I bought a Studio Projects C1 shortly after the mic came out. Does anyone remember the reviews? You know the ones I'm talking about: "The C1 sounds just like a Neumann U87." My C1 never sounded like a U87.
I bought my C1 from Mac Midi Music. It arrived in a couple of days from Nashville. I tried the mic out. I expected to hear what the reviews said. I didn't hear any of it. Out of the box, I did not like the mic.
So, I woodshedded with the mic. Mac Midi Music, like a lot of dealers, did not offer a money back guarantee on the C1. I could picture eBay looming in my horizon. I hate eBay. So, I gave the mic a second chance despite it not coming across like a high end Neumann.
The C1 comes in one of those metal looking equipment cases with the carved out foam. The mic comes with a useable shockmount. It also comes with the mother of all windscreens. I don't know why anyone would want to use the windscreen. If anyone knows a good alternative use, then please email me.
The mic body is very heavy duty. The Studio Projects C Series mic bodies remind me of the Brauner mics.
I worked with the C1 for a couple weeks. Nothing sounded special at all. In the headphones, it sounded average at best. Finally, I needed to mix a song where I had tried to track the vocal with the C1. In mixdown, I realized how the C1 tracks seemed to fit. I started to realize that despite all the hype that the C1 delivered where it counted.
The C1 pairs well with the M-Audio Audio Buddy even though the Audio Buddy tends to be a little grainy. It pairs well with the Studio Projects VTB1 also. The VTB1 put a tad bit of smoothness on the C1. Through the FMR RNP, the C1 comes across as the current flavor of Pop vocals, which is a bit too shrill for my ears. Through a Grace 101 mic preamp, the C1 possesses a lot of clarity.
I think of the C1 as a generally crisp mic with an exagerrated high end. It seems to click the most with male vocals but it can grate on certain female or higher pitched male voices. I would not use the C1 on stringed instruments. On some voices, the C1 will also tend to bring out sibilance, which is the propensity to exagerrate the "s" sound in the voice.
In the end, I found the C1 still did not sound like a U87. But, I learned to appreciate that it can deliver results with the right voice.
The Bottom Line: The C1 is a lower cost, large condenser mic with the ability to deliver decent results on many male vocalists. Current street price is $199.
Audio Sample: "Fool For Love" by Steve Langer featuring vocals tracked through a Studio Projects C1.
Links relating to this review: Studio Projects
