Wouldn't know, have never used them. But I will say this, I have favored the 57 over some very nice competition including, 421's,
Audix D-1,2,and 3's, Pro-25's. I am partial to the sound of a 57 on tom's. I find that they have a nice body that the others do not deliver. All those others seemed to offer an extended high frequency response over the 57, but really lacked a punch to my ears. The 421's would of course be my second choice for tom's. Followed by the Pro-25. I do not like the Audix D series stuff at all.
Remember that mic selection is one of the most subjective and personal decisions you can make in recording. Just because I like something doesn't mean it is all that. Nor is the stuff I dislike unusable. I have preferences that can vary wildly from others.
A good friend of mine, Chris Stevens, who works out of Echo Star sometimes, and has did some of his own projects using me as engineer and co-producer has one rule about recording, "Whatever sounds good!" When we were recording his own band, The Heavy Brothers, we made some seemingly funky choices in microphone selection. I once used my EV Re-27n/d to record a trumpet solo. THIS IS A KICK DRUM MIC PRIMARILY!!! Chris used an Audix OM-5 to record a Sax solo too. We used a C-1000 S to record the low speaker of a Leslie cabinet when we had a AT4050 available. So you can see that just because you may have to best mic available to record something, it may not be the best mic for that source. "Whatever sounds good!"
I find from talking with other engineers in my town that many get hung up on what is the lastest, or what has incredible specs. But, ofter I listen to their recordings and wonder is they didn't use a PZM in the room and record the band live in one take to a cassette player. At Echo Star, I have some pieces of equipment that I would use anywhere. Other pieces that I would leave here if working somewhere with something better. And some stuff that I keep around just because nobody would buy it from me....
But sometimes, those pieces that seem to be junk turn out some great sounds. I have a ADA Multi Effects Processor that is old and junky. This was mainly a guitar processor. But quess what? I use it as my primary delay for almost everything that I mix, unless I really need an exact delay time, or an autopanning delay. This unit is a little noisy by todays standards, and doesn't have a cool LCD interface, but it sounds as close to
a Lexicon PCM-41 or 42 as I have ever heard. This box has some character. The delays are warm and fat. Can you believe that I paid $100 for it about 4 years ago in a guitar shop. The owner of the shop didn't think he would ever sell it. I bought it for my guitar rig. Started using it in the studio when I needed an extra delay one day. I was blown at how good it sounded on vocals in the studio.
Anyway, I hope that I am not coming across like a lecture or anything. I just hope that anyone who is recording remembers that you can achieve great sounds with some very low tech stuff. Using your ears, and having a good idea of what ALL of the components in your system are doing to the sound will enlighten you to how to get the most out of what you are using.
Good luck.
Ed Rei
Echo Star Studio
www.echostarstudio.com
