SAMSON C01 STUDIO CONDENSER

I have a pair of these that I have had since about the year 2000. I bought them as vocal Mics for my home studio and actually used them as such for several years, albums and demos.

The Mics are pretty decent sounding. They are large diaphragms and give a decent enough sound for the price but they tend to distort fairly easily under load. So I would not recommend using them in a Kick drum or on a powerful male or female voice. You will get some distortion even with a pad on your pre-amp.

They require 48-volt phantom power as do all studio condensers and you will find, as I did, that they sound a little thinner than your average large diaphragm condenser Mic.

All that being said, these can be gotten at almost any music store for around fifty dollars US and when you look at them in that context. They are a great Mic.

If you have an average voice without a bunch of power and use some distance between you and the Pop Filter, you will get good useable results.

I have a low baritone voice and I need to stand about 3 feet away to not distort it. My wife, on the other hand with her higher female voice, uses this Mic and sounds great on it. So if you look over the response curve and try it on some real world situation tests, you should get a lot of good out of these.

The unit comes in a cheap plastic case; one of mine is still in great shape the other has pulverized. Invest in the shock mount, you will need it to save you from stand, floor noise.

I have since moved to a better Mic but keep the Samson C01s for drum overheads and they really ROCK there.

Because this mic boasts multuple patterns it is a versatile powerhouse of ambient recording options.
What I found was a brilliance of sound reflection, and an excellent transient response that is smooth throughout the whole range. It has a fairly detailed top end and warmth in the bass frequencies, but is rather neutral when I began comparing it with some other budget mics in my arsenal, so apparently this mic does not overtly "color" the sound of your signal. Impressive in this range.
I found this mic to be incredibly crisp and clean on acoustic stringed instruments such as guitar and mandolin, and retain an articulate bass response from an electric bass cab when paired with a dynamic mic off center by utilyzing the bass cut.
I found it to be more transparent and ultimately not as "warm" as my mxl v67, but it was more accurate by far. Again, this mic does not color the signal to a noticeable degree in my opinion.
This mic might not be my "go-to" for recording guitars, but it could certainly provide just the right frequncy response for tracking an accurate uncolored vocal, or piano. I would reccomend this to anyone who needs an affordable large diaphram condensor for live purposes, like a bluegrass band who needs a crisp figure-8 mic for jamming out.

So basically, don't let the 100 dollar price tag fool you, this mic is quite capable, accurate, and responsive while being incredibly versatile with its multi-pattern capability. This is a perfect choice for guys just starting out buying their first condensor, or for those who need quality go-to microphones and are on a budget.