Topic: Advice on a convenient, solid state CSB rig

[acidjack]

You asked only about a recorder (I was in your boat a few years back). The M10 is probably the best; the Roland R-05 costs less and is pretty much as good. I'd take either in a heartbeat.

When you do decide those CSBs aren't cutting it, the Countryman B3 route does work. Those things are SMALL, and while I like the 4061s very much, as noted, buying them new is pricey, and buying them as beat-to-shit Broadway mics on eBay carries risks that buying new B3s does not.

For a non-omni mic in a reasonable price range, I'd also look to AT853s aka SP-CMC-4 if you buy from Sound Professionals, or for a smaller (albeit also somewhat bass-lacking) cardiod, the SP-CMC-8 (which is an Audio Technica 943).