Looking for some thoughts on specific production techniques

[Sound Chaser]

And that kind of brings me back to my original question. What reason are there to NOT use a 416 and a Schoeps for this kind of work?

No reason at all. I think that is an excellent, NO the best choice. They compliment each other in range of usage. Both are quality instruments that will hold their value for decades to come. For this type of work the only other mic you may want in the future is a large diaphram condensor for in studio use.

 

[Gorilla King]

You have no idea what sort of a relief it is to hear that. I love the 416 and the schoeps and I'm actually familiar with those mics. I don't own either at the moment, but I think it's about time I did. Sooo glad I didn't blow that 1,800 on that u87 the other day.

 

[ullanta]

Just my opinion but, I also have owned an AKG 414 and it is one of my least favorite mics period. A 414 has a thin sound due to a sharp presence peak, thus it falls under the category of personality mic, which also means for some applications it is great. Certain vocals in conjuntion with proximity effect work really well. This mic has a lot of presence and instruments "stick out' of the mix due to it's sonic characterisics.

Just out of curiosity, which flavor of 414 are you talking about? The TL-II (now XL2?) sure has a presence peak, but the B, B-ULS, etc. have never struck me that way... they tend to work well pretty generally.