NAME YOUR SWISS ARMY MIC(S)!

[jgimbel]

I'm speaking way early on this one, but I'm betting I'm going to be saying the AT4050 I just got. I got it a few days ago, and when testing it on vocals, acoustic guitar, and drum room mic, I was a little disappointed to hear how similar it sounds to my AT3035 that I was testing it against. After listening for a while and more closely I started to notice the difference more. Comparatively the 3035 sounds kind of scooped - nice low end, and high end that JUST borders on being a little too hyped. Not as bad as the Chinese mics I've used and then sold, but getting toward that realm. Then definitely lower on the mids. Works perfectly on acoustic guitar when you need body + a good pick/strum sound with a frequency hole for vocals, but it's kind of like the AKG D112 in that ..that's the sound it gives you from the get-go. The 4050 on the other hand definitely sounded more natural. It has a bit of that kind of sound that I've heard in recordings but was never sure how to get, where you could hear the pick hitting the strings, the body of the guitar, but also that really nice midrange that just sounds like mojo. I found that really apparent when I had them set up as drum room mics too. I found a month or two ago that the 3035 sounds great as a kick mic, after trying it set up as room mic and being disappointed with how it sounded on snare and toms. The 4050 sounds like what it sounds like in my room. Not exactly completely transparent, but enough so that it's a mic I'd reach for when I think "I want to record this how it sounds in the room". I'm predicting a love for this mic coming.

I do LOVE my SM7 on electric guitar and quiet vocals. It beats out my SM57 on electric guitar easily, I generally don't even try that anymore.

[TapeOpAl]

Neumann KM86 (not mine, but have access to one pretty regularly)

That's my pick!

Drum O/H, snare, tom, HH, acoustic guitar, guitar amp, strings, vocals - you're not going to be complaining too much on any of them.

[Recycled_Brains]

Neumann KM86 (not mine, but have access to one pretty regularly)

That's my pick!

Drum O/H, snare, tom, HH, acoustic guitar, guitar amp, strings, vocals - you're not going to be complaining too much on any of them.

True. Best ac. guitar mic I've encountered.

Only tried it once on a female vocal, and wasn't digging it, but I've heard other vocals that were tracked thru it, and they sound great.

[Brett Siler]

Oktava MC-012

[jgimbel]

Just a follow up, I've gotten to put my AT4050 through it's paces a bit now, and as expected, I'm loving it around the board. Today I used it as a vocal mic, room mic for drums, and close-ish mic for electric guitar. I used it yesterday for acoustic guitar, and used it with an SM7 on bass. Haven't had it sound bad yet!

[route-electrique]

Here's mine:

Audio Technica 4047

+1

[Nate Dort]

Gefell PM 750. I just wish I had two of them.

[Producer/Engineer]

Here's mine:

Audio Technica 4047

+1

Cheers! Quite honestly, if I was only allowed to use one mic (out of the Stuido's collection), for the rest of my life, it would be the AT4047!

[jaguarsg]

vintage Sennheiser md421n (white)

[nick_a]

AEA R92. It really sounds good on everything. except drum overhead.

[red cross]

Sennheiser MD441, Sony C38b, Coles 4038. If you know what you're doing you can stick any of them in front of anything and get a great sound. I'd love to hear a KM86 though...

[teleharmonium]

For me, Senn 609 (or an MD409 if I had one), EV RE38, and Blue Baby Bottle are in that category. A 4047 used to be, and I still like it for some things (room/front of kit mic for drums, close mic for bass drum, bass and guitar cabs, upright bass), but I now have other mics I like a lot better for voice (including the BBB).

PML DC-63 might become a mic like that for me, but I am not yet sure. It's batting a thousand at this point but I haven't yet tried it on a wide range of sources.

[chumford]

AT 4033
sm57
beta56

[casey campbell]

at pro37r
at 3035
shure 16a
shure sm58
at 4033
manley reference

[darjama]

Swiss Army mics (One of those two will sound good on 95% of the things I'd want to record): Sennheiser e906, Neumann u89

Runners up (These end up getting used during most sessions): Blue Mouse, SM7b, TOMB ribbon

Most perplexing mics (Sound great on some sources, but sit in a box 90% of the time): Oktava ml52 (modded), AKG D1200

Most missed mics (mics I've used elsewhere or used to own): Pearlman TM1, AT4060