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I just had a friend mod an MXL 990 into something amazing (made to emulate a Neumann u87) for the upright, and it sounds amazing.

Has anyone used large diaphragm condensers on tuba? Any experience using something like this as opposed to the SM57? I assume if it works, it needs much, much more space to breathe than a dynamic microphone.

I have always heard that a condenser microphone with a good SPL rating and flat response curve, on axis above and a little bit from the edge of the bell so as to not get in the way of the terminal node or cause the "proximity effect" causing artificial low end emphasis, was the best for tuba. Please correct me, and indicate makes & models.

Cool, I'll have to try this!

I just wasn't sure if LDC's are overly sensitive to large volume sources.

I have a pair of pricey mic's for recording, but a good consumer grade "kick" mic for amplification.

I'm not going to risk damaging mic's of that quality for $100 - $200.

Good point. The Shure mics definitely sound great for recording, but I like the idea of keeping them around for live gigs and leave the "good" mics for the studio.

As an aside, the MXL 990 mod is so good, I'm going to be handing this guy a broken MXL 991 for a similar upgrade, so I have a good LDC/SDC pair. I love Rufus Reid's sound, and the way he does it is place an LDC about 2 feet in front of the bridge, and an SDC pointed at the right hand for more of the mid/high range.

I am also looking forward to hearing my acoustic bass guitar with nylon strings amplified rather than the bland piezo pickup that doesn't grab the color of the strings. But if this setup works great for tuba, too, then I'll be really happy.

If you're talking live performance, a dynamic would probably better suited.
SM57, Audix D4, or my preferred Shure Beta 98 H/C (Which is a condenser)

For studio, I've used Large Diaphram AKG C414 XLII but it simply does not capture the deep low end.
So I usually record using a blend of both that, and my in bell dynamic mic listed above.

I mean, if a Large Diaphragm Condenser is good enough for Baadsvik, it must be good enough for us regular folks, right??

I use an sE X1A Large Diaphragm Condenser mic and I am always pleased with the results. My space isn't the best (small), so I usually mic my horn pretty close with a 10dB pad flipped on. I bought it to improve my virtual submissions, so I haven't really tried it in any live situations, YMMV.