« Schoeps mics -- always the right choice »

You simply can't go wrong with Schoeps microphones, and their long history in the film and recording industry is fascinating. They have extremely low self-noise levels, very low distortion, and superior off-axis response. They don't color the sound, and are very transparent. They are faithful to whatever sound you put into them. The initial expense is a little rough, but you will never regret the investment you've made. I've had some of my Schoeps Colette series mics for about 30 years now and they're still going strong. Their transformerless output and very low output impedance means you will never have any RFI problems, plus you will be able to drive very long mic lines (up to about 300-ish feet) with no signal degradation. I'm discovering that the transparency of my Schoeps mics is only limited by the quality of my mic preamplifier. In that regard, it's insatiable.

I particularly like the sound of their Boundary Layer Mics for recording piano. Simply place a couple of them on the hardwood floor as you would a pair of hanging mics in a spaced array. They're very rugged so don't be too alarmed if someone accidentally steps on them.