Bruce, your set up is a lot like mine, you got me wondering. I waffle between MC-012's and 4033's for overheads. Any idea how the 451's compare? By the way, I just spoke with Steven Sank and he's whipping up a pair 260DX's for me.
Track...I'll butt in before Bruce... You'd love the C451's. They are a killer mic. The new reissues, with the permanent capsule (cardiod), is supposedly in the same ball park, but I have not heard one of them yet (or a pair, as it may be). They were hot shit back in the 70's, and to me, still are great mics. With all these 'cheapie' condensors coming out, they probably seem expensive in comparision, but I think they do the high end of stuff extrodinarily well. Not bad on a HH either....or acoustics...or piano... you get the idea. As far as compared to the 4033...that might be a toss up. I think I'd rather have a 4033 over the 451..as a general use mic...but the real deal is having both[pairs]...eh?
However, I think I'd pick the 451's first of ANY mic for OH's if it were me.....unless I had some U87's to play with...but I have a feeling the 451 would be best.
I think if you keep your eyes open, you might find the 'original'..with maybe an extra capsule, for under $350...maybe less. Who knows, I got an RE20 off digibid for like $200...I wasn't expecting that.