$3500 for Mics and Preamps........need ur valuable advice

[greyman]

I'm converting my Home Studio in to a Commercial Setup. I wanna add an Eight Channel Preamp and at least half a dozen mics. I already have SM57 x 2, SM58 x1 and AKG C2000B x1.

My choice is.........

PREAMPS........

1. PRESONUS DIGIMAX 8 CHANNEL MIC PREAMP with Limiter,EQ
and Digital Outputs............for $1300

AND

2. One Channel Tube Preamp..... VTB1/BLUETUBE/TubePRE
for THAT special feel............for $150


MICROPHONES.......

1. NEUMANN TLM103 ($750).......................... x1
(dont afford U87 at this moment)
OR
AKG C414B-TL II ($1000)

2. AUDIO TECHNICA AT4050 ($600)...............x1
OR
SHURE KSM 32 ($500)
OR
RODE NTK ($500)
OR
AKG C4000B ($450)
OR
MARSHALL MXL V77S ($330)

3. AUDIO TECHNICA AT4040 ($300 each).......x2

4. RODE NT5 ($300 pair) ..............................x2
OR
AUDIO TECHNICA PRO 25 ($200 pair)
OR
MARSHALL MXL603 ($150 pair)

5. Shure SM57 ($80) .....................................x1

6. Shure SM58 ($100) ..................................x1

Though I'm pretty certain about TLM103,AT4040,SM57 and SM58 but still, better combinations could be worked out. I wanna finalise at least 8 mics.........for that I need ur valuable suggestions.........Thanx in advance.
greyman

 

[chessrock]

I take it you're fond of Large diaphragm condensers.

Just a few thoughts . . .

The most useful mics on your list are probably the ksm32 and the AKG 414. Those can easily be your workhorses on a ton of different things.

I don't see anything by BLUE in there. That's a shame. You might consider ditching that TLM-103 and get yourself a Dragonfly . . . or even a Baby Bottle.

Throw in a nice dynamic or two while your at it . . .

Highly recommend: Electrovoice RE-20 and/or Shure SM-7B.

And why no ribbon mic? Look for a deal on ebay . . . or maybe check out the one Oktava came out with last year -- that one's supposed to be pretty good.

Get an idea of the different tones and textures the different mics bring to the table . . . from warm to neutral to shiny to dark to mid-rangy to scooped and everything in between . . .

. . . . and try to cover as many bases as you think reasonable. That way, you'll be ready for whatever life throws at you.

On a side note, a lot of people might try and steer you away from the Presonus, but I don't think it's a bad idea at all. It comes with a lot of goodies; limiter, EQ, Digital outs . . . these things will come in handy even if you don't realize it just yet. Also, Presonus stuff is pretty easily-upgradeable if you know anyone who gets in to electronics.

Good luck.

 

[Recording Engineer]

What chessrock said, but personally I'd keep the 103 idea and instead toss the TLII out for a BLUE Dragonfly. If you want a 414-flavor in your arsenal, I recommend picking-up a B-ULS off eBay in good condition and have it modded by by Jim Williams at Audio Upgrades.

 

[Beezoboy]

Also another thing to consider is a bass drum mic and drum mics in general. I suggest you look into a 2-3 Sennhieser MD421. Also I very much agree about the SM-7b. For a balanced mic locker I would suggest.

1. TLM-103 $750 (because people see Neumann and love it)
2. 2 B-3 $300 (because you'll absolutely need some multipattens)
3. 2 Josephson c42 $950 (rave reviews from the man Fletcher at Mercenary and many others)
4. 3 Sennhieser 421 $600 - 900 (industry standard tom mic and more)
5. 1 Shure SM7b $300 (One of the classics and good for voice-over)
6. 1 Sm57 $80 (for 3 total)

This locker would allow good recordings of almost anything in the rock realm and many things in the folk/classical too. Don't rule out e-bay. You can get a TLM-103 for 100 less and 421's for about 200 each on there too.

Beezoboy

 

[cavedog101]

All these choices make sense.Like chessrock said you need some good dynamics to go with all those condensers.If you're set on the 4050(good choice btw)then i would say instead of the 4040x2 i would go 2 MD-421 sennheisers. I have an ATM-25 which is a bit different than the Pro ATM-25 and i feel its a bit more complete in its freq. response.I thought the pro was grainy.This is a good choice for kick and i'm not sure why you would need a pair.I would also search on ebay for a pair of Shure SM-81's for your Small Diaphram condensers..they are some of the most even sounding mics of this genre.Good Luck

 

[greyman]

I wasn't ignoring dynamics at all...... SM57,SM58,PRO25 were all there. But yes......few top class dynamics such as SM-7B,MD 421 II and RE-20 are gonna be more handy. Thanks for the valuable suggestions.

What u guys think of B-3 multipattern..........at $160......is it worth it?
and I need to know more about MXL-V77S Tube Condenser.......it's priced $330 only. Will it make any difference?

 

[chessrock]

and I need to know more about MXL-V77S Tube Condenser.......it's priced $330 only. Will it make any difference?

It's supposed to sound a lot like a TLM-103. Might not make a lot of sense to have both.

 

[cominginsecond]

AUDIO TECHNICA PRO 25 ($200 pair)

You probably don't need two of these. Wouldn't you just use that on kick? I guess if you're recording metal bands with double kick, dude.

 

[petimar]

You should shop around a bit more. I got a Shure KSM44 for $500.00 from Pacific Pro Audio in Seattle. $500.00 for a KSM32 is too expensive!

Pete

 

[greyman]

sure Pete.......thanx.
I'm even thinkin' of buying some stuff from E-BAY................I've never done this before. Is the E-Bay gear reliable?????

 

[Jack Hammer]

Don't we have to know what type of instruments and what type of music this person intends on recording before recommending microphones. Otherwise, what is the actual criteria? What recording medium, what type of room environment etc. and so forth. Seems to me that without that information, it is something like having a doctor diagnose you over the phone. Something, I might add, that they do not do as far as I know.

 

[Beezoboy]

Jack Hammer - I believe he said "converting home studio to commercial setup and he gave a price for mics and preamps. We recommended mics that would be good to record most of what anyone could ask him to record. It doesn't matter the genre because he is covered as long as he isn't recording violin or oddball instruments like bagpipes exclusively.

Beez