all purpose multi pattern?

what would you guys consider the closest thing to an all purpose multi pattern mic? the 414 stand out to me as the most obvious answer here, but not eveyone likes those...

i like to have figure 8 mics for drum kits, recording vocals live with acoustic guitar, other live tracking purposes. something flat(ter) and clear is what im looking for.

i dont expect you guys to choose for me but id like to get opinions on what i should look more into. theres too many multi pattern mics for me to try them all.

[Crash]

I don't know what your budget is but I always felt if I was going to get just one all around multi-pattern mic that could do just about anything, I would look at the Neumann TLM170. Everyone will have a different opinion I am sure but that would be one that I would look at.

Crash

[genericperson]

akg has just updated the 414 with some new features, just so you know

[brownmouse]

soundelux e47
ymmv
joshua

[PaRaNoId]

cheap, yes I know....but works great for me and my clients-

STUDIO PROJECTS B3 (list $175) has omni, cardioid and fig-8...plus a -10dB pad

[DigitMus]

Brauner VM-1

[Drumsound]

AT 4050

[Yannick]

Anyone knows the pearls DS60 ?
www.pearl.se

It's a rectangular capsule stereo mic with 2x 2 capsules back to back and 4 separate outputs, so you can blend signals during mixing to obtain almost any polar response or coincident stereo technique - or even surround !

I'll be testing this one next week ...
Anyone got cash on his hands ?

thats interesting (the pearl)... i wonder if its anything like the sound field mics? ive seen a bit of talk about these rectangular pearl and milab mics, but it seems not too many people have used them... are they newer onto the market?

i think the brauner vm1 is quite out of my potential price range, especially if i want to get a pair. i didnt specify earlier cuz i just wanted to see what would come up, but lets say about 2k or less for one mic.

lets call this mic your desert island multi pattern condenser. what would it be?

[brownmouse]

Originally posted by chikkenguy
i didnt specify earlier cuz i just wanted to see what would come up, but lets say about 2k or less for one mic.

lets call this mic your desert island multi pattern condenser. what would it be?

well, i dont think i could come up with a 'desert island' multi pattern mic in that price range (for my applications... ymmv). the closest thing that i can think of is 1x soundelux ifet7 or u-195 (cardoid) and maybe a t.h.e. kp-6m small diaphram condenser (omni), and then add a royer r-121 (figure 8) later... ;-)
i'm just not that crazy about the multi pattern mics in the given price range.....
although one sleeper is the cad vx2 tube mic ( i prefer it to both the 414 and u87 in most applications). or maybe for a tad more $ the soundelux u99.
ymmv.
good luck
joshua

[Don]

Shure KSM44..AT4050

ive heard some good things about the vx2. can you generalize what it sounds like for me? perhaps in comparison to the u87 which i have been getting to know better of late. would you call it a dark or bright mic? maybe i should give that one some more consideration.

i have one r84 and i am most likely gonna get another one to make a pair, so id be looking for a set of condensers that can do figure 8 before i get a royer...

as far as the at4050 goes, there are a few of their mics im considering (4060, 4050, 4037) and they are all very reasonable priced (especially used) so theres a good chance one or more of those will end up in my hands within the nest year or so.

[brownmouse]

Originally posted by chikkenguy
ive heard some good things about the vx2. can you generalize what it sounds like for me? perhaps in comparison to the u87 which i have been getting to know better of late. would you call it a dark or bright mic? maybe i should give that one some more consideration

i used the vx2 a coupla times while i was auditioning it along with a soundelux u-195, soundelux ifet7, gefell m930 and a soundelux e47.
i used the vx2 on a female vocal track and was happy with the results as well as an acoustic guitar track. i bought the u-195 and i want to add the ifet7, but the cad was pretty good as well... just not what i was looking for. i thought that the u-195/ifet7 fared better on drums, but that really doesnt help here. anyway, there were 2 capsules that you could change between for different tones which was cool. its hard to describe the sound but i guess it sounded a little more 'exciting' to me than a u87 (ymmv)...
i also owned an audio technica 4050 for a bit and would again generally reach for the cad vx2 given the 2 options.
sorry for the ramblings... hope i made sense.
good luck,
joshua
p.s. either way you need to hear it for yourself... i believe mercenary has one (cad vx2) available that could be demoed (thats where i heard it).

[Frost]

KSM 44 if you have less $. Lawson L47 if you have more $, its brighter and to my ears more euphoric. Ive used in on OH, lead vox, backing vox, acoustic and electric guitar, and percussion and once on a banjo. It seems to work just about everywhere.
Frost

actually, one of the bigger reason im looking at a multi pattern (or a pair of) is because i really like the flexibility figure 8 gives me with drums sometimes. the other main purpose is for people who are singing and playing guitar live. its easier to get better sepration.

ive been checking out the lawson mics recently too. those look like a good deal all around. i probably will try one or both of them out sometime.

thanks for all the suggestions

[chessparov]

Add the Studio Projects T3 to the short list.
Around $500 each.

Chris

[Nathanael]

A Sennheiser MKH-800.

[dave-G]

Originally posted by Nathanael
A Sennheiser MKH-800.

Bingo!! These are spectacular microphones. Its predacessor, the MKH-80 (nearly identical) is also worth seeking out.

-dave

hm. those sennheiser models are more than id like to spend, but the mkh30 is something i havent yet considered. however, i have plans for a pair of schoeps cmc6/mk4s to end up in my hands sometime or another. perhaps a spare set of mk8s would work well for me. if im gonna get 2 sets though, the mk6 capsules (the 3 pattern one) might work out better for me. does anyone have experience with both the mk4s and the mk6s? do they perform similarly in cardiod modes(off axis coloration in particular)?

ill definitely keep an eye out for any used mkh800s though. are they similar to the mkh20/30/40?

[Nathanael]

I have the MK5 dual pattern capsule (it is missing the fig8). They are exactly what you would expect - outstanding. The MK41's are the off-axis champs, but there's no big issues with the MK5's.