microphone help please

[N_Yeager]

Hello All!

this is my first time posting. You guys have a really great forum here!

I have had a small basement studio for a while now and now I have finally found a commercial space to move into so I am going to finally have the space to start recording local bands and open my studio to the public. The Mics I currently have are:

1 Studio Projects C1
1 Blue Baby Bottle
2 SM57
1 Blue Ball
2 Sennheiser 421
2 AEA R84 Ribbon Mics
2 Josephen 42's
2 AKG C1000
1 Audix D6
1 AKG D112
1 shure drum mic pack

The question is... With only about $1400 left to play with after getting the space, treating it accousically and all the other expenses what am I really missing in my Mic closet? Is it worth me buing a vocal mic in the $1000 - $1400 range now or shoud I save for a while and get something really good? Do you guys think I have enough to get by on the avrage session and get results my clients would be happy with?

Any advice would be great

Thanks Guys!

Nathan Yeager

 

[sprayfe]

With no idea as to what Josephen 42's are, perhaps a nice pair of SD condensors? Do you love your baby bottle? As far as local bands, i think they should be totally satisfied, but I believe is was C7sus4 that posted a link to a dude on ebay selling B.L.U.E. cactuses for 1300. Great mic collection, i hope to have one like it someday,

Sorry for this grammatical nightmare,
Rafe

 

[Massive Master]

Here's my take on this - You've got some decent microphones there (especially the 42's) for a decent setup.

The thing you're going to come across, fairly often, are these a$$holes (local bands have a$$holes too...) who walk in and say "Well, how many Neumanns do you have here?" Believe me, if you get even a "reasonable" amount of traffic in there, you'll probably hear that sentence 3 times a week.

A valid answer could be something like "I've got one that I pull out once in a while if I need it for something."

This (A) shuts them up (B) comforts them (C) makes you look like God because you don't need to have your Neumann on display at all times.

THAT ALL BEING SAID, here's what I'd do... Go grab a TLM 103. It's a great mic, it's not too expensive, you'll probably actually use it often for several purposes, and it does all three things in the previous paragraph just by having that little red "NEUMANN" badge on it. If you can score a deal, get a TLM 193.

They're (Neumann) good mics, and they're "staple" mics in commercial studios. People will expect to see them. Same reason I used to have a Finalizer (although the difference would be that I never used the Finalizer, and you would actually use the Neumann).

 

[ssscientist]

Wow.

This will be the first time I have ever posted anything like this, but what a great answer that was, MM! Simple, direct and to the point offering only what was needed, nothing more and nothing less. Bravo!