no need for help from the pros.....a search will answer all of these questions. there have been lots of threads here on all that gear you have mentioned. not trying to be an ass....rather, just offering you a quicker way of finding the answers you seek 
Yeah, I know, and like I said, I’ve spent weeks now surfing TS. It has been an enormous resource for me. I mean, a couple of weeks ago, I barely knew the lingo and what it meant (line/mic-in, ad, pres, xlr/mini, balanced/unbal, noise floors, xy/ab/etc, phantom, bboxs, etc.). Anyway, thanks for the recommendation, and you should have some comfort in the fact that I can’t even count the number of old threads I’ve been through. BUT, I’m still looking for a little conversation about my specific case, and thankfully, a whole bunch of people seem willing to help. Kudos to all of you for that.
ahh Brian.. but that takes all the fun out of talking about it over ...and over...and over...(think energize bunny). a pair of peluso cards is $550.
even a pair of good oktavas, i'd put those up against the 853.
c4 is a good bet for the money. i'd take that over the ATs as well.
dont get me wrong, I love the at853. My first modular mic, and ive got plenty of FAT recordings I did w/them and various other gear. lots of 853>inbox>MD if you want to hear any of it. card and omni caps are what I ran.
Exactly. And thanks for those mic tips, I’ll take a look at those options.
pretty sure the ad-20 does NOT provide phantom power, so you would need something else (PS-2) to power mics that require phantom power. the ad-20/ps-2 combo is more stealthable than the ua-5
Thanks. Somehow I missed the lack of phantom on the AD20. And good to know on the stealthability front.
ADK a51TL mics with multiple patters built in $700.00 used
BUT, I'm really struggling with the choice of mics because I want to be able to BOTH stealth and do HQ open taping -- and on the open taping front, a lot will be classical small quartet style of music,
given this, I think you might want to give strong consideration to a pair of DPA 4060's.
Guys, these are great ideas on mics too. Let me look into these, but my initial reaction is even if I come in under-budget, I might not want to splurge quite that far on mics right out of the gate – even though I’ll probably regret not doing so. I mean I can buy both the ATs and the C4s for those prices? The other thing to keep in mind is that I’m already majorly into video for thousands and thousands of dollars, and any money saved (under the 1.5K), will surely go to other good purposes in other gear or accessories -- trust me on that one.
I'd buy an ounce of blow. 3 korean hookers, 2 handles of Jonny walker black.
LMFAO!
1- The AD20 is smaller and has no lights. The UA5 is larger and has lights. It all really depends on what type of stealthing you plan on doing. If you're going to a hardcore show, with 6 big dudes checking everyone that goes in, and the roadie out in the crowd looking for people recording, the AD20 would be a better choice. If you're going to classical shows, that have little, old ladies checking tickets, and no one in the entire place would know what a V3 was, I'd go with a UA5 and keep it closed up in the bag when the lights go down.
2. Don't own a JB3, never played with one, so I can't answer your question specifically, but I think you have your terms mixed up (or so that's how I read it). You use "Line In" when you are using a preamp to boost a mic signal to a line level signal. You use "mic in" when you are connecting the mics. straight to the recorder (no pre.) If you want to use mic-in, you have to make sure your recorder can supply phantom power, if you need it (most mics do), and make sure your mic signal was hot enough to get good levels. Most mics. can only get a hot enough signal to go "mic. in" if they are really close to a really loud source. That is why most of us use pres.
3. UA5- way more flexible, bettered by Oade mods (or DIY). AD20- workhorse, no lights.
4. I've heard great "open" tapes made with the AT minis. I've seen them on stands arranged ORTF (XY would be easy too).
5. Many say phantom powering provides the capsule with enough juice to fully utilize it's dynamic range and sensitivity vs. batt. box which usually provides just enough power for the mic. to work. I've never heard a AB comp, so I won't comment. I'd go with the phantom ones, since you are already planning on getting a UA5 or AD20/PS2 each of which provide phantom. I won't touch the Core-Sound vs. SoundPro deal. Do a search here on Core Sound and read some folk's experiences for yourself.
BC is right about you getting DPA 4060's. Not only to be able to run them open and stealth, but if you record anything classical, with natural string sounds, you will run these someday. Right now, they would put you over your budget, but those mics. are unbelievable.
Great response. Thanks for hitting on all of my points. Points well taken. On the #2 comment, I was under the impression if I was running bbox or phantom on most mics in a high SPL environment, I could possibly still go line-in without a pre, but maybe I was mistaken. I figure you’d try line-in, and if not enough gain, then go mic-in, but maybe that is pie-in-the-sky talk. On #5, I goofed, I meant SoundPro! Aren't the SP-CMC-2 or 4 or whatevers, just AT853 mics? Or are they something else? I was wondering if I choose the At route, should I go with the SP deal if they are ATs?
Anyway, thanks EVERYONE for well thought out responses. More food for thought. I want to wrap up my research in the next few weeks and then start looking for the gear I need. THANKS! And if I could +T, I certainly would, but I’ve only got 18 tix right now.
. Also, if anyone has DV video questions, feel free to hit me up, cause I got that shit dialed like you guys got audio dialed…
Finally, one last thing, since you guys are so willing to help me out, I figure I should share something about myself. I grew up in Ithaca, lived in Boulder for 5 years (yeah, that'd be 5 in college, LOL), and now been in SF for 12 years (I love it here). I've got a pretty extensive multimedia blog with a fair amount of video, which is where I'm planning on posting some of my audio after I get my rig (depends on what the audio is of course, otherwise I'll just seed a Torrent). I just updated my blog to have commenting capability, so leave me some comments if you wish.
BTW, my wife also works at the SF Conservatory of Music, which gives me access to a lot of recitals and incredibly talented students into classical and opera. Finally, it looks like they are going to let me volunteer with them over the new school year (this is a 4-year college), working their soundboard during recitals (after being trained on their gear), and helping create audition tapes (think "demos") for the students -- all using their pro gear (not my own). Anyway, I'm pretty excited about that.
-- Taynt3d
