AKG C1000 S MK4 Small-diaphragm Condenser Microphone Reviews

I have been relying on and using one of these for years. Finally bought a second one for overheads.
You can't go wrong.

I bought one of these almost 20 years ago, for an outdoor gig. I'm an opera singer and dynamic mics, like the Shure SM57 & SM58s, can compress & distort that sort of vocal production. This mic can take whatever you throw into it and renders it with crystal clarity. And it was the only decent condenser mic -- at that time, at least -- that had the battery for phantom power, so that I didn't have to worry about the capabilities of the setup ahead of time. It gives a clean, even response across the full vocal range (I'm a tenor, so YMMV). And, for outside, with a band & monitors, the hyper-cardioid option prevented feedback and leakage. I haven't used it in studio, but I still pull it out for outdoor gigs.

Have owned a pair for over twenty years. Excellent for X-Y, coincident, ORTF stereo recording of choirs, orchestra, etc. Great SDC for acoustic guitar, grand piano and drum overheads. Have used one for Tchad Blake drum mic setup with great results. The ability to put a nine-volt in for phantom has been very handy when needed. The hypercardioid capsule mod works well for live band applications where feedback is a concern. I consider them to be Swiss Army knife mics and I use them every week to get a studio quality sound for live group vocals. My Sweetwater sales engineer is A.J. Becerra and he"s great!

Pros: I can decide whether to run these using batteries or phantom power, making them ideal for smaller live systems where I don't necessarily want or have phantom available. The available adjustments, including low cut, -10dB pad, and hypercardioid and presence boost adapters are also a big plus, as I can save processing further down the line. The clip and pouch are very convenient, as well.

Cons: Still trying to find some...

I own a C1000, it's one my best,vocal mics.

I consider this the little bigger brother to the 451b. It was actually my first pair of condenser mics 20 years ago. I own km184s now for OH and acoustic guitar but have always loved the top end detail of the akg 451 pencil mics. They sound magical on cymbals not just because of the presence boost or sheen on the high end but the detailed fast transients. Lots of engineers kind of think the 451 was overused in the 80s 90s but I think everyone knows they are something special. So I bought another c1000s again a few years back to use as a Hi Hat mic. I remembered using the hypercardiod adapter to limit the bleed for a live acoustic and how it really tightened the pattern without losing any fullness or response. It lives happily over my hats now capturing all the nuances of the high frequencies to blend in presence with the overheads. Of course there are other great sdc mics but this works for me on a moderate budget. If you like the akg sound of this mic you should of course look at the 451b and 414. You would not go wrong keeping this for utility situations even if you upgrade.

I bought this much a while back. I was attracted to the price, the features, and the fact that in professional recording studios, I had the best success with the C414. Obviously this is not a C414 but the pedigree is there. Nevertheless, I bought this much and began experimenting with it on a number of styles of music and my findings are what I'm going to next write about.

On box, expect a crisp detailed and open sound. At the same time, It's certainly important to be in a decently treated room because this mic does tend to pick up unwanted noise in less than perfect conditions. Further, because of the small size of the capsule, this much doesn't really tolerate a lot of movement. That is, you have to remain right in front of this mic and be excessively still if you want great takes. And I mean right in front of the mic. All in all, It's great on vocals though sometimes cumbersome to find the best marriage of room and performer positioning. Notwithstanding, this thing is a weapon through my Focusrite Sapphire. I can only imagine what it would sound like through a Vintech 73 or SSL alpha channel.

On guitar cabs it performs as good as any of the standards... It's great in that right.

Drums take on just the right weight through this mic. Snares retain a Nice detailed character with just enough top. It's wonderful for this sort of application.

I recommend this mic for the type of person who needs something versatile but something with the potential to sound great on vox. In a decently treated space and using hardware dynamics controls, even this mic's weakness in the dynamics category can be shored up.

With that said, I'm absolutely going to buy several more of these. This is a great multi-purposed condenser.

I inherited one of these but from most people opinions it hasn't changed with updated versions. If your looking for one condenser mic for all your needs this probably isn't it. I like it most as a condenser instrument mic (amps, snares etc). I've used it as a chore mic when someone has a few on hand with the same results as most other mid range condensers (That really tends to be placement). I can't imagine it sounding worse than the behringer someone else mentioned as I've used that mic. Surprisingly there are a lot of good cheaper mics available today but I tend to lean to those with low sells noise and distortion as that's what ruins what you're trying to capture.

I've also used this for certain orchestra instruments but would definitely place it in the category of very good mic with a specific purpose. More open option for a 57 maybe but like most mics or starts with your source then placement. It's not as sensitive as other small diaphragm condensers but had a good noise floor and open and quality sounds in the right situation. The best tonal characteristic is if you have an overly mid range source it keeps the openness but tames the harshness.

I use this condenser mic on my ham radio. everybody were saying Reynaldo your audio is so good, very clear from hi & low. nothing to ask for more.

Reynaldo Castro
AB7MC

Found out it works really good on acoustic banjo running it flat with no EQ and the highs cut off a bit very natural sound but doesn't work very good for other instruments

as one of the reviewers before me, this mic requires a lot of work to make anything sound up to todays standards, tones of eq and still not really satisfactory, would not recommend

Just like the revisions before it, the capsule is just bad. No amount of EQ can salvage this mic. My church had one stolen that was the Mk3 and unfortunately they bought this to replace the stolen one. Compared to the Shure SM137 that I am familiar with, the Shure captures like a real condenser while the AKG is all harsh hi-mids. Even removing the inner foam did no improvement. Even a Behringer B5 outperforms this mic, that says alot! (the only exception I have for Behringer are their mics, they are sleepers for really cheap SDC's.)

Just stay away from this mic, you'll be glad you did.