Try a set of Josephson condensers.

all i wanna say is get a pair that are switchable from cardiod to omni. i've never had much luck with cardiods, however i've been recording in some less-than-perfect rooms. i mean little or no acoustic treatment. omnis i think sound more natural, and they are much more forgiving with a crappy sounding room. i've got the octava mc-12 mics. i wish i had the omni capsules for them. they sound alright. i have used a couple of sony lavalier mics (omni) that sounded better. of course i you are tracking everything live in the same room and you want more isolation, you might want to go cardiod. omnis will sound more roomy and also produce more lows. this is all my experience. bottom line is you should give yourself the option. as for as which brand and model to go with, someone else who has modeled more mics should post. good luck.

Hi there...do a forum search- there are many helpful and LONG threads on this topic. Personally, if I had the money to spend on mics (instead of my new apple 23" HD monitor :) ) I'd get the Jospehson c42's, but I don't so I have the studio projects c4's which are pretty damn nice anyway even though they're only 319 a pair. They come with omni and cardiod capsules. Good luck.

My favorites were AKG 451s and Nuemann KM84s. But then I was on a pretty tight budget - there are many 'boutique' micrphones that I'm sure might be better, at a price. I was always very happy with the performance of the aforementioned mics.

I always thought omni's were not as good a choice when dealing with a crap sounding room, cause cardioids will pick up less of the crap. Am I wrong? I have and use the josephsons and like them alot, more so then my omnis - which often are just more harsh as they are more accurate. the c42 are a bit mellow and deeper sounding - more so then the AKG 451s and Nuemann KM84s I thought. But those are good mics too!

Other mics that are great are Shoeps, though may be too realistic for some things. DPA and Earthworks make very accurate mics as well. On the other end of spectrum sorta, I've seen many a times guys using ribbons for overheads, like the Royers sp121 and AEA R84. These are very different sounding but damn cool.

Usually I'm old school with AKG 451's, Shure SM81's. But more than several times now using AT 4050's and TLM 103's for something a little different.

I have a pair of AKG 460's ... very warm sounding ... good results. They are not available any longer so you have to find them used ... the 480's are supposedly very close ... I also have several older AKG 451's ... these have less low end than the 460's ... a nice option ... nice on hi hats ...

SP C4's with both omni and cardioid caps. I was very surprised how nice they sound when I got these. Comes in matched pairs, with shock mount mic clips and pop filters in an aluminum flight case. Great for "budget consious" studios at under $500 street..

ATM 4033's work well on some kits. Very well balanced and directional ... low spill.

U87! .... I have always dreamed of getting a second U87 so I could do overheads with them ...

..... Honorable Mention; I recently recorded a single overhead track of drums with the new CAD M9 tube mic and was totally blown away with how real it sounded .... From this single mic I got a good snare tone and a well defined kick .. when I added in just a touch of the kick drum mic for tone, the mix was full and punchy. A pair of these would be well under $1000 and could do double duty on other applications as well .

since money is no object... if you're going to look at the Josephson C42 or other SDCs, be sure to look at the Josephson e22S. the e22S is no one trick pony. it's got very nice off-axis response... it's slightly dark with a smooth top... built like a tank and will handle hi SPL.

everyone that I've spoken to that has had them for a while, really raves about the mic and the e22S gets a lot use in my studio...

M160 ribbons

We are using Royer 122's .... They are fantastic as overheads.

Great on Guitar...

Awesome with Horns..

Can even be used for Vox or Kick drum mic as well with Pop screen.

Lots of great recommedations above, but I also want to add the AKG 414's to the list. A pretty good all-around mic as well. I love them as OHs.

I've had the best results with Neumann KM 184's.

My first choice is AKG C-414 B-ULS.

A pair of SD condensors, and a pair of LD multipatterns will cover just about all situations. I'm old school, with SM81's and 414BULS's. There are many good alternatives at the general price. KM184/4050. AT4041/KSM44. A pair of Royer 121's is fun, but is kind of hit or miss, in my opinion.

Uh, don't forget to invest in a good mic stand...

I would 3rd the AKG 414's. I don't own any, but have recorded in a studio that used them as drum overheads and they are wonderful, have switchable patterns, and are also great for vocals and instruments. For around $1500 for a set they would be a very good investment. I currently use oktava mc-012's with omni caps for drum overheads and they work fine, but if you've got the money, my vote is on the 414's.

schoeps or dpa!