help, what to upgrade first? im torn

[SuaveRecords]

well i have a pair of MXL603s(sdc) they sound fine but not amazing. i have an Apex460(ldc) also sounds fine but not amazing. im not going to spend money on moding anything and i wouldn't even want to try lol. id mess it up for sure.

now here's the issue.i KNOW im getting new mics. just a matter of what to get first. because it will be a while before i can upgrade both. what do i upgrade first? i know for sure what mics im getting...Neumann u87(lcd) or the Neumann SKM184 microphones(sdc pair) drums and vocals are really important. and im not sure if i should get a new vocal mic, or over heads. obviously they have more applications then that. id use the u87 as a room mic for drums and the skm184 as acoustic mics (among other things)... any advice????

 

[quickmill]

If it were me in your situation, I would ask myself if I were more unhappy with the mxl pair or the apex. Whatever my answer were is what would get replaced first. No one else can tell you what YOUR priorities are.

 

[SuaveRecords]

If it were me in your situation, I would ask myself if I were more unhappy with the mxl pair or the apex. Whatever my answer were is what would get replaced first. No one else can tell you what YOUR priorities are.

see ive thought about that. and you make a good point. but both are "ok" i don't like one more than the other. i feel like they both do their jobs equally as well. THATS why im sooooo stuck on what to do. i record everythign for metal to punk, to ska, to acoustic-rock. so i guess ... what im asking is, what do you feel is teh thing that cathes you ears most...drums or vocals. i know both are a huge deal, but what really makes you think "this is good/bad" more?

 

[quickmill]

Maybe I'm on crack and don't know it but, I swear there was a discussion of 184's here last night. What happened to the posts?

 

[cavedog101]

The U87 will be the most versatile mic . It makes a pretty damn good acoustic mic as well as a drum overhead. Especially if you have a well treated room. And we all know how good of a vocal mic it is. I would hope you have a lot of other mics at your disposal especially if you're doing whole drumkits.

Another thing to consider if you envision the 87 as a room mic for a kit is how much better it will sound while still using the 603's as overheads with the 87 on the room.

Theres nothing quite like that Neumann sheen to liven up an otherwise pedestrian recording.

I use mine for everything.

Lately its been the new CHI system SDC with an 87 for acoustic instruments.

Pretty much great.

 

[Weasel9992]

i know for sure what mics im getting...Neumann u87(lcd) or the Neumann SKM184 microphones(sdc pair) drums and vocals are really important.

Are you sure you want to put that much money into just a few mics at this stage? I'm not saying that a U87 isn't a good choice, I'm just saying that it might not be the *best* choice right now. I mean, Shure SM81's are fabulous mics as drum OH's...for vocals there are a ton of options out there that are 90% of the U87 quality at 1/5th the price.

Just raising the point...

Frank