What style of music? What kind of sound are you looking for?

I've been playing around with a pair of Josephson C42's this week and they are pretty cool- especially for the buck. Shure KSM44's are also pretty good, but a radically different sound.

As for pres- at a touch more than that, look at the DAV Electronics BG1. Two channels will run you about $650.

--Ben

I haven't found anything I like better than an AKG C60. Hard to find but has an unbelievable warm tone. I did a test (with an acoustic guitar) with a U47, KM85, U87 and a C60 and the AKG sounded amazing (in my opinion the warmest and my favorite on acoustic applications). I believe they go for under $1000 if you can find one. Killer sound on a hat as well.

They do sound good... If only the noise floor wasn't so damn high.

-Ben

I'm recording bluegrass gospel music. A tenor and regular guitar, mandolin, standup bass. These are all flatpicked. I've used two
C 1000s mics without a pre, the mando and tenor sound "OK" but the guitars, bass and vocals are not acceceptable. I know I need to buy a couple good mics and a pre.I'm new to this and been out of the studio for ten years. It's a new world out there now. Any help would be appreciated. thanks

I do acoustic jazz and some bluegrass here. The Grace 101 is hard to beat for the$$$, when you want pristine, faithful reproduction. I have a couple of AT4041 SD's that make great guitar/mandolin mics, and the Shure SM81 is good for them, too. The KSM44 is an awesome upright bass mic. I personally prefer the SDC mics for guitars, banjo, mandolin, and the LDC for the bass. And for fiddle, that depends on the player. You have to experiment with that more.My AT4047 has worked well lately for that. I have read great reviews of the Josephsons, and a friend in Atlanta loves his for new-age acoustic guitar/zither...

I'd say recording upright bass could depend on the player and
instrument as well. It's good to try various things to get the
needed sound. One of them could be - SM58beta wrapped into a
towel and placed under the bridge...

Many of these decissions should be made based on the style of music. A 58 in a towel will give the bass a more "thumpy" kind of sound whereas a KSM or other condenser will give you more top end, and more transients (like the sound of finger plucks).

There are a lot of right tools out there, but on some kinds of music, they may turn into the wrong tools.

--Ben

Right. The 58's will be a sort of "round" sound. It works well when
intrument is below average, room sucks or the player can't
stand still...

it sounds to me like you would greatly benefit from an Audix CX-112...they're a really good price
and probably an Oktava Mk012 directed at the neck of your guitars (12th fret)...you can also get these mics for a great price.

as for a preamp, i would suggest something with a tube just to add a bit of color or warmth to your mix...and preferably atleast 2 channels
something with an onboard compressor would be a nice feature too...i find it's pretty important to get a solid compression with a bass

i would recommend a DBX 386 or even a Studio Projects VTB1...both relatively cheap prices.