Quote:
Originally Posted by DrumIntoTheNight
Bet you've never been near one.
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Accusation! Scandalous!
But it's an interesting point to consider: I'm at the point now where I'm basically 5 years removed from using any microphone that wasn't in my personal mic locker (to be fair, I have a pretty good personal mic locker).
Obviously it's going to boil down to needs/budget, but here's a quick run-down of what's in my inventory, vis-a-vi condensers:
MXL 990: It's pretty cheap (though not as much as it used to be), and actually can be a very nice sounding mic on the right voice/instrument. One of my favorite guitar takes I've ever done only used a pair of 990s. However, it does have some issues with self-noise compared to higher-end models and I'm finding I use it less and less now that I've expanded to more versatile mics. However, I do have 4 of these, and I have no intent to get rid of them (they're worth more to me than I could get for them used).
MXL V63M: Also pretty cheap, though this one I only have because it came with an interface I bought a few years ago. The V63M has always sounded more "harsh" than anything else to my ears, and while that can be an interesting quality, I haven't used it for anything that ended up getting kept on record. I don't really recommend this one, but like the 990's it's not worth enough on the used market to warrant me selling it.
AKG C430: Small diaphragm condenser, which is a style I've always liked for drum overheads and acoustic guitar sounds because transient response. The C430 is a pretty good choice because it has a strong high-end, so if you are looking for a very bright guitar sound, this is a strong option.
Shure PG81: Another small diaphragm model, I've had these a long time and they've gotten a lot of different uses. The PG81 is a little bit mid-rangey, which is a nice flavor for pronounced speech frequencies, though it's not the most "transparent" mic in my locker.
R0DE NT5/Shure SM81: I've got a pair of each of these, and honestly I find them to be different flavors that are good for the same uses. I might be inclined to use the NT5's more for reed instruments than the SM81's, and conversely tend to prefer the SM81's for "group" or "room" mic configurations. I've tossed both on guitar amps, but will normally default to dynamics for that (mostly because I don't do a
lot of work and don't get a whole lot of time to experiment on this kind of stuff when I do).
R0DE NT2000: Great bright-sounding microphone. I've used it with good results on a lot of different sources, including a wide range of vocal styles and generally it does quite well. It can be a little bit harsh for alto/soprano range singers if they're kind of aggressive, but generally a few extra inches of distance and a pop filter evens that out.
AKG C414 XLS: I'm very biased towards this mic, because in my mind it is the closest thing to "transparent" that I'm ever going to have in my locker (I did have some experience with the 1000-series of DPA's that I consider even
more transparent, but I can't reasonably foresee myself plunking down the cash for those, even used). It's pretty close to a cure-all mic so far as I'm concerned, though it does have a bit of wonkiness on certain ranges for pianos, and it can be brutal up-close for breathy sounds (I've found it ill-suited for spot miking reed instruments like clarinet, even in the low registers). However, if you've got the budget to pick up 1-2 of these, I generally recommend it.
Lastly, if you're not married to the idea of a condenser on this, I also really like the
Electro-Voice RE-20 and
Sennheiser MD421 and consider them very close to "catchall" solutions also.
The RE-20 in particular does a great job on signals with lots of low-end energy while still sounding very natural, and since I've gotten it I have noticed I've found a place to use it on basically every project I've worked on. In particular, it does a great job for heavy male rock vocals. The 421 is a good mic for dealing with lots of low-mid energy (one of the reasons it's a "standard" in pro facilities on rock toms), and also does pretty well on most male rock voices.