Large Diaphragm Condensor Microphones

CAD M179
This is one great mic that you don't hear too much about. It's fantastic on toms and snare, and its variable pattern and low frequency cut gives it great versatility around the studio. It's a nice darker vocal mic, good for backgrounds and some lead vocals, depending on the vocalist. It's going for $199, which is great value for a LDC that you can use on tons of things.





Studio Projects B1 (also B2, C1, C2 etc.)
Great value mics right here. I have the B1, the lowest end model, and I certainly can't complain for the $99CAD that I paid for it. It's a brighter mic with a wide pattern, and it sounds great as a room mic, especially on drums. I love it on acoustic guitar with a small diaphragm condensor, and it's done a great job on other strings like cello and banjo. It's served me decently as a vocal mic, although it can be a little thin sounding and you have to watch that your high end frequencies don't get a little harsh. De-essing is a must. We all know vocals are picky and if you can afford it you'll want a more expensive mic for most of your vocals, but for the price of an SM57 these mics rock. I hear great things about the more "expensive" models as well. People compare the $300 C1 to thousand dollar Neumanns. Apparently the manufacturers have set up display tables with Neumann mics and Studio Projects mics side by side for professionals to compare, and people are astounded by the similarity in sound, and by the difference in price.

There are tons of other great large diaphragm mics out there, like in the Marshall MXL line, but these two are all I've really needed so far in the low budget price range. The combo gives you both a dark and a bright mic to choose from and covers a very broad range of uses. At some point though you'll want a more expensive mic for those really sweet vocals.