$20,000 Mic Cabinet!!!!!!

M

musikman316

New member
I have spent the past week tallying mics from different magazines (Mix, EQ, Recording, Home Recording, Eletectronic Musician etc.) that are used in a lot of different studios (from home to Class A studios) and also thought about mics I have used over the past few years doing my own records, and have tried to design a $20,000 mic cab, to aquire over the years...

This is what I have come up with...

SM57 (6)
AT 4033 (2)
Shure Beta 52 (2)
Neumann KM184 (2)
THE Audio - 33 capsule and pre amp body (2)
Sennheiser MD421 (2)
Lawson L47MP (1)
Soundelux U195 (1)
AT 4050 (2)
Royer R-121 (2)
Neumann U87 (2)
AT 4060 (2)
Shure SM7 (1)

The grand total:

$19,479.81 (feel free to check my math w/ your own #'s !!!!)

It was really hard to get it under $20,000 and feel "satisfied" but I think I did it (but we'll see when I wake up tomorrow)

What do you guys think, and what would you do (from scratch) if you had $20,000.

Later,
Musik

PS - This is just opinion, I would love to include some other mics, but I had to cut some off the list to get under $20K... so don't come down on me for not including your favorite mic!?!?
 
First off Theres some good stuff in there.
The first thing I thought though is why 2 beta 52's?
I would also look into getting a matched set of oktava 012's w/ all the capsules (about $400) They are very versitile as overheads, guitar, and other stringed instruments such.

Time to see what others say
 
Since I really "just" sing my picks would be, if I HAD to spend $20K, like in "Brewster's Millions".

1) Studio Projects T3
2) Studio Projects upcoming Stephen Paul model
3) RCA DX77 ribbon
4) Shure SM-7
5) Sennheiser 441
6) EV RE20
7) Royer R-121 ribbon
8) Lomo head for Oktava MC012
9) Neumann U67 with Stephen Paul modification
10) Telefunken Elam 251 re-issue

"Keepers" that have been in my collection already;

1) Beyer M88TG (or M88)
2) Sennheiser 421 MKII
3) Beyer Soundstar MKII
4) Oktava MC012 w/cardiod capsule
5) Studio Projects C1
6) Shure SM57
7) Audio-Technica 3527 omni condenser

Any $$ left over would be used on more pre's.

Chris
 
2 Beta 52s?

I actually really like it on large floor toms... and I also use some funky techniques for bass drums, like sticking a 26" bass drum in front of an 18 or 20, and miking both...
 
why not, instead of two beta 52s, have one beta52 and one akg d112, or better yet d12, just for the added variety.
 
Whatever it is you would have to leave off to fit these in (do you really need SIX SM57's?), I would somehow make room for for a pair of Earthworks QTC's. Then I'd probably substitute a pair of used 414/EB's for the 4050's.

And I'd save $1500 for Stephen Paul's new one.

Also, I don't know why you need so many pairs of mics. One less 4060, 4033, etc. wouldn't hurt so you could get another really nice mic. Which I think highlights the problem with this list for me: it seems like a lot of the mics would be good choices if you DIDN'T have $20,000 to spend, because they are good values for the money (like the 4033's). But with that kind of budget, I'd rather get slightly fewer mics (like maybe 16 instead of 27) and go for quality over quantity.

Various Soundelux, the BLUE Bottle w/ a couple of capsules, the M149 or M150, or some of the Brauners might be worth considering, as well as the Lawson ELAM clone.
 
That's a pretty comprehensive list. I'll ask too, why pairs of some of the AT's?
6 SM57's seems a bit over kill. I think I could get away with 4.

If you were to drop out one each of the AT's that would save you what? About $1500 - $1800? Something like that?
Then turn around and put that money towards a nice RCA 77DX.

Are 2 U87's really that efficient? Will you need both at the same time? An expensive mic just to have a spare hanging around.

Seems like your only small dia. condensors are the KM184's? A nice mic to be sure, but some additional SD's could prove invaluable. Maybe add some SM81's?

