Upgrading overhead mics: need opinions

[Evanmd]

I currently have a pair of rode nt5 mics. They don't seem to have much body, and also do not capture the shine of the cymbals well. I want cymbals that have sparkle and life. I'd like to spend at most 2k, but I would be much happier spending less. Also, in terms of overheads, what would be the benefit of LDC over SDC or vise versa?

[demel]

Borrow or rent a pair of LCD and other SDC mics and listen yourself.

The NT5's work are workable. Are you sure that the lack of sparkle and life are because of those mics? Room?

Best of luck.

[mexicola]

I've been very happy with my Violet Design The Wedge condensors as overheads. I use them in an NOS stereo configuration.
Although I have an amazing live room, so that helps.
I find though that compression and EQ at mixdown is how you get that sparkle and shine no matter what mic you're using. Particularly that lovely "bwooosh" that compressed cymbals make!

[cdog]

Mercenary Audio - Joesphson C42MP Matched Pair

[Evanmd]

I used a pair of sm57s and I found that it sounded better than the nt5s, so I am assuming they're the problem and not the room.

[Friedemann]

Wait a sec. You want sparkle and shine from the cymbals and two sm57s achieve this but NT5s don´t? Maybe your NT5s are defective. Or you wired them out of phase?
Don´t get me wrong, I don´t find NT5s to be the best OHs, but for the price they are more than decent mics.
Anyway. Find out if you prefer LDC or SDC mics for overheads. If you like SDC I´d suggest Beyerdynamic MC 930. If you like LDC I think AT4050 provide the best bang for the buck.

Greetz Friedemann

[Ciozzi]

given your budget I'd say Earthworks. You can hear them if you google studio auditions. First website in the page.

[lynyrd]

I highly recommend Sahiaman's Little Blondies for drum overhead work. They are an omni SDC and they sound beautiful. They especially capture the kit very nicely with more body than just about anything else that I have tried, and the cymbals sound excellent as well. I should also mention that there are not sibilance issues with these mics, you could say they behave a bit like ribbon mics in that regard. They are only available directly by pm to sahiaman. The real killer is that they are less than a hundred bucks each. Do not pass these by because of the low price, they are wonderful.

[mixerguy]

Shure KSM 32 - a pair.

[RCM - Ronan]

Originally Posted by mixerguy

Shure KSM 32 - a pair.

These are my favorite overhead mics at any price point.

[drBill]

I can't recommend Gefell M71S's or UM70's enough. They fit your requirements, and will possibly squeak into your budget.

You can hear them here

Drum Mic Madness!!!!

along with a host of other options. Many of which WILL easily fit your budget. Good luck with your search.

bp

[warhead]

A pair of BLUE Dragonfly mics would honestly rule to deliver what you're asking for. In the SDC realm, the Oktava MK-012 has more body and sparkle vs those RODE also.

War