Buying Mics to record Wind Band/Orchestra under $2000

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Gottaloveband

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Hello there everyone! My first post here.

I am a school band director and I want to record my school concert band and orchestra. From reading and searching on this forum I have gathered that I need to get a matched pair of small diaphragm condenser mics and set them up in ORTF or XY.

I need help deciding what kind of Mics to get.

Here is what I already have:
Macbookpro
27" iMac Early 2015
Presonus Studio Live 24.4.2
Yamaha TF5
Apogee Duet
2 AKG C414
2 Royer 101MP
3 AKG C214
15 Shure SM 57

Here is what has been suggested in the forum:

Neumann KM184
Miktek C5
Beyer MC930

I am not totally sure if SDCs are the way to go but that's what it seems.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I need to stay under $2,000.00.
 
The 184's are pretty much a staple in - well, every concert hall I've ever been in. Hard to go wrong there. The 414's you already have aren't a bad choice either.

Assuming you have a few inputs lying around, a spaced pair of 184's and a M/S setup with the 414's would give you a lot of flexibility during mixdown...
 
Another SDC that I've had good results from for recording bands in X/Y is the AKG C451B (or slightly cheaper, the C391B). Both work really well in the application you want.

However, as others have said, I'd probably try the C414s before rushing out and spending money. They're a darn nice mic.

One caveat...for X/Y or ORTF to work nicely for your application, you need to be recording in a space with decent acoustics. The room becomes part of the overall sound.
 
I'm in agreement with everyone else. Those 414s are a pretty nice mic for recording what you're wanting.

For the record, Decca Tree recordings are also popular with orchestral stuff if you're recording in a nice space (eg; a nice hall).

I'd recommend doing some research on the Decca Tree configuration too. You can always test out all three of those stereo configurations and see which you like best!
 
With the 414's in the already available kit, I'd look no further. With these two, you can spend time finding the right place for them - that, will be the issue that impacts the most on the recording. Balance and blend - with the room sound fighting with the direct sound are pretty well always the main problem.

In a school band situation, with perhaps imbalances in the quantity and quality of musicians, you might find the need it develop your own technique that will compensate for having too many of one source type and too few of the others. In general, if it sounds good, balance wise, where you are standing - then stick the mics there!
 
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