The DijonStock Yamaha AW16G, AW1600 & AW2400 digital recording support forum

I was just reading info on 3 different mics that could possibly be my main squeeze in the studio.
First, I was told about an avantone cv-12. I saw the price and then found out it was just a model of a less expensive apex mic and was 5 hundy for QC alone. Thats fine and all but what really caught my eyes were the apex460 (what the avantone was based on??), fatheadII by cascade (though, it's a ribbon and I don't know if that's risky for me?) and last but not least; the SM7 by Shure.

So far, seems like shure is for the win because it's feedback is 100 oercent positive and people are crazy about it for endless apps.

anyone experienced with any of these?
this will be my LAST investment for a very long time.
By the way, update: I just bought a Pearl Soundcheck drumset and it sounds mint (got close-mic kit for it, too!!)
But alas, I need a good overhead...see above

Endless, but not all. You have to know what to use the mic for. A dynamic like the shure sm57 is not the best mic for capturing softer acoustic sources, like an acoustic guitar.

Hi,

a sm57 (it is the same as sm58 without the basket) is a workhouse on stage. sm58 is the classicer for vocals and sm57 for amp micing, snare, toms.

For studio work I would only use a sm57 for micing a loud amp. There are better mics for the same price you can use more flexibel in studio enviroments.

Andreas

I used sm57's for drum kits, with fair results.

I do the sm57, too...but my next purchase may be the SM7..which is a 3 hundred dollar mic that has many accolades, not sure about the tube or ribbons yet

Ribbons need special care (they are easily damaged in many different ways) and I recommend having one if you have a medium quality preamp. Otherwise you can have 2 SM57's for what a halfway decent ribbon cost. A well placed SM57 is an inexpensive alternative.

Ribbon mics have their own sound coloration which amy or may not be desireable. I have 2 of them and mainly use them on my piano along with a pair of LA610 preamps.

msg

thanks to all for feedback.
It'll be a while before I can get a real good mic for most applications but in the meantime will keep reading up on what could be the best mic that is affordable. I guess it's always gonna boil down to what room I have or how I can find a room for any re-ampage..which, sounds like a drag, anyway! too much damned work!

the SM7 is marketed as a voice over mic. i have an EV RE20 that is in the same category, but i have used it for many things.