Man this is so subjective…. and this is question that so many people ask and it’s a very difficult one to answer…my short answer is the one that sounds best to me/you. Everyone hears differently, location plays a factor, acoustics, what type of PA., who’s mixing the sound, I could go on and on…..most people will answer this question with the mic they own. I have been recording many years and collecting and trading even longer…. I am positive I have heard a majority of the mics out there we all use for recording shows and some that a lot of people don’t…
It would be impossible to include every mic I have heard but these to me have been the major players that I have paid attention too.
I have owned AT853’s……I made many good recording with these mics…they are decently balanced and a good all around performer. Jedi master approved for those less than open situations. I now have a pair of DPA 4060s that take care of this duty. One of the best miniature omnis out there…. However Nevaton make a great little omni called the MC400 which is killer sounding.
I currently use MBHO 648’s and I have the linear omnis, wide cards, cards and hyper cards….The MBHO 648 are a very crystal clear mic for the most part under most conditions. The variety of caps make it a great choice for any situation I walk into. They at times can be a bit bright sounding. Some say the bass is light…I say its not bloated….like some other mics out there..
I also currently have a set of Nak300 with cards omnis and Shot guns. Naks are not a techniquely up to date microphone with up to date electronics. They stopped making them many years ago….but there is just something about the sound of a nak that is appealing to my ears.. Kind of the feeling you get from a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day…they make you feel nice and warm.
One mics I am very familiar with but have not owned are the DPA 4011/4021’s…This is an excellent mic but I find it needs to be in the sweet spot to really shine. Not many can touch its quality when in the sweet spot……but to my ears they are not very forgiving…
Neumann 140 /184. I have never really been able to tell the difference between the two in sound quality. The 140’s have the ability to change caps, I really like the 143’s. At first when I got into recording I did not like the sounds of Neumann. My ears didn’t like them very much but something over the years has changed with my hearing now they sound great to me…I really like the sound now….I would call Neumann’s a very warm sounding mic…again my ears only others may hear differently..
Earthwork mics have always intrigued me….they sound very linear to me…kinda dry at times. I heard very few Earthworks recordings that I liked….but the one I did smoked, which tells me they are very revealing in what they capture…..they are not very forgiving… if it sounds like shit you get shit….again it reveals all the variables that goes into location recording….a earthworks killer in terms of their omnis is the Avenson STO-2. Again this is an omni mic. It sounds fantastic out doors and very close to the sound source. I have had the opportunity to use these in the past and will likely use them again in the future……very well balanced sound….but you need the right environment..
One mic I never have really gotten into is schoeps….They tend to be looked at as the holy grail of mics. Don’t get me wrong they are great mics but my ears don’t really like the sound all that much…I could never put my finger on it. I don’t get all the hype about them… Again I have heard good recordings with schoeps but I usually pass on a schoeps recording if there are other mics to choose from….
Now to AKG..when I first started recording I didn’t really like the AKG480s…but as with the Neumann’s something happened with my hearing that I like the sound off these mics now…I think they are maybe a little over priced but in terms of sound they are a solid performer that gives consistent results…I could be happy with a set. but I don’t find the need to buy a set….
Now to Gefell….I think these are probably some of the best sounding mics ever made. Some would say these are the true Neumanns….I have like every Gefell recording I have heard. Some day I would like to get a pair. To me they are just so warm sounding but not overly warm. To me they are not as detailed as a MBHO, but have better bass response than MBHO.
Beyer’s 930’s I think are the all-time sleeper mic at this current point. It has that unmistakable German sound at a very reasonable price. I will have a pair of these at some point in the future as well. Again every recoding I have heard from these mics has been fantastic. My ears love the sound of these mics.
Nevaton make a quality mic and I am very curious to hear the mc49’s. I like the sound of the Nevaton LD’s very much and I know one person who uses them…I have yet to hear a bad recording with these mics….
