Audio-Technica ATM 450

Awesome sounding mic, but for me the main selling point is the fact that it is both 'Side address' whilst also being a Small Diaphragm Condenser.

This opens up lots of options for discrete mounting situations where you can't have a 5 inch long mic+xlr behind the pickup pattern without it hitting into other things. (Think weird drum kit setups!)

I have personally used this mic on multiple drum elements and strings pre covid and absolutely love it, the form factor alone is bound to get you out of a pinch every now and then! Everyone should have one in their mic box.

Picked this up on recommendation from friends, and I'm really enjoying it so far. It's only gone out on a couple of gigs, but so far it's rocked on upright piano and drumkit. Used it on a jazz gig this evening as part of a 2-mic drum setup, with a Beyer M88 on kick and the 450 sat below the ride, pointing towards the snare. It had a really tight sound, great focus on the drums and excellent rejection of other instruments and monitor bleed on the stage.

Brought it as part of my package for larger multi-mic drumkit setups on snare, hihat and ride duty, but loved it on the simple, stripped down configuration. Going to have to get another couple later this year so I can stick it on more stuff at the same time.