Quote:
Originally posted by Kubilay
If you had to go with one of these for a very natural, unhyped instrument mic, to be used in a small (and thus not flattering) room... |
In a "small but unflattering room" I'd forget the Avenson's. We've been using a pair of the STO-2's for over a year. And we used another pair before that when they were known as Stapes omnis. These are not flattering mics. They are excellent when you have a room and a source that sounds good. And that's true of some of the other transparent omnis such as DPA and Earthworks. You got a room that sounds like ass, it's gonna sound like ass through those kinds of mics. You gotta great room, they'll sound amazing.
My vote even over the KSM32 for a natural, unhyped instrument mic would be the ADK TL
http://www.adkmic.com/specs/TL.html
You can hear a pair of TL's being used on piano I recorded
http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/jazzooo.htm
Download "NY Blues"
The TL is transformerless, and where it's going to help you get the best sound in your room is with one of its 4 patterns - cardioid, hypercardioid, figure-8, omni. The hypercardioid pattern is even tighter than cardioid - so if it turns out your room isn't sounding all that great you can select that pattern and pick up much less of it. Or maybe the omni or bidirectional patterns will work for you. It's a great sounding mic. Not a "budget" mic. TL's were recently used on the last recordings of Ray Charles' piano - and lots of orchestra and other sources on his last CD, "Genius Loves Company". ADK's TT's were used all over the place, too, including Ray's vocals. ADK's cranking out some serious mic.
If you're wanting a pair of SDC's, the Peluso CEMC6's are excellent and run under $600/pair with cardioid capsules. There are also optional omni and hypercardioid capsules that will be available soon. Excellent, clean and neutral mics. There's only a handful of SDC's on the market [ Avenson and Josephson included ] under $1000/pair that offer the level of performace you'll get with the CEMC6's.