Thought I'd chime in here, as a recent ADK convert.
A little background...
I own far too many trumpets and flugelhorns to list, but suffice it to say they have their own closet. I have been playing the trumpet since I was young. Due to my other job as a composer, there are times when I do not get to play as much as I'd like. But recently I've been getting those chops back in order. Lots of playing, lots of recording.
I own ADK's Berlin AU, A6, and all S7's.
I'm constantly looking for "the setup". The right pairing of mics that has that rich tone you only get from 50 year old mics. I have a few of the classics, and have used just about everything in my travels. I enjoy M49's, and I think Royer makes pretty great ribbons. But I have yet to get "that setup".
When I put the S7b up, I had that little moment a lot of us have had on rare occasions. I was genuinely surprised by it's tone. I perked up. I turned things DOWN because I could really hear it. The more I played, the more and more I would get that feeling. "Wait a minute, what am I doing differently?" "What pre am I in to?" And after making sure I wasn't missing anything, the lovely realization sunk in. The new variable here is the ADK.
So experiments continued. Paired the S7b with a few of my favorites. And every time it was the yin to the yang. The newspaper to the silly putty. The butter to the bread. Any time I would remove the S7b from the equation, I was no longer satisfied. It was reminiscent of going from 44.1 to a clocked 96. Do you guys remember that? Those moments when you're thinking, "Ahhhhhhh, THIS is it."
So "the setup" is now an S7b and a Royer R-122V. And the NECESSARY part of that equation is the S7b. And if ADK would release that "Darkest" version of the Berlin AU, "the setup" would be an S7b and the Darkest Berlin AU, both being quite necessary.
I think what draws me to this concept is that I feel there are a lot of cloners out there. Ok. Great. But what happens when you're searching for a sound? A unique quality? It's like THIS, but it is its own thing...that sort of search...
The point being, if you record brass, if you play brass, you shouldn't be without an S7b. It's not a pitch, it's a versed recommendation. It's a learned heads up.
Mark