"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
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"soundhaspriority"
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"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
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"soundhaspriority"
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Have cheap mikes advanced much since I got my AT-31's ?

Audio Technica Pro 31?

I'd like to have some phantom electret cardiodes that
are a little better than these.

How about the AT M4K, has a blue handle, around $95
U.S. ?

Audio Technica MB 4K?

Yes, I have two of them, purchased for vocal use. How do
they work as instrument mics?

They will probably sound thin, particularly on instruments that actually
have serious bass. So, you may be able to get away with using vocal mics
on violins and flutes, but not on tubas, pipe organs, an acoustic bass,
or bass drums.

Reason why - vocal mics are usually cardioids and therefore have what is
known as "proximity effect" which is variable bass boost/cut that varies
with the distance from the sound source to the mix. The further away the
mic, the less bass you get.

Cardiod mics designed for use as MI mics generally have more bass - their
proximity effect is tuned for use at greater distances from the source.
Many MI mics have so much bass that they are really only generally usable
in elaborate shock mounts.

Also vocal mics generally have built-in bass cut to reduce handling noise
and sensitivity to popping. Finally, even more bass cut may be added to
improve articulation. Some mics have a bass filter with a switch. This
broadens their range of application.

Vocal mics often have a "presence peak" in the upper midrange. This will
tend to make violins sound more screetchy. In cheap vocal mics, this peak
may be especially big and rough. IOW it may be composed a number of peaks
in the same frequency range. Classic example: Shure SM58.

A *classic* good cheap MI mic is the MXL 603S.
Is this electret or traditional?

How much gap is there between this and a no-compromise mic? I was given the
opinion by an outfit that had tested a bunch; they came to the conclusion
that the top strata begins around $400, and there isn't much difference
above this figure.