Another mic I like are the Milabs Vm44’s. I have only heard a few recording with these mics. Not a lot of people have them, but from the recording I have heard I like them.. To me they sound like a cross between a Neumann and a DPA 4011…but a little more forgiving in sound. I have actually recently looked at a pair of VM44 classics and may pull the trigger on a pair at tax time….but time will tell if that come to fruition…
One mic that continues to amaze me especially for the price is the Church audio mics. They represent a great value. Now I must say I don’t like every recording made with these mics, but I like more than the ones I don’t…. this where all the variable come into play…. but in a open setting and proper set up they sound as good as mics 10X their cost…I am just not sure how church does it at the price point but he does….
Another mic that is decent sounding is the ones made by busman….his small diaphragm offer an incredible value but I don’t like the sound off every pattern…I haven’t heard a good wide card or hyper recording with these mics…again so many variables come into play..
I also use a set of Rode NT2000 large diaphragm mics…LD mics are so different sounding to my ears than Small Diaphragm mics…They are much slower, rounder and warmer than SD mics. They can really pull the bass in to the point where it sucks all the O2 out of the air leaving you gasping for air… the NT2000 is completely variable from omni to fig 8, completely variable roll off, and completely variable pad…
One LD mic that sounds great and I have yet to own is the akg 414’s. This mic is one of those mics that can just about do it all. Very nicely balanced and that’s why so many people own them….I will have a set one day….
Another LD I like is the ADK TL’s. I have always called these the 414 killers. They give just about everything the 414’s give you but at half the price….they are tuff to pass up…to bad ADK has stopped production on these…
Now before the flamers jump all over me….and I start talking about mics I don’t like, remember what I started out with. There are so many variables that go into recording. This is a very difficult question to answer. But the mics I am about to talk about my ears simply do not like. I find myself turn off recordings, deleting or passing up recordings made with these mics.
Some mics I don’t like or I should really say am disappoint in are…Peluso’s. I have a hard time finding a recording I like with these mics….they don’t sound very full to me. It bothers my ears when I hear these mics…To me they don’t sound very balanced.
The one Neumann mic I don’t like are the TLM170’s….I could never find a recording my ears have like with these mics…that I have stopped searching….They really pull the bass….over pull the bass….like drowned out any highend….again remember I am speaking in terms of what my ears hear…someone may hear something different…
Mics made by studio projects have always been a good value for many starting out, but they sound very thin to me almost bassless….especially the LSD2….What I think really bothers me about this mic is the running capsules in the XY config….My ears do not like this configuration in terms of sound with any mic….it sounds harsh…I need ortf, nos, dina….even the blum recordings with this mic have left me want more in terms of sound…..
I do not like the sound of AT943…..The 853 are great but something is missing in this smaller version….to me they sound thin….unbalanced
Sennheiser mics specifically the K6 series mics sound very harsh to me…almost like nails on a chalk board to me..I have used these mics early on in my recordings but quickly moved away from them because I simply didn’t like their sound…However one Senn I do like but you need to be close and in the right environment is the Senn441’s. They are a dynamic mic and can handle incredible SPL. Also sound balanced to me. I remember first hearting a stage mix of SKB very early on that to me that was one of the best recording I have ever hear…but again…. it was an ideal situation…
Another mic that has disappointed me in terms of sound is the Josephson 42’s… something about the sound of these mics sound harsh to me but not quit as bad as the Senn K6’s…and its definitely in the high end region. I will pass up a recording done with these mics..let me rephrase that I will always try and see what it sounds like but I end up deleting recordings done with these mics every time..
I could go on and on but will stop here….again I mean no offense to anyone who uses a mic that I don’t like. As I stated everyone hears differently and my ears just don’t like these mics….so please take it as just someone’s opinion that really doesn’t matter. I just found this question so intriguing that I wanted to answer it and kinda take my own inventory at the same time….ask me in five years I bet I will answer differently…
I guess the only advice I could give is listen to as many mics as you can, do research, read read read.....listen listen listen...then try.
Peace OOK
