Hi Ty,
Thanks for the John Prine story (love those). I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment. Interestingly enough, your comment dovetails with an article that I read the other day by Mike Senior when ask the question "do I really need a high-end vocal mic rather than a much more affordable mid-priced model?". His reply was very helpful and I've included the link below. The basic answer was a more expensive mic will sound better for a broader range of applications. (Keep in mind I am not getting this mic for me, but something that will be sufficient for the widest range of singer/songwriters possible. A single mic to cover a variety of tones.)
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may0...s/qa0508_4.htm
-ST-
Thanks for mentioning the ribbon mics. I love the way they sound, but fear their durability in the field. I'd heard stories in the past about these mics, and now I know what they were talking about. I'm with you on getting more than I hoped for from this post. A lot of great input from some very experienced folks.
Gotta love it.