Cheap drum mics

Kasper A

Junior Member
Hi :D

I want to buy my first set of drum mics. The mics will only be used to record my drums. My budget is low. Very low: 200$.

Do you know any good drum mic sets i can use?

I have been looking on The T.bone DC1200 kit. Is this a good kit?

I have also been looking on this set up:

2x Behringer C2 Overheads
1x The T.bone BD300 for the Kickdrum

Is this a setup that can record the hole drum set with ok sound?


Do you have any other setups or drum kits then please tell me! :D


Thanks!


Regards
Kasper A
 
Can't comment on the T Bone, but I got nice results from Audix's Fusion mic pack.

Audix makes nice stuff, and even though the Fusion's mics are Audix's "lesser" line, I liked them.

Of course I really recommend saving for nice stuff right from Jump street.

A nice pair of overheads, a kick mic and a snare mic, is all you really need. Oh and skill in using them of course...

Kick mic: Audix D6, AKG D112, Shure Beta 52

Snare mic: Shure 57, Audix I5

Overheads: many good ones, I use Rode NT5's

There are other choices for sure, but most would agree that these do the job in fine style.

Buy once, cry once
Paying for quality is less expensive in the long run
The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweet taste of low price is forgotton

OK I'll stop preaching lol
 
That's a solid list there from Larry. Those are sorts of mics you should be looking at for home recording situations and indeed basic live applications. None of them are spectacular or exotic, but for a basic recording setup - that's where to start. The other advantage is that they will also be usable in years to come for other situations even after you've upgraded. An AKG C1000 (what I run instead of the Rodes) will live on as a useful reinforcement mic or for good quality recording in situations where you have expensive, critical mics and need an extra mic to cover another section of a band.

Just to give you an idea of what relatively inexpensive mics are capable of, I'm attaching a recording of a brass band I did in December. Four microphones covered the entire band of over 30 - and I think you'll agree the results are good.
 

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Buy once, cry once
Paying for quality is less expensive in the long run
The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweet taste of low price is forgotton

What he said. +10! If you absolutely HAVE to go cheap, at least get something used (but not abused), so you can either get something nicer, or at least don't have to incur the "new" cost of a POC mic or mic set.

Personally, I run an AKG D112 on the kick drum, Audix I-5 on the snare, Audix D-series mics on my toms, and Rode NT1000s as studio overheads and AKG C1000s as live overheads.

Audix mics are great, but they are heavily pre-EQed. That's great if you like THAT sound (punchy and fat), but if you want more options when mixing, go with something a little less colored, like SM57s on the snare and toms. That's the only reason I still use the D112 on the kick drum...it's not as colored as the D-6, and sometimes I want a little different flavor than the D-6 when mixing and EQing.
 
Good advice here.

Might I suggest a two mic set-up? Spend $100 on something like an SM58, and then the other $100 on a side-address Audio Technica AT2020 or something similar. Leave your front bass drum head on, put the SM58 in front of it with about three inches between it and the front head (or just put it inside the drum), and then put the side-address condenser somewhere overhead (I suggest maybe two drumstick lengths up from your snare drum).

You may be surprised by how good this can sound, and then you're not dealing with phase issues which you could run into when you're dealing with a bunch of microphones. And remember, John Bonham was recorded with at most three mics. Sometimes just one, as was demonstrated in "When the Levee Breaks".

I suggested these two mics because you could also use them for other things, like miking a guitar cabinet or vocals too.
 
Buy once, cry once
Paying for quality is less expensive in the long run
The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweet taste of low price is forgotton

Amen to that! Stocking the shelf with 10 cheapo snare drums is silly when you only need 2 or 3 really kickass drums. You may not have the variety, but you will always be putting your best foot forward and always enjoying the better drums. Same with mics.
 
Get the best microphones that you can afford, even if you have to buy one at a time over the period of a year. All mics are not created equal and should be considered as an investment.

Dennis
 
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