[alohachris]

Aloha Fran,

I know about that "GS mentality" over at gearslutz. I reference GS for others, but mostly crack up reading the "High End" opinions & venomous debates among long-time, gear-head, internet adversaries. I like GS for the USED GEAR classifieds & also for being able to create discussions with some of the best engineers & producers who ever lived.

The thread you shared IS funny. I mean, you can really feel the hate & contempt that people have for some of the mic's they've owned, as if it were personal. Ha!

To which I'll add, considering the OP's question about Neumann microphone's, the Neumann TLM 103. It didn't work for anyone's vocals or any of the guitars I tried to record using it. It was a thousand dollar dog. For some voices, an SM58 sounded way better than the TLM 103.

I know some will strongly disagree, but I felt that you could usually do better than any of Neumann's TLM series of mic's. For example, some like the TLM 170 as a mid-range mic used with stereo SDC's. But with much better offerings like the AEA 84 & 88 or new N22, who needs the TLM?

I've auditioned, owned & dumped thousands of mic's in my time, including some of the classics like U47's & 48's, C10s, 251's, KSM44A's, U86's, 87's & 89's & all kinds of 47 clones. etc. For me, the Neumann TLM 103 was the biggest let down. A real dog, IMO and many agree.

Which mic's did I wish I'd never dumped?

A pair of mint AKG EB352 SDC 's adapted for CK-1 caps that I got from Will Ackerman in 1981. Loved them for years. And...

A very nice pair of Peluso P-28 tube SDC mic's that I loved as well.

Guys, check out those Peluso P-28's. Great sleeper mic's for acoustic guitar & NOT expensive. Captures the real natural, fat sound of your guitar with no hype. Loves being paired with an A Designs Pacifica preamp.

Also, some great tube mic's lend themselves to experimentation with various tubes. The differences between those & their stock counterparts can sometimes be huge (I know Fran, you & Doug don't like such strong language when decribing gear differences - but it's true for me!).

Thanks for sharing, Fran!

alohachris