible?http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif I thought they were the holy grail of vintage mics. inquiring minds want to know...

Spruce
Mar-09-2004, 6:58pm
It was a phasing issue...
The whole soundtrack sounded weirdly out of phase, and one could only guess that 6 LDC's onstage might have something to do with it...

They had other technical problems too...
I remember at one point Mike Compton's U47 must've pooped out, because he was pretty much inaudible....