Single microphone or EAD10?

Treverer

Junior Member
I'm in the market for an easy way to record my playing, mostly as a practice tool and for the occasional Instagram upload.

The EAD10 is the first thing that comes to mind, it easy to set up, powerful and well-tested as far as I can tell. Then there are microphones like the AT2020USBi (recommended by Mike Johnston in an episode of Modern Drummer). Much cheaper, maybe even easier to operate.

Do you see any advantages or disadvantages or do you have any other ideas regarding stand alone drum microphones that are compatible with a laptop or phone? My limit is 500€, the EAD10 is right around there.

Thank you
 
I've had the EAD10 for about two years and I love it as a practice tool and to make simple home recordings. Used in conjunction with a good set of isolating headphones, you can easily hear your drums and any background tracks you're running through the module to play along to. You can record directly to the module or a flash drive, or use the Rec 'n' share app to recording audio and video to your phone. The built-in effects (reverb, compression, gating) allow you to customize your drum sound, although many are too bizarre for my taste. The bass mounted mic unit does a good job picking up a basic 4-piece kit. It might be more problematic if you have a large, multi-tom kit. One drawback is that it tends to overdo the ride cymbal if you mount it just to the right of your bass drum. You might have been results if you move it further away, either horizontally or vertically. What I really like about this system is that it's simple to set up and use, and you don't need any additional gear. Everything you need for basic recordings comes in the box.
 
My 2¢.

Unless you're chasing a production style that is philosophically fidelity based, the EAD10 is the far better choice for what you intend to do.
 
I don't own an EAD10 but I got a chance to mess with one when it first came out at the GC I work at and it's a really awesome tool, with noise-cancelling headphones on it sounds like you're playing a mic'd up kit (I guess technically you are lol). The one thing I don't like about it as far as Instagram videos or other videos I've seen is that the snare sounds really thin, not sure if it's just because I'm listening/watching on my phone but it always stands out to me.
 
You could get (much) more realistic/versatile/professional results with a proper recording setup, but that would require getting a number of mics, stands, cables, a recording interface and a computer with a recording software running on it.
A single mic wouldn't offer you many possibilities and the 2020usb is unsuitable for this for a number of reasons, including but not limited to the relatively high latency which wouldn't make it feasible to monitor what the mic is recording in real time, say while listening to a backing track, and the fact that it wouldn't be feasible to incorporate it into a more comprehensive recording setup down the line.

So, I'd go for the EAD10 unless you wanted to get a comprehensive recording setup at some point, in which case it would be a better investment to buy a smaller audio interface with 2 analog inputs, a couple decent mics, stands and long cables, such as a Behringer Uphoria 204HD, an SM57 (or sE electronics V3 or V7), an sE 2300a (or used sE 2200a II multi-pattern), a couple of the heavier superlux stands, or a couple K&M if you're feeling extra fancy, and 5 to 20m XLR cables, from which you'll be able to upgrade the interface to some one with 8 analog inputs and better everything, keep the rest and keep adding microphones.
 
I absolutely love the EAD10.

I've used it countless times since I owned it - it's a social media machine for sure and I had a really interesting experience with it. I recorded a few tracks for a hip hop album and did a full drum mic set up and since I had the EAD10 on I went ahead and exported that audio just for the heck of it or to mix as another room mic kind of sound...the producers ended up using the EAD10 track haha.

Great little tool.
 
Sabian offers an affordable way to record your self.

It’s call the sabian sound kit.

I had it for a while and really liked it.

Sabian Sound Kit Drum Mic and Mixer Pack, Black, Regular (SSKIT) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016E45YBA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_bvf5Fb3B2XA2M

For the 100 - 200 bucks more, I would go for the EAD which gives much more than only recording with the option of being a trigger module, sample loading, social media sharing, and teaching device.

As with the sabian kit you need wires (dont go cheap on these) and stands and trying to figure out the best way that works for you in terms of mic placement.

The EAD is built in an only needs minor tweaking in the module of it self.
 
For the 100 - 200 bucks more, I would go for the EAD which gives much more than only recording with the option of being a trigger module, sample loading, social media sharing, and teaching device.

As with the sabian kit you need wires (dont go cheap on these) and stands and trying to figure out the best way that works for you in terms of mic placement.

The EAD is built in an only needs minor tweaking in the module of it self.


I don’t use it any more. I actually sold mine for 200 bucks on reverb.

But I bought it as a Package deal with stands and wires. I just thought the Sabian sounded better with dedicated kick and overheads. I think I bought my entire package for 299 last Xmas.

I just felt EAD sounded best when I triggered the kick but wanted a natural kick sound.

I made my videos by recording on my iPhone for video and on to SD from the sabian sound kit. Then just merging them in iMovie.

But I get it.. the EAD is more versatile.
 
I’ve only puttered with an EAD a couple times, but I can see how its learning curve is low and the results are good.

The benefit of using the single mic technique means getting one’s toes wet in the world of audio recording. Having to learn mic placement, the interface and the software is fun and water is deep. The biggest benefit I’ve gotten from learning to record drums is how I play the drums. I play much simpler and far more balanced across the span of the kit (which can be revealed by the EAD too).
 
Its really a no brainer EAD10 all the way. Why? Portable, Easy to record, enough of drumkit sounds, utilize your music to play with, tempo adjust slow or fast, 2 additional inputs using yamya triggers, eg snare drum etc. best thing about the ead10 is record plus video if you have an iphone or ipad. Can playback and adjust. Benefit is you have better quality than recording with a mobile device.

the caveat is if you have a very large kit may not pick up everything on left and right sides.

Now for a one mic solution you need a mixer and/or audio interface. Bennies of the mixer you can add your music to listen and other inputs you may have. More mics means more ways to record..eg multiple tracks. With a DAW software eg., garageband, reaper, can assign each track and mix. You can export the mix, take the video from the mobile device and delete the audio and replace with recorded tracks with programs such as imovie. But PIA but thats what i did before the EAD10...

im sure there are many ways to get video production using like a zoom cam. But i still say +10 for whatever all other comment are for EAD10

hope this helps.. ?‍♂️
 
Thanks for all your answers and tips!

the caveat is if you have a very large kit may not pick up everything on left and right sides.

What do you consider a very large kit? How far of has a tom/cymbal to be in order to be "overheard" by the EAD10 mics?
 
The EAD-10 is great. There are some difficulties connecting to other devices which I've discussed at length in another thread. But provided you get the right cables you should be OK, and this will only cause you an issue, the first time you use it.
In a demo recording recently we wanted to beef up the snare, so we added an extra mic on through the extra ports on the EAD10 and used it as a stereo mixer leading directly to the desk. A clear good quality sound, and incredibly easy to use once set up.

What do you consider a very large kit? How far of has a tom/cymbal to be in order to be "overheard" by the EAD10 mics?
I'm playing a 6 piece kit with hats and 6 cymbals and it's good, I think my snare issues lay in my rubbish snare drum.
 
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