Some of the most wonderfully  colored mics need to be reserved for only critical applications, because overuse can fatigue the finished product.  Try recording 16 tracks of vocals and instruments, plus drum overheads with, say, a U-47.  You'll be processing and tweaking all night, no matter how high quality the mic is. 

3.  Backups are helpful.  It is rare, but sometimes a mic can simply fail on you. (and if you use a lot of tube mics, its NOT so rare!).  If you have only one good vocal mic when this happens.......session over! What are you going to do, grab an SM57 from a snare drum and put that in front of your client? (adequate recordings have been made with worse, but you better have a serious front end to pull that one off).  Be prepared.  A couple of good large diaphragm condensers, at least a pair of SMD's, and ample dynamics laying around can keep your session alive. 

If I were to recommend the minimum ideal mic collection for any truly professional studio, (lets define this as one that has the room and track capacity to record a full drum kit, and then record vocals, horns, stringed instruments, and keys, and other various ensemble and solo instuments one at a time) it would consist of these items:

1 quality FET dual diaphragm Large diaphragm condenser

1 quality tube LDC that sounds like a tube mic

1 quality FET LDC with a very neutral coloration, preferably with a noise floor below 12db

1 matched pair of small diaphragm condensers (or at least the same model, such as a pair of SM-81s)

1 extra SDC as an option for acoustic guitars, or to mike hi hats while the matched pair is handling overheads (a second same model pair would be even better)

5 dynamics (minimum), such as a combination of  SM57s (not beta), MD421s, and maybe even an SM7

1 Kick drum mic, preferably 2, such as a Shure Beta 52 and a AKG D-112 (The audix D5 is good too)

1 good ribbon mic

Remember, this is in my opinion, MINIMUM for the pro studio

For the small startup project studio that does not need to record drums, but will be recording common instruments such as guitar amps, acoustic guitars, vocals, hand percussion, and various other instruments, and has $1000.00 to start with, I would invest in the following mics:  (continuted next page)

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