THE DRUM MICROPHONE / MICROPHONES THREAD

Re: Drum Microphones.

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AGR
 
Re: Drum Microphones

A lot depends on your use and your budget. Will this be for gigs?

A good, dependable generic mic for your snare, toms, and cymbals is a Sure SM-57. They usually run less than $100 US Dollars a piece and you can find them just about anywhere. A good BD mic is a AKG 112. I had one of those for several years and it did a really good job. Those run about $200 or a little more.

Hope this helps.
 
Try Audio Technica products !

I love their mikes for catching drums, and they are not very expensive !
-ATM 25 on bass drum
-ATM 23he on snare
-AT 4041 on HH
-Pro 25 on toms (very cheap and a big low end sound !)

Here's a sample of my drumset recorded with these mikes + SM57 (snare bottom), subkick (DIY with a
NS10 woofer !) and Rhode's NT5's as overheads !
 

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A local fellow has been using the Audix F15 (I believe) in his home studio, and it seems to produce decent results. It does not seem to capture the low end that the SM81 is capable of, at least the way he was set up. He relied on close-micing the toms for depth, anyway. They reproduced cymbals nicely, especially for a mic that costs $100 or so.

The last project I worked on (actually I have two more songs to record) used the Groove Tube GT55 as overheads. This recording called for brushes with a lot of cymbal work and texture (for a singer/songwriter and his acoustic guitar) and they worked quite well. Beautiful rich sound with great detail. I looked them up and they cost about $500 a piece. Nice overheads, though!
 
A local fellow has been using the Audix F15 (I believe) in his home studio, and it seems to produce decent results. It does not seem to capture the low end that the SM81 is capable of, at least the way he was set up. He relied on close-micing the toms for depth, anyway. They reproduced cymbals nicely, especially for a mic that costs $100 or so.

The last project I worked on (actually I have two more songs to record) used the Groove Tube GT55 as overheads. This recording called for brushes with a lot of cymbal work and texture (for a singer/songwriter and his acoustic guitar) and they worked quite well. Beautiful rich sound with great detail. I looked them up and they cost about $500 a piece. Nice overheads, though!

I use the F15 as well, and while im sure that the SM81 will produce better results, the F15 does a good job -- especially the highs. I use it in my last recording session on my hats, and it did fantastic. To hear it, go to http://www.myspace.com/jesusoragunlv
 
Don't laugh, but I once saw that Radio Shack had a knock-off of the SM81 in their Realistic line. I actually used this one in a country band! Hey, why is everyone running to the car?!

Mike

http://www.mikemccraw.com
http://www.dominoretroplate.com


http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=drummermikemccraw

Radio Shack gets no respect. Who would even want to endorse them?

They have geat adaptors, however, like stuff to link XLR to banana plugs and RCA. Otherwise, the stuff is awful and overpriced.

www.terrasonus.com
 
I ONLY use AUDIX mics on my drums. They sound amazing!!!!!! D6 on kick, i5 on snares, D2 on rack toms, D4 on 14" floor tom and another D6 on 16" floor tom, SCX condensers on high-hat and overheads. PERFECT!!!!!!!!
 
Ahoy hoy.

Just a quick question; does anyone have any experience with CAD microphones, specifically their Kick mic. Seems pretty good range at 20HZ - 20,000HZ, and seems like a pretty good entry level mic. Just wondering how it would compare with say a D112 or a D6 (my two main options I think).

Also, any thoughts or opinions on the XL1200 would be pretty handy as well. My many thanks to y'all in advance.
 
Well, well gentlemen! This is a most interesting topic.

You see, I bought this great Yamaha drum kit. I just liked the look and the size of it. It just fitted into my car.

BUT: It had a 18" bassdrum... and I play rock music. So I kind of needed a little low end and volume in my bassdrum... and some room just kills the bassdrum sound!!!

SO: I installed a Shure Beta 52 inside with the MAY Internal Miking Systems (Just like Simon Phillips and Steve Smith). So I just plug the wire in my bassdrum... from the OUTSIDE. And all of a sudden, I have the greatest bassdrum sound EVER... from a 18" bassdrum. I recomend it to every drummer playing small party gigs!!!

In fact I got so thrilled about the whole miking thing, that I bought my self a Shure VP88 to pick up the rest og the kit (like when Steve Smith is small gigging)... And boy does it KICK some serious ASS!!!

So, now I never have to wory about bad acousticks.. And it is such a relief!!!

