overheads w/ about a 1k limit

[fldrummer]

If you got one thousand dollars to go buy some overheads for drums what is the best quality mic for the money?

 

[BradD]

I'd look at either the Neumann KM-184s or the Josephson C42s. I own the Neumann's, but can only speak of the Josephson's on reputation. The KM-184s are fairly bright with an open top end. This is nice, but is not everyone's fancy. This seems to be why some of the purests prefer the original KM-84s which I understand are darker sounding. The Josephson's are supposed to be along the lines of the original KM-84s and was therefore be darker that the KM-184s.

Hope this helps.

 

[cavedog101]

Neumann KM184...Josephson C42...Audio Technica 4051....matched pair of AKG 451. All of these will sound great and probably at least one pair will be perfect.As far as SD condensers, it dont get a lot better.

 

[Track Rat]

I agree with the above suggestions. The Neumanns are a bright for my tastes. Not tried the Josephson C42's but I'd imagine they're great. Earthworks are my current fav.

 

[rvdsm]

Earthworks are nice for overheads, however the stereo image isn't as wide as other small diaphragm condenser pairs. They are very subtle over the frequency spectrum, no real sharp gradients in the bandwidth. I think after using them over and over you could eventually get really tired of their sound, but maybe that's just me.

 

[Track Rat]

Actually, the image I get (set up in X-Y damn near all the time) is wider than the Neumanns or the AT-4033's I used for a long time. So far what I like the most about them is the detail they impart.

 

[Herm]

Two shure ksm32,s

 

[Dot]

fldrummer, what type of music are you mostly recording and what type of sound are you going for?

Dan Richards
The Listening Sessions
The Project Studio Handbook