Oktava - MK-105

Nah. Oktava mk105, austrian audio oc16 are both under 400 and both sound amazing. In fact i’d pick either over c414 (the annoying ones), any TLM, or u87 Ai

I really like the Oktava mics. But at least here in Germany a used MKH 8020, 8050 or 8060 should be within the budget. Same goes a MKH 416…

Give Deity’s mic’s a go for a budget mic. It’s not a Sennheiser, DPA or a Schoeps but it also won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Plus it’s cheap enough that you can get a mic per person, I’d check out the smic 3s. I’ve got an Oktava and without mods it comes out pretty flat and doesn’t have a very good reach. There’s also the at4053b which could be in your budget and may be more available.

You feel you're missing "detail "? A dynamic mic captures less detail than a condenser mic. However, the difference between a low-end and high-end dynamic mic isn't as pronounced as the difference between a low-end and high-end condenser mic. Cheap condenser mics can be noisy or lack mojo, and different mics are better suited for different sources, e.g., a ribbon mic on an amplifier cab. And if your post-production treatment is severe, the mic won't make as much difference as you're mangling the sound. That all said, a really nice mic makes a big difference to me. The difference between an Oktava and Beyer MC930 is stunning, and the MC930 is not an extraordinarily expensive mic. I like expensive mics, as they give me a great capture of the source, and if it doesn't sound good, I know it's not the mic.