I'm spot micing cymbals and these caught my eye (akg c430). Looking at the frequency chart and explanation, it seems AKG designed these specifically for use on cymbals. Kind of searching for a cheaper alternative to sm81's.

So far, I've tried many budget options on cymbals and I'm led to conclude that one has got to spend at least $200 for a decent sdc. That seems to be the bar for entry. Anything below miiiight work, but it a crap shoot.

Have tried:

-Presonus pm2

-Cad cm217 (not bad for hats and ride)

-Shure PG81

-Akg p170

-Sm57

-Sterling Audio st131

-Digital Reference tiny thing

-Rode M5 (yes, I know some people love them)

All of the above have been various definitions of servicable, but on the whole would not cut it for professional audio; weak, thin, harsh, not tight/ splayed out, sloppy sound.

At the end of the day if I had to choose one for cymbal duties it'd be the sm57 (can get very harsh/ unpleasant on smaller cymbals. Sub18") or the pg81 (just not very good).

Figured I'd start low cost and inch my way up. Definitely inching... Having tried just about every low budget thing out there I'm tempted to try the Behringer C2's, but I just won't let myself (tried their boundary/ kick mic and wasn't impressed).