hi steve - after using neumann km184s for a long time before buying the
AT4051s, i didnt think ofhte 4051s as bright either, especially in
comparison to the little neumanns. but after using schoeps cmc64s, akg
c480/ck61s, and DPA 4011s, it became much more clear how much even the
ATs emphasize the upper mids (you can of course see this by looking at
the response curves for those mics). now, i am completely hooked on
"flat" mics (though dorsey will probably tell you that nothing is flat,
and even within the general category of flat mics, there can be quite a
bit of tonal variation, such as the senn mkh40s vs the DPA or schoeps,
all of which sound quite different). i am in agreement with the
schoeps philosophy that mics should be as neutral and invisible as
possible, and thus useable on any type of source. after using such
nice mics for a few years, i have sold all my neumanns, rode tube mics,
royer ribbons, etc etc, - every mic that i had originally selected for
its specific "color" for specific applications.