Reply posted by Another Chris Hall on February 26, 2002
If you can find them (hint=ebay), EV RE-16's or RE-18's are excellent for horns. You can usually find them used for around $100. Very smooth sound for brass. 57's will work fine also. If you've got the money, Sennhiser 441's are the best. As far as wireless goes, Shure makes a wireless unit with the beta 98 clip on that works real well.
-chall

Reply posted by Tim McCulloch on February 26, 2002
I tend to like large diaphragm dynamic mics for brass, especially ones that handle high SPLs. The Sennheiser MD-421 is a good choice, but it isn't in your price range, and most used 421's have been beaten pretty hard. The MD-441 is a wonderfully versatile mic and also big $$$. The EV RE-20/PL-20 is also a good pick and also too expensive :-(

I've had some success on trumpet with the Sennheiser MD-504 (now the e-604) which is sold primarily as a drum mic. The e-608 is designed to be a clip-on for a variety of instruments; seems to work well with tenor and alto sax, and 'okay' on trombone.

My favorite 'bone mic is a Shure SM-7 (the original, not the re-issue). It's also probably out of your price range, but it delivers "texture" like few dynamic mics can.

If you want a small condenser for wireless, you might also want to look at the Audio-Technica ATM-35, or it's less expensive cousin the Pro-35. It is a clip-on and your players may or may not like it. If they're used to 'working' the mic for dynamics you'll be out of luck. If they need it for mobility, they'll have to adjust....

Most of the mics for brass I like tend to be over your budget... I'm sure I've overlooked several good choices but these are the ones that come to mind right now. Let us know what you try out...

Tim Mc

Reply posted by Bob G on February 26, 2002
For brass there's the RE20… and then there is everything else IMO… 57s are as good as the next else… watch it up in the 5kHz region. Actually with a 6 db broadband dip centered around 5k the 57 should be OK…

Bob

Reply Posted by Teri Hogan on February 26, 2002
Neil,
There is absolutely nothing wrong with SM57s for your horns. There are better mics, to be sure, but we're talking about a major dollar difference and from the sound of your post, you aren't looking for "symphonic" differences. Buy the 57's. They are the best bang for your buck!

Teri

Reply posted by mark on February 28, 2002
- "Have you ever tried it?"

Not on brass - do you really like it?

Reply posted by Frank Aponte on March 01, 2002
For some reason, I always seem to find a better use for most kick drum mics. I imagine this comes from doing shows with over 50 mics on stage. Most mic cases empty out pretty quickly, so you learn to use whatever you can find.

Actually it's kinda fun, grab your favorite kick mics and stick em in front of the first thing you see (another version would be using your favorite vocal mics).