Do multiple occurences of the same mic count?
It's been awhile, so I don't remember WHAT we paid for all of these, and I listed these elsewhere, but my current cabinet contains:
about 8 Shure 588SD Unisphere Bs (SM58 predecessor/similar)...bought a dozen for $60, but a few had bad parts...these are what's left after I did some combining of grilles, switches, connectors, etc.
Shure BG 2.1 -- about $30
Shure BG 1.1 -- about $30
Audix Fusion 4-piece drum mic pack -- $75
AudioTechnica Midnight Blues MB1000 -- $40
Shure SM85 -- $60 WITH art tube mp pre
Shure SM10A headset, modded for guitar cab -- $50
Behringer B-2 LDC * -- $50
Radio Shack 33-3032 Kick/Tom mic -- $15
Shure SM57 -- $25 or $30
Shure SM58 -- $75 (with Samson wireless)
AudioTechnica unknown dynamic handheld -- $45
Radio Shack headset mic...live use ONLY...thank God for strong EQs on channel strips -- $30
Total for gear I actually can/do use: under $600
In my projects box, I'm pretty sure I still have an old Unisphere I, and a couple of the old Sphere-O-Dynes, one with a switch, one with a knob, both with the old screw-on connectors. I also own a couple of vintage EVs and a Shure 55 that I have yet to get cables for and try to get up and running. Anyone have good success with the 55 for recording? I know part of the appeal is that Elvis Presley used to use them on stage.
As is obvious, my cabinet tends toward low-budget dynamics for live use. I've got enough mics to outfit a complete band to get some sound into a system or down onto a tape. I'm trying to squeeze some fairly decent recording work out of them. As people have pointed out, if you can't record a great album with low-budget gear, you're not going to be able to record a great album with top-end gear.
*The B-2 has made for a great room mic...my pastor has developed an aversion to actually USING a microphone; this is OK considering we have a small congregation. The B-2 with a bit of compression captures quite a usable signal. Not perfect, but we're talking spoken word here, so not bad. I had a lav taped to the pulpit, but he kept banging into it with his cup, and the page flipping noises were horrible, hence the room mic. I've also used it for some limited vocal work (although strangely enough, from what I've got here, I keep going back to the MB1000; not a bad little vocal mic at the price at ALL), and for a bit of acoustic guitar.