I may have come across a real gem!

I read some threads on here about boom mic stands and it seemed that there weren't a lot of great ones. except of course for the one that is being produced by a member here on the boards ;)

OK..

I am extremely new to this and would love some chiming in.

I am planning on recording a choir/ensemble. There are 45 people in it and I was going to use 2 mics in ORTF configuration, right behind the director, 12' high. Then do an MS configuration somewhere behind the ORTF setup.

List your top ten favorite mics of all time. I will use newer models as a suggestion guide for the Review page. If you want to list older favorites that's cool too! Discuss . . Fats

Just curious if anyone out there has opinions on these two large diaphragm condensers, the AT3035 and the RODE NT1-A? They are both priced around $200 with accessories and they look like pretty similar mics to me. I'm looking for mainly a good vocal mic, but versatility is always better in the small studio setting. Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks :) .

Sorry there is a lot here, but you folks are my only hope for answering these questions:

What is the difference between Small and Large Diaphragm?

What is a good Maximum SPL for drum overhead condensers? Or rather, how do I calculate that? How about SPL for a guitar amp?

Anybody have some experience with that mic?
I have one NTV and TLA preamp 5051.
Not bad, but I'm not satisfied with sound.
My input volume on TLA is very low, any
stronger signal from mic causes distortion on
preamp, DRIVE diode lightning and sound is
very much in midrange.
Is it good combination:
Tube mic + Tube preamp

How about the AKG SoilidTube? Anyone pluses or minuses on that?

Some people have said that the GrooveTubes (Alesis) AM62 was good, but I've read people actually caome out in reviews and call it a noisy beast that's WAY more Alesis than GT. (And we all know how often reviewers really let a product get it that hard. MAkes me believe it.)

Does anyone have any hands on experience with this new Mic Pre. I have been very impressed by the RNP and was just about to buy one when I was offered this Summit Audio unit for the same price($475). The two are apples to oranges but both sound very intriguing. The Summit is only a single channel as oppose to the RNP. Also the Summit is a tube mic preamp.

I am a newcomer to the recording world, and I am looking to get some great equipment, at a low cost. I have only 4 inputs on my mixing board so my goal is to find 4 mics that will be able to mic everything that I want (5-piece rock band).

On my list I think that I would include:

1 SM57
2 Condensers
1 Bass drum mic

I believe the 55 is the FET version of the tube 66.

I'm still not 100% convinced about my current Blue Baby Bottle, and am looking for alternatives.

A friend's AT4033 had some elements that I preferred to the Baby, in that the 4033 wasn't so boxy, but the 4033 was also too raspy.

I know a few people who rave about GT's. Any diff since Alesis got ahold of them?