why no internal mic?

Good question. I saw the Kelly Shu for the first time at NAMM and absolutely had to get it. The versatility sold me compared to others out there on the marked. Go get one, you will be happy you did.
 
Well if you do it right it means putting a whole in your shell and modding it so you can plug an xlr to it. On top of this you have to mount some how in the drum. Shockmount etc.
Buy an apex bass drum mic stand and your set. Apex also has clips/claws that mount on to your toms, therefore you have no need for stands. Although I'm not sure if all mics will work with these. Mine do however.
Another factor is that drums really do look cool when you can see the mics hanging over the toms and such.
 
It's more difficult to do minute adjustments in mic position when you can't physically touch it - if you've spent some time with tom mics, very minor adjustments can make HUGE differences.

It's a little less of a problem on a kick, but I know I personally don't always want the 57/112/D6-in-a-drum sound... sometimes I like the RE20 outside; 421 inside + 4047 ouit, etc.
 
1) $ Mics get expensive quickly.

2) Not every engineer wants to use YOUR mic, most engineers want to use their own mic.

3) Other than that, I agree, it seems like a good idea. But I've never actually done it.
 
The main thing that's stopped me is that I use the same kit for performing mic'd and unmic'd, recording, rehearsals, etc. I don't have a kit that's only used for live performances that require mics, so I don't want to wear out the mic diaphragms by using them even when I'm not, ummm... using them. If I had a kit that stayed in the cases until performing live, and only in situations where I'd need them mic'd, then I'd consider it.

I rarely even perform in situations that require more than a BD mic, another between my 2 rack toms, and a 3rd one on the floor tom; with both tom mic's angled more flat so that even though they predominantly pick up the toms, they're somewhat pointed toward the snare also. This evens out the volume levels of my snare & toms without requiring a mic on each drum.
 
Last edited:
I just picked up some new mics and I have been thinking about going internal with them.
I have a mount inside my kick alread for my Beta 52. No extra holes needed to be drilled and I feed the cord out the hole in the front head.

Not 100% on going internal with my toms yet, but I am thinking about it a lot. I don't mind have a mic jack drilled into my shells. Think of vintage drums and how good they sound, now think of how many holes are in that shell! In addition to lugs, the tom mounts are all drilled on, and they had those felt muffles drilled into a lot of them... The one kit I teach on is a vintage Slingerland, and the inside of the shells is practecly all metal washers and screws from all the shit drilled into the shell. Yet, they sound tits!
 
Back
Top