Lg. diaphragm condenser mics

[Jonathan Reinhardt]

This has come up before, but no definitive/objective comparison has been achieved on the board to my knowledge.I have narrowed my options (for better or worse) to three - AT 4033, AT 4047, or Shure KSM 32. I have heard them individually but not all in one place at one time. I have tried to arrange with local recording studios, sound companies, dealers, and bands - to no avail. (SWNH).
1. Is there a dealer in New England who carries all these mics to test?
2. Has anyone else gone this route and chosen one of these? Why?
3. Can anyone better describe the 4033/4047 sonic differences than just that the 4047's tranformer re-creates the older FET sound?
I do know that the AT 4033 is a hands down choice in terms of clarity and performance with many of you here.
4. If someone has chosen the KSM 32 over an AT 4033 I would be curious to know about the reasoning.

I personally like the Shure or the AT 4033, but band members want to hear the AT 4047 prior to a purchase. Understandable, as it comes highly recommended, but it's holding us up abit.
We are a trio (and occassionally add a percussionist). Our music is played on bagpipes (smallpipes) /banjo/flutes, accordian, and mandolin - Breton to the blues, a bit hard to label us, but it's from all over the world with an old time flavor. Vocals. Many originals.

I would greatly appreciate some advice from those who have dealt with this issue.

rasa

[Luthier Vandross]

Try Mercenary www.mercenary.com

Ask Fletcher to tell you what you want, he'll tell you anyways.


Miles

[Spruce]

Fletcher wouldn't like any of those mics.... #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Could you elaborate a little more, rasa?

Are you planning on recording the whole band with this mic track-by-track, using it for stage work, or what?

Since this is a mando board, I'll stick in a vote for the KSM32, which I love on an F5 mandolin. #It has a wonderfully defined low end that I love on a lot of instruments, but really shines on capturing the "woof" on an F5...
Which in the past was a hard thing to do...

I use it almost exclusively on my mando (and I have U47s, KM84s, and U87s kicking around here too....).

[Jonathan Reinhardt]

Thank you Miles and Bruce.
I've checked into Mercenary before, but never dealt with Fletcher. I will be interested to hear and grateful for his advice.

Bruce - We need it for live sound/stage use. We may record with it down the road, but already have a few good recording mics. This band recorded before moving to my area and reforming. What we need now is a single mic set up, to run thru my Spirit powered mixer. Mains are Peavey SP5G's. Slightly dark, but still quite clear and a quality end product. I find 15"er's have a lot to offer, that many 12"'s lack. I'm trying to match my single Bag End 12" (use it for a monitor in my solo endeavor) so we will shift to Bag End 12's at some point. They are far more convenient and are the best 12" I've come across, although I know there are others.
I tried. and still try, to interest everyone in the KSM 32, but the other two band members are thinking firmly AT. The 4047 was highly recommended by a previous/occassional member of the band who has used one. He has been the major technical advisor until my appearing on the scene. He and I work well together and have similar abilities and a similar sound aesthetic - although I can't play the steel pans. (When he's on board we are a real crowd pleaser.) But I digress.
Hence my choice of the AT4033 - clean, clear, little to no coloration on vocals and all the rest we can throw at it. I don't think I want to sound any more vintage than I am, or any of us are, for that matter.
I don't know how to elaborate more at this point but will PM you with other info you might need to be able to advise. (Or please contact me.) Thanks so much for your help.
If I had my way, I would just order in the Shure, but must respect the fact it is a group decision and group money. Budget is +/- $600. Don't want to be heavy handed. To get what we want, we will pay more, but I don't think we have to. Thus the process drags on and on.

rasa

[Spruce]

"What we need now is a single mic set up..."

There's been a gob of discussion here in the past on the "best" mic for a one-mic set up...

This (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=Search&CODE=02&SID=41589719787786b4) will get you started....

[mike_c]

what the 4033 has is great off access sound...what that means is the sound from the side is the same as the sound -in front of the mic...there are many mics that can pickup far away,,but few that have the same off access sound as on access...it also makes instruments sound bigger and fuller than they should...-a mandolin 5 feet from a mic shouldn't sound that full..

[Jonathan Reinhardt]

Again thanks, Bruce. I just reread all those (I had originally when they were posted and also before posting this question) and still feel like there is a considerable shortage of info. IF I can get to where there are these three, and/or more I will then post a comparison. Although it will still be only my opinion, it will at least have these mics in the same test. One more small piece of info for those interested in trying this type of mic set up.

[cbogle]

Rasa--
I really can't compare the 4033 to the 4047, as our band has only played into a 4033 once, with a PA/preamp different from our own set up, but I will say that we've been using a 4047 for nearly 2 years, and get nothing but compliments on our sound. One of the sound guys at a recent festival that we performed at liked it so much that he wanted to buy it from me! It has a very wide response/pattern, and picks up EVERYTHING ( so much that we need to be very discreeet when playing the trouser trumpet).
An added bonus.....it's a great recording mic as well!

[Zed]

I realize this thread is for 3 specific mics, but given the subject line thought i'd throw out my recent experience here.

We've been using a pair of MXL990s for a while and also a Behrigher B1 and an MXL63M. We run a 2 mic bluegrass setup and have the bass mic'd separately. We always had good results with the MXLs and the other 2, and wondered how much better a more expensive mic would be. We recently picked up an AT4033 and i can tell you there is a HUGE difference. The 4033 brought a huge boost in sensitivity, clarity and presence. We no longer need a separate mic on the stand up bass, it's that much more sensitive.

For the money, all the other mics we used are a good value but really have to be used in a close mic'd situation to be at their best.

We're going to try an AT4040 and see how it compares next.