Overhead Mics, earthworks, sm81 or AT3032

[Dead River Studio]

I am looking for a good overhead set for recording rock drums but also some acoustic guitar and basically an all around usefull condenser mic.
Bi polar patterns would be nice too. What are your experiences.

Steve

[s2n]

Check out the Audio-Technica AT4050. An excellent all-around condensor, particularily great on overheads. We use them all the time.

[PhiDelta308]

I'm partial to the SM81. It's great for drum overheads, and acually any other kind of overheads for that matter. And it is great for accoustic guitar.

-Chris

[Ben Jenssen]

I wont pretend to have tried everything, but I’m very happy with my Oktava MC012s.
Flat, crispy and cheap.

[BradLyons]

You are going to find many opinions and options in here....and probably everyone's will be different The SM81 is a "classic" for its clearity, but I've never been a fan of it. Ironically, I love Shure microphones. What kind of sound are you looking for or aren't you looking for? I must say I'm a HUGE fan of the Earthworks QTC1's and the more affordable AKG C451B.... but these might not be what you're looking for if you also want them to be all around microphones. I have used both of these on the neck, but I don't care for them on the body. For that, I do like something like a Neumann M147 (insert your favorite vocal microphone here). Some of the most popular of all time are the AKG C414TLII for both overheads and acoustic guitar. Mixed with the right preamp, you can still do wonders with these microphones.

There are so many good choices these days that it is almost hard to go wrong.... to a certain extent anyway. Here is a review I did on the C451B some time ago if you're not familiar with this microphone....

http://www.sweetwater.com/insync/rev...w&review_id=29

IMHO, this is the BEST bang for the buck (pro level) of overhead microphones or directional instrument miking. Again, there are many good solutions... this is one of my personal favorites.

[the_riot]

Have you looked at the AT 4047's yet? I've used 4050's on a number of recordings with Amek preamps and can definitely tell that the 4047 is warmer, perhaps more full-bodied... which I think would be a good thing for overheads, acoustic guitars, etc. However, I'm going to have to side overall with the new AKG 451's. I used them side-by-side with AT 4050's and they won hands-down every time. However, the proximity effect is a bit worse on these when your trying to record acoustic guitar / whatnot... they tend to get a little boomy, but for overhead I think they sound awesome. As for the 4047 though, I know that you can find it for $450 at B&H, practically everywhere else wants $500. Good luck.

p.s.- I've used the 451's on everything from folk to metal and even a lil' industrial and have been satisfied every time.

[Duardo]

I like the 4047 a lot, but probably wouldn't recommend it for overheads in most cases...it's a warmer microphone, and may sound a little "dull" on overheads because of the high-frequency rolloff. If the cymbals were too bright, though, it'd probably be a good choice.

In the price range you're looking at, I'd check out the Earthworks SRO's. They're one of the best-kept secrets out there...about $300 apiece, and they're basically the same as the TC30K's, which would be my first choice (QTC1's are great as well, but are overkill for overheads if you ask me...they really shine on quieter sources) except their tolerances aren't quite as tight ("only" flat from 20 to 20K instead of 9 to 30K) and you can't get them in factory-matched pairs. I bought two and they're close enough for me...I use them primarily for overheads and acoustic guitars, although they work very well on just about any acoustic instrument and sound good on some amps as well. Not the best choice for most vocals, though....they're so flat and accurate that most people find them boring. Also, since they're true omni's there's no proximity effect so the vocalist can't really "work" the microphone. In any case, I like them more than the SM81 or the 3032 (although for the money the 3032's great...I really like omni's if you can't tell).

If you want to cover vocals as well, I'd recommend a decent large-diaphragm condenser...an Audio Technica 3035 is a great all-around choice, and the Studio Projects C1 is a more colored choice both in the $200 range...the C1 sounds great on most singers, but sometimes is a little too much.

-Duardo

[Freeheel]

As an owner of an original 251 EB, My one question would be - are the new one's quieter? Mine's quite noisy.

[BradLyons]

I've not done a direct comparison of the two, but I would say yes because of the capsule design. You never have to take this microphone apart, in fact you can't. That was the downside of the previous series of the C451 is to insert a pad you had to take the capsule off and they didn't always fit back together properly.... so it's hard to say that microphone was always the same.

[the_riot]

If you're talking about the new 451's I'd have to agree with Brad here. The ones I used were the originals and although they were nice they were also a bit tempermental. Sometimes one would just flat out die due to people messing with the capsules and not putting them back on right. Not to mention that but the threading was extremely fine and easy to screw up completely with just one person trying to put it on incorrectly. I'm assuming the new 451's would eliminate the problems of yore as well as the noise they introduced from time to time.