For anyone thinking of a purchase along these lines, I thought I'd report that my two AT3031's used an x-y coincident pair did an outstanding job at a high school band concert last week--even though they were not bought as a matched pair.

I had them at about a 110° angle, on a stand 9 feet up from the floor, about 12 feet back from the raised stage. That put them at about the same height as most of the instruments. The stereo imaging was very nice, and the high max SPL of the AT3031s allowed them to handle a very loud 10-drum Japanese style percussion number without breaking a sweat.

Unfortunately, the AGC was on in my minidisk recorder, so the orchestra music got surpressed during the loud drum passages in that particular number. Next time I'll remember that the unit resets to AGC when powered off and on.

I'd also like to get just a bit further back. I think I've gained enough credibility now to get away with taping off a few seats in the third row 8>)

Fred,
I also bought a pair of 3031's recently. I used them to record a small accoustic concert (several different single and duo singer/guitarists). One night, I used my motu traveller and lap top, and close mic'd the singers and guitars. I used the 3031's as an additional stereo mix a few feet in front of the band stand. Another night I used only the 3031's directly into my xl2.
I'm very impressed by the range and quality of these mics, especially for the low price.They do a good job picking up the full spectrum , from lows to highs.
Thanks to Steve house ( and you, Fred...I think) for reccomending these mics to me in a previous post ("Mother of all audio nightmares").
Bruce Yarock