I didn't notice any omni's in your list. May want to think about a pair of those.

Lastly, what pre's do/will you have to drive all of these mics? A $20K mic locker is almost useless if your running them all through an Audio Buddy!
I'd take at least 5 grand of that budget, and go shopping at Brent Averill's site.
 
Neumann TLM103 x2
AKG C414 x2
Shure SM7
Royer Labs 121
Sennheiser MD 421
Sennheiser MD 441
Röde NTK
Oktava MC012 x2
Shure SM81 x2
Shure SM57 x4
AKG D-112
AudioTechnica ATM25
Shure Beta 52
Sennheiser E604 x3
LineAudio QM12 Surround microphone
Behringer ECM8000 x2
Audix D1, D2, D3 & D4


About $100k in Sweden.
Great sound on anything and everything.
Good Omnis/Eights/Cardiods for all recording techniques, small and big capsules and great dynamics and condensers at half the price of first list. The other $100k should cover anything you miss, like maybe a BLUE or Earthwork mic.
 
You guys are crazy on some of these picks...
2 Vintage C12's or elam 251's
2 U47 or U 67
2 Neumann smalls...
4 Sennheiser MD-441
4 Sennheiser MD-409 (top 3 best tom and guitar mic ever made)
2 Sennheiser MD-421
2 Beyer M88
2 EV RE-20
2 Royer Ribbons
Thats all one needs.
No shures on my list, or Octava, or Behringer, or whatever. Total satisfaction on this list. Who could ask for more?
 
The only problem with your list is that it's WAY over $20000. Two vintage ELAMs alone would be over $20000.
 
Jeez whats wrong with 2 beta 52's? Since I am primarily concentrated on drums ( I feel a great drum sound is essential to all other parts of a mix), I have 2 Beta 52's ( and wish I had more), 3 AKG-D-112's( and wish I had more) and an Audiotechnica AT-25( and REALLY wish I had more). When you have enough kick drum style mics you all of a sudden enjoy having a choice between them and 421's tomwise. Beta 52's and D-112's are AWESOME as tom mics!

Its really not hard to build up a 20k mic collection. If you bought vintge mics when they were cheap, you might not realize you got a 20k + mic collection. Even with conventional stuff, if you really add up the stuff youve run across over the years it might make 20k rather quickly.
 
What does $20,000 look like? Do you tell your significnat others that $20,000 dollars in mics is your long term goal. My wife would think I was nuts...

Of course..that is why I would not tell her...

brutus
 
Ummmm,

I'm probably missing the point but, is this wish list or a real list?

If it's a wish list fine, but if it's for real, I think you've got way too many LDC's. At this level you need a bright one, a neutral one, and a dark one. MAYBE a matched pair, but the (2) Royers would take care of most of the tasks that you would use a matched pair of LDC's.

Tom Cram
dbx Senior Technical Support
(801) 568-7530
tcram@dbxpro.com

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."
-Thomas Jefferson-
 
Here's my with list which you may or may not be interested in.

First, let me say I don't do any drums, so I'll leave the drum mics up to you and spot you 2-3K. Also, a lot of this depends upon your applications. For me, for example, ribbon mics wouldn't make much sense. Anyway, here goes:

Stephen Paul (when it comes out) $1,500
Korby M-10 (There's an article about this mic I read recently. It sounds like the bomb. It has interchangeable capsules for AKG C-12, Neumann U-47, U-67, Elam 251, and one other ELAM. With all the capsules I think it's about $6,000.

If you really want a pair of good quality multipattern LDC's I think the SP C3's would do nicely. $700.

If you need anymore LDCs than this, I'd be surprised.

SDC's: Neumann KM-184s $950
SP C4s when they come out (multicapsules) $300

That leaves you over $10,000 for dynamics and ribbons.
 
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I just answered a bunch of your ?'s, but when I hit submit it told I was no longer logged on, so I will try and get back to it later, but for now, I am taking all the advice into consideration, that's why I come here, ADVICE!! Thank you for the replies.

Later,
Musik
 
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