| The biggest boys. I also call
this category, You Can't Afford These And Neither Can I. Amazingly, two people let me borrow their personal mics in this category, so I must have an honest face or really good weed. Singer-songwriter-guitarist Hank Alrich brought along his Schoeps CMC6 with the cardioid MK4 capsule, while the aforementioned Squires contributed his CMC5 with the Mk5 capsule and his dad (who is a renowned classical engineer/producer) contributed the insanely expensive Neumann TLM 50 Set ($5000). The manufacturers really came through in this category and I was able to test the DPA 4006-TL and 4011-TL, the Sanken CO-100K, and the Josephson c617 Set (one mic in a set). The last one is a combination of the Microtech Gefell Mk-221 measurement capsule with the Josephson 617 amplifier body. Any of these mics would be excellent for tracking classical music or any live event - I met one guy who told me he used a 4011 to record the sounds of NASCAR. With a focus on acoustic guitar my favorites were the Josephson c617 Set ($1825), the Sanken CO-100k ($2500) and the Schoeps ($1,700). If I had to pick one... well I wouldn't, couldn't. They're all great and I can't afford them anyway. And I would never buy one of these for acoustic guitar use. I'd only buy these if I wanted a pair for live recordings as well as studio recordings. My overall pick? The Schoeps cardioid I think with the DPA 4011-TL a close second. I would prefer cardioid for stereo pairs and I'm just guessing that the DPA 4011 would work great on live recordings. You really can't miss with any of these high end mics, so it all comes down to personal preference. |