Mic'ing Drums

hey guys, i bet you get these types of threads all the time...so i am sorry if it annoys anyone.

i want to Mic my drum kit, im looking for recommendations for maybe mic kits.

i absolutely know NOTHING about mic'ing a kit. so if you could post what you do to mic your kit, the kind of equipment i need, and maybe recommend some cheap or used equipment you may be selling (sorry if B/S/T is not allowed in this section...im new to this forum)

so yea, just post what you know...im not looking to spend loads of cash, i just want to take the sound of my drum kit to the next level (entry level equipment)

thanks
-ryan

We have seen the question before, there are a few threads kicking around. Have a look. There's plenty of advice!

If you want some entry level mics the CAD mics are good. You can pick up 7 piece mic kit for around $130. I also use a small Behringer mixer with phantom power to sub mix with so I don't eat up all of the channels in the main PA board. It works very well. I played a gig last night and played through a fantastic PA system with everything miked up and sub mixed. It sounded killer!

You can pick all of this up for under $400. There are much better mic kits, but for the price I have no complaints. The mixing board below is not the one I have, mine is smaller, this is what I should have bought.

thanks for the info guys!

im planning on making a trip to my local music store to check out prices and get more advice/opinions.

if i set up mic's at home, can i hear my mic'd kit through headphones? do i have to hook it up to my computer?

Ok.

To record drums, you will need the following.

Microphones -> Interface -> Computer -> Headphones/Speakers. As well as the associated cables and stands, etc.

Interfaces should usually have preamps which amplify the microphone feeds, which are just as important in regards to quality as the microphones yourself. I don't like mic kits like the CAD kit at all - it's much better value to piece together a decent set of mics without the 'kit' factor. I would start with just a pair of condenser overheads to get yourself a good start. I recommend either the Rode NT5 or AKG C1000 models - there are also models in this sort of range. Overheads provide the vast majority of your sound - invest in some reasonably good-quality ones first and then work on the rest.

I've written some long essays on this forum about recording techniques. I suggest you find those.

MFB is the authority on miking and recording, so I digress. His advice is solid. I was thinking more along doing the live thing vs. recorded. I have done some recording with my CAD's with surprisingly good results too. I think alot of it is that I have a quality drum set.

Going with 2 decent overheads, bass drum and snare would do wonders. When I'm at home that is what I use. When I play out I mic everything according to the venue.

I still do a lot of my recording the old fashioned way, half track 15 ips reel to reel. I agree on buying a few good microphones instead of the cheaper box sets. Overheads and high hats usually get miked with small diaphragm condenser microphones. The rest of the kit gets dynamic cardioid mics. The room mic can be any good quality condenser or dynamic. For recording instruments look for a cardioid pattern with a nice flat frequency response and a high SPL rating, over 130 db. Since speaking into my first microphone in 1955, I've collected quite an assortment, over 80 at present count. Microphones and recording has always been in my blood, lol.

Dennis

Dennis,

15ips tape is the way forward, I swear. I love the stuff, I absolutely do - but unfortunately in the modern age it just compares to be unwieldy in comparison to digital formats. I do everything digitally and the convenience of recording to 24/96 and then converting for upload and still having the original masters available at a moment's notice is just amazing to me. I do a lot of programming - type work (I built a hardware-interfaced sequencer in Max/MSP the other day, with great results) and one day I'm going to integrate an analogue system into my digital system, but for beginners I would recommend digital recording. Ironically there are fewer reliability factors (mechanical consistency issues and failure is near-enough non-existent) than with tape-based systems (even DAT) and everything is much easier to edit.

With that said, it is still ABSOLUTELY essential for anybody learning to record to learn the standard recording techniques. In the modern age when everything is very easy, the source recordings are often compromised because they 'can be fixed later'. The same rules apply today with regards to capture as they always have. A good recording, a good source and good equipment will yield good results. People seem to forget that.

As for live sound, I consider it to be a non-issue. I would still use a basic overhead system in preference to a lower-quality full set. With that said, most venues will provide anyway.

Yep, someimes I miss the old days when my hands were the compressor/limiter, lol. For people under 25, it's always been a digital word. I have to go look at some of my pictures with the RCA 76 tube console I used to work with. Sometime I'll have to tell you the story about when someone spilled a coke in it. BTW, it wasn't me.

Dennis

A friend of mine managed to do something similar involving extraneous bodily fluid on a laptop. All stories have parallels.

audiotech said:

when someone spilled a coke in it. BTW, it wasn't me.

Click to expand...

was it 'A coke' or coke? (lol)

tortilla said:

if i set up mic's at home, can i hear my mic'd kit through headphones? do i have to hook it up to my computer?

Click to expand...

Are you recording (or planning to), or just 'reinforcing' your live sound?
If you're just 'amplifying' your kit, then Drum0rs post is on the right track. And yes, you can monitor through the headphones.

If you're hoping to record, then yes- you'll hook up to the computer (assuming you're using software based recording), but depending on the interface you may still be able to monitor from the interface before it hits the computer.

I'll tell you this, do NOT try to use an RE20 with an Mbox2. The mic pres just aren't up to the task.

Yes. Mbox2s are just shudder-worthy. Never come across anything quite as shoddy.