You must be getting a good deal on the Bottle, don't they sell for over $4000? How about the Cactus?
A few years ago I bought a Soundelux E47 and Neumann M147. The Soundelux was great . Did it sound exactly like a U47? No. Have I ever used 2 U47s that sounded exactly like each other? No. But it's a great mic, smooth top detail, warm and round, with a little less mid grit than a U47. Very dimensional for $2750. Wasn't as good a distant mic as U47 or M147 for me. Soundelux tube mics always worth checking. U99/195, etc
The M147 is also very good, and IMO more versatile, I've used it on vocals, overheads, guitars, marimba, percussion, double bass, violin, room, etc. The M147 gets a bad rap because it isn't a U47, but we put a Rode K2 against it on vocals, and it was strictly no contest. (why are all Rode mics so BRIGHT?)
You might consider - Gefell UMT70 - though I prefer the original UM70S, the transformerless ('T') is still a good mic, and I think my UM70S blows away any U87 I've ever tried on vocals. Holds its own against my M147 too. Also, one of the Gefell cardioid-only tube mics might be in your range (UM92.1?). Very underrated and probably under-priced mics. Beat out TLM170s on sax and vocals in sessions I've done. Also versatile for ac and el guitar, overheads, snare, room...
If you want to spend $2500, bypass the 4060, 414, 103, and go to that next level. I'll throw these out as mics on my list to look at, in the same range - maybe someone else has experience with them?
- New Telefunken USA ($1399.00 mp tube mic)
- AEA mics
- I also had the Phantom C to look at...