Did anyone try to record his flute with a Samson CO1U?

[Guyd]

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[Phineas]

I have tried the Samson CO1U mic. It is OK for the money. It is a good vocal microphone, but not great for instruments. The biggest hurdles are the USB interface, and the mushy response. For an instrument this will be a challenge. Here is what i mean.

When you are dealing with a condenser mic, at the high end of you gain, the mic is very sensitive. If you turn up your input volume all of the way, you could actually hear you hand rubbing across your shirt!. Most Condensers will do this. However, a Better condenser will also be sensitive at a low gain. When you are using a condenser microphone like this in a place that is not a studio, you want to be able to use just enough gain to pick up what you are recording without picking up backround noise. Human vocals are very forgiving when it comes to volume adjustment. Flutes are less forgiving. The sound of this mic did not appeal to me at a low gain while recording a flute(or sax). By the time I got to a sweet spot, the gain was so high, I could spy on my neighbors! For the same money, you could get something like a Blue Snow Ball or a Samson Q1U(A Dynamic Mic). Anything better will cost you more money. For $50 more, the quality of the mics go up 100% IMO. The Samson C03U is a better mic. I also like the Audio Techniques AT2020 USB Mic. Any more money that than, you can get a USB mixer, and get what ever mic you want!...Another thread.

Please do not misunderstand me. It is a good quality microphone for the money and will work. But it does have limitations. The real prize is the Sonar LE. You can use this with any hardware. So if you choose to upgrade later, the software will still be useful.

Phineas

[Guyd]

..

[feezdeen]

I have tried the Samson CO1U mic. It is OK for the money. It is a good vocal microphone, but not great for instruments. The biggest hurdles are the USB interface, and the mushy response. For an instrument this will be a challenge. Here is what i mean.

When you are dealing with a condenser mic, at the high end of you gain, the mic is very sensitive. If you turn up your input volume all of the way, you could actually hear you hand rubbing across your shirt!. Most Condensers will do this. However, a Better condenser will also be sensitive at a low gain. When you are using a condenser microphone like this in a place that is not a studio, you want to be able to use just enough gain to pick up what you are recording without picking up backround noise. Human vocals are very forgiving when it comes to volume adjustment. Flutes are less forgiving. The sound of this mic did not appeal to me at a low gain while recording a flute(or sax). By the time I got to a sweet spot, the gain was so high, I could spy on my neighbors! For the same money, you could get something like a Blue Snow Ball or a Samson Q1U(A Dynamic Mic). Anything better will cost you more money. For $50 more, the quality of the mics go up 100% IMO. The Samson C03U is a better mic. I also like the Audio Techniques AT2020 USB Mic. Any more money that than, you can get a USB mixer, and get what ever mic you want!...Another thread.

Please do not misunderstand me. It is a good quality microphone for the money and will work. But it does have limitations. The real prize is the Sonar LE. You can use this with any hardware. So if you choose to upgrade later, the software will still be useful.

Phineas

Hye Phineas! I wanna ask, I'm thinking of buying Samson C03 Condenser Mic for my flute recording? Is it a good mic for flute recording? Or you have any better recommendation?

[Phineas]

Hye Phineas! I wanna ask, I'm thinking of buying Samson C03 Condenser Mic for my flute recording? Is it a good mic for flute recording? Or you have any better recommendation?

The C03 is not much different than the C01. It works off a conventional microphone cable and you can change the pick up pattern. The microphone will work fine, I just do not prefer it. Here are a few I recommend.

For Mixer or DAW

Shure SM57 (Most highly recommended)
Sterling ST51 or ST55
Audio Technica AT2020 or AT2035

For USB

Zoom H1 or H4
Blue Snow Ball

There are plenty of option out there, these are just my favorite that are in a comparable price range to the C03

Hope this helps!

Phineas

[Jessbrown]

I have tried the Samson CO1U mic. It is OK for the money. It is a good vocal microphone, but not great for instruments. The biggest hurdles are the USB interface, and the mushy response. For an instrument this will be a challenge. Here is what i mean.

When you are dealing with a condenser mic, at the high end of you gain, the mic is very sensitive. If you turn up your input volume all of the way, you could actually hear you hand rubbing across your shirt!. Most Condensers will do this. However, a Better condenser will also be sensitive at a low gain. When you are using a condenser microphone like this in a place that is not a studio, you want to be able to use just enough gain to pick up what you are recording without picking up backround noise. Human vocals are very forgiving when it comes to volume adjustment. Flutes are less forgiving. The sound of this mic did not appeal to me at a low gain while recording a flute(or sax). By the time I got to a sweet spot, the gain was so high, I could spy on my neighbors! For the same money, you could get something like a Blue Snow Ball or a Samson Q1U(A Dynamic Mic). Anything better will cost you more money. For $50 more, the quality of the mics go up 100% IMO. The Samson C03U is a better mic. I also like the Audio Techniques AT2020 USB Mic. Any more money that than, you can get a USB mixer, and get what ever mic you want!...Another thread.

Please do not misunderstand me. It is a good quality microphone for the money and will work. But it does have limitations. The real prize is the Sonar LE. You can use this with any hardware. So if you choose to upgrade later, the software will still be useful.

Phineas

Hi There,

My name is Jessica and I was wondering if you could perhaps assist me, regarding a previous old forum that I found. It's your post from about 5 years ago.

viewtopic.php?t=5876 - Samson CO1U microphone

You see, my family currently believes that we are unfortunately getting spied on by our neighbours as they seem to know every conversation that occurs within our household.

When I discovered your post, I noticed that you mentioned that you managed to 'hit a sweet spot' and accidentally discovered that you could hear your neighbours.

We believe they might have a similar setup, I was wondering if you could please tell me. What microphone or software you were using at the time to achieve this?

Any information or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Jessica