I'm planning to get a cheap Shure SM57 to pick up the snare, though I'm told it's not neccesary... But I'd like the thought of being able to add some reverb to just the snare some day!!!


og it
 
Well, well gentlemen! This is a most interesting topic.

You see, I bought this great Yamaha drum kit. I just liked the look and the size of it. It just fitted into my car.

BUT: It had a 18" bassdrum... and I play rock music. So I kind of needed a little low end and volume in my bassdrum... and some room just kills the bassdrum sound!!!

SO: I installed a Shure Beta 52 inside with the MAY Internal Miking Systems (Just like Simon Phillips and Steve Smith). So I just plug the wire in my bassdrum... from the OUTSIDE. And all of a sudden, I have the greatest bassdrum sound EVER... from a 18" bassdrum. I recomend it to every drummer playing small party gigs!!!

Where did you get the May mount? My leads keep falling through...
 
Where did you get the May mount? My leads keep falling through...

I got it in my local drumstore (I live in Denmark). There's a link to MAY on DW's homepage. Look under "hardware".

Here it is: http://www.dwdrums.com/may/

As i recall it, I bought the Shure Beta 52 as a MAY product, because it was kind of preparede to the MAY system. And in another box, I bought some MAY hardware and bolts. So, when you mount it, the mounting system goes through the bassdrums vent-hole... with NO drilling and damage to your drum at all.

It's easy, and I highly recomend it to everyone doing small gigs without an external soundengineer to take care of your drumssound....
 
Dragging up an old thread, but i wanted to put my list up =)

Kick: AKG D112
Snare: Shure SM57 / Audix i5
HiHat: AKG C414B-XL II
Tom Racks: Sennheiser E604
Tom Floors: Sennheiser MD421
Overheads: Audio Technica 4041
Room: Blue Baby Bottle
 
Has anybody used the studiospares (england) own mic's? i have
2 bassdrum mic's & 4 instrument mic's i use for toms. They seem good for £30 or so a piece. Just wondering how different they are to more expensive mic's?
I also have 3 staggs that pretty much look the same as the studiospares mic's.
I also have 2 t.bone large condenser mic's that you can get from a german site for £20 each!!! I bought them for £40 years ago & i use them for overheads & vocals. Again seem quiet good for the money.
I also have a shure sm57 but we all know about these good old fashion mic's :) straight on the snare it goes...
 
I want to point out if you are recording digital.. An A/D Converter REALLY effects the sound quality.. even if you are using Neve preamps and Telefunken mics.. if you got Cheap digi 001 converters.. or m audio.. ect..ect.. all that Expensive stuff cant really do what it should be able to. Converters are a Big Deal!!!
 
Re: behringer c-2 mics

(already posted this in the recording thread a while ago, doesnt seem anybody goes there any more)

does anybody have any experience with behringer c-2 mics? i know behringer is regarded a quality company, but these mics seem ridiculously cheap. i know the get-what-you-pay-for adage (had a feeling somebody was gonna quote that), but i'm curious about any hands on experience. the reviews i've seen were good, but i'm still suspicious. hopeful though, cheap + quality = good for me

http://www.thomann.de/ie/behringer_c2_stereoset.htm

I agree, this is slap-the-the-face cheap. Surely someone is going to hell for selling mics so cheap!!
 
I just got a 7-piece set of CAD drum mics for Christmas. It came with separate mics for the snare, kick, 3 toms and 2 condensors. I have a 6-piece Premier set with two mounted toms and two floor toms. I have two crashes (one on each side), a china, and a splash, in addition to the hats and ride.

My dad is a bass player and doesn't really know that much about mic placement. He has an M-Audio interface has four mic inputs for recording me in GarageBand. What is the best placement for the mics I have, using 4 mics? Thanks in advance!
 
I just got a 7-piece set of CAD drum mics for Christmas. It came with separate mics for the snare, kick, 3 toms and 2 condensors. I have a 6-piece Premier set with two mounted toms and two floor toms. I have two crashes (one on each side), a china, and a splash, in addition to the hats and ride.

My dad is a bass player and doesn't really know that much about mic placement. He has an M-Audio interface has four mic inputs for recording me in GarageBand. What is the best placement for the mics I have, using 4 mics? Thanks in advance!

1. Bass drum
2. Snare
3. Overhead condensor
4. Overhead condensor

I'd put the condensors about 2' higher than your cymbals on boom mic stands and point one down at the hats and the other (on the other side of your kit) down at the floor toms/ride cymbal.

Start from there and play with placement. Good luck!
 
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