Royer R-121 or R-122 Ribbon Mic. You may need to place a pop screen in between the mic and the Horn as well...

They are expensive, so you may want to rent one if you dont have the budget...

Highly Recommended .....!!!

Then there's the tried and true RE20.

I think of sax like a male singer, and can be as different from player to player as singers are. I've gotten good results with some of the same mics I use on male singers -- SM57, Senn 421, MXL V67, Rode NTK, Beyer M260, Gefel MT71.

The Beyer was great on a particularly bright sax, where the V67 helped smooth out the edgy growl of another.

After I tried a 421, AKG414, EV RE20 and a SM57 and 58, I stuck my $80 Studio Projects B1 on a tenor sax and it jumped out of the mix. The player is about 65 years old with a Dexter kind of tone and he was all smiles on playback. (so was I).
I've used it live as well, but placement w/ the rest of the band is critical.

Phil

_____
RO Vocal Booth Moderator

I've always turned to the U87 or the 421 for sax, depending on the situation .. if spill isn't an issue, the U87 into the ELOP is the first choice.

The important thing to remeber with sax (and all woodwinds) is the sound comes from the soundholes as well as from the bell ... Back the mic up a bit and aim it between the bell and the soundholes.. With sax, mic placment is as important as mic choice.

The tried and true mics for brass are the RCA D77 or the DX77. AEA makes a clone, the R84 for a $1000 bucs. Here is the link:

http://store.yahoo.com/mercenary-audio/aearstmi.html

Owning the D77 I can tell you that the sound you get from this mic on brass is pure butter- I haven't heard the clone but I've read reviews that is real real close. Somethimes you can get D77s and DX77s on ebay for or around the price of the clone, depending on condition. Sometimes mercenary has refurbished D77's and DX 77's for around 2K

Thanks you guys for your info. Man.....I love this place : )