Microphones for drums - on stage

patricck20

Junior Member
Hi all,

I am thinking of micing up my drumkit (Tama starclassic bubinga - Mike Portnoy stile big double bass kit), and would need help in choosing the right microphones for live performance, as I am a musician and not a technician – I don’t know much about this kind of gear.

So my basic idea is:
Kick: Shure Beta 52A + Shure Beta 91A
Snare: 2x Shure SM57 (top and bottom)
Hi-Hats : Shure KSM137
Toms: Shure Beta 98AMP/C
Floor toms: Shure Beta 27
Overheads 2x KSM32 or KSM44 ?

Would you recommend this setup? Or any good ideas ? Thanks

Regards
Patrik
 
Not sure. I would recommend:

Bass drums - Electro voice RE20
Snare - Shure Beta 57
Toms - Sennheiser MD 421
Hi hat - AKG SE 300b
Overheads - Neumann U87
 
Pretty solid looking setup, IMO.

Another option for toms/floor tom would be Beta 56's, nice and full but with a good amount of top end that'll make your Starclassic's punch. The 98's are great for saving space, but can tend to pick up cymbal/snare bleed a bit excessively in my experience. They would still sound great for a set of Bubinga's though!

Good call on the 52a and 91a for the Kick. The 91a will give you the attack and definition, but the 52a will give thunderous lows.

Another option for Snare top is Beta 57. It's brighter than a SM 57, but has a tighter pickup, so you won't get as much Hi-Hat bleed.

KSM 32's can definitely handle being Overheads, and do a damn good job of it in my experience. Another option for Overheads, and for Hi-Hat, would be SM 81's. Fantastic mics.

If you've never heard of them, check out Heil Sound mics. They are shockingly good dynamic mics, that sound like condensers, for around the same price as most Shure SM & Beta series mics.

http://www.heilsound.com/pro/products
 
It's obviously necessary to have mics for recording at home. But when would you have a live gig where you need to be mic'd, and the sound people don't already have them?

Bermuda
 
Just a curiosity question: Has Beyerdynamic fallen out of the picture or are the lower end drum mics (TG-D52D) just to expensive for what they do compared to their competition?
 
If your using your own board and snake that might be fine.... if your using someone else's you might not get that many channels. Also I don't know what kind of gigs you do, but personally I wouldn't want to bring $500+ mics.
 
Thanks for the help guys. The reason why i want to spend money on my stage setup is beause my kit costs high above 10K, and mostly the sound engineers don`t have the proper mics and the amount is also an issue. I am using a small kit for clubs and small gigs, and have a bigger setup for bigger concerts.

So i will check out the beta 57 for snare and beta 56a for toms.
I have seen also neumann U87 - they look really good. Which one would you prefer? KSM32 vs Neumann U87 for stage overheads ?

Thanks

Regards
Patrik
 
One more thing,

how about audio technica?
350 for smaller toms
3000 for larger toms
3000 for chime bars
4060 for overheads
450 for snare under

?
 
For gigs where I'm not sure of treatment, or otherwise expect less than sensitive handling, I use EV PL35's for toms & snare, Rode NT5's for overheads, & D112 for bass. A fairly bombproof set that gets you 95% of the sound offered by a setup costing 4 times the price, robust construction, great off axis rejection (great headroom & easy setup), & economical to replace if necessary. The PL 35's are especially impressive for the money :)
 
I'd probably get a Audix DP5A Kit and add some condensers for overheads/hats/etc.
 
Thank you all for the help; one more question:

What kind of mic would you recommend for TAMA octobans?

I have seen, that Simon Phillips is using SM57, but maybe i would go with Beta 98Amp (Mike Mangini is using these in his octobans).

What do you think?

Thanks.

Regards
Patrik
 
My favourite two mics in the world are:

AKG D112 for Bass Drum - roughly £120
Shure SM57 for Snare - roughly £90

They sound good for recording and live in my opinion and are not hideously expensive.

As for your octobans, depending on how you like them to sound... a combination of the SM57 for high end frequencys and the Sennheiser MD 421-II for mids would sound sweet in my opinion. Both mics have a cardioid polar paturn, unless im being thick, so you could get away with just one of each depending on where you want to put them.

The Sennheiser is quite dear though...
 
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Thanks for the help guys. The reason why i want to spend money on my stage setup is beause my kit costs high above 10K, and mostly the sound engineers don`t have the proper mics and the amount is also an issue. I am using a small kit for clubs and small gigs, and have a bigger setup for bigger concerts.

So i will check out the beta 57 for snare and beta 56a for toms.
I have seen also neumann U87 - they look really good. Which one would you prefer? KSM32 vs Neumann U87 for stage overheads ?

Thanks

Regards
Patrik


Bo was trying to pull your leg with the Neumann U87 suggestion. Thats a very expensive studio mike, that it too big, too fragile and may have feedback issues live.

Your own original proposal is good. The Audix DP7 package is also good and cheaper.
You may not need a mike under the snare for sound reinforcement.
 
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Thanks guys - i have left the U87 idea, i will go with KSM32 overheads. Really like the deepish sound they give.

I have compared also the Beta 56 and 98Amp, but do like the 98Amp a bit more (hopefully they will work for me), and would like also the idea of using also the 98Amp`s for octobans, but still would need some more opinions :p

Thanks
 
Bo was trying to pull your leg with the Neumann U87 suggestion. Thats a very expensive studio mike, that it too big, too fragile and may have feedback issues live.

Your own original proposal is good. The Audix DP7 backage is also good and cheaper.
You may not need a mike under the snare for sound reinforcement.

I second the Audix package. I pieced a set together off ebay a few years back and am extremely happy with them. I have a second D6 (kick mic) for the floor tom and it sounds awesome! Sound guys find them easy to work with as well.
 
The Neumann KM184 is a highly regarded overhead but you're pushing $1k each. The Rode NT5 (Andy mentioned) has a very good reputation for the price ($200 ish).
 
I've also heard good things about the AKG D112

and also have a look at these:
http://www.granelliaudiolabs.com/information/
heading-widekit.jpg


an sm57 with a 90 degree bend to make it way easier to get the mic placed in there
 
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