Overhead mics

doggyd69b

Gold Member
Where to start... well from the beginning I guess. In the next few months around August I will be moving to what I hope will be my forever home. Being that the case great care will taken when considering a space dedicated to drums and other musical instruments. my preference is separate from the house but we'll see what we can find.. On that subject, I am going to build that space to be a studio of sorts, not to make money recording other people but for my own enjoyment. I will start with getting proper recording gear (considering the Presonus studio live 32 R, Lyx pro overhead mics) yes I know Earthworks are now becoming the standard, but I don't want to spend that much and for the toms GLS mics (basically an SM57 but cheapo brand...) and maybe AKGs for the floor tom and bass drum... any suggestions??
 
havent had any experience with them mics, but the mixer is definitely good, you'll have plenty of channels, though i cant find any info if it records separate tracks or as a stereo mix of everything. if you want a cheaper mixer, the zoom livetrak 20 is another good one :)


my suggestion for mics would be the lewitt 340TT for toms, DTP340 or 640 REX for the bass drum,MTP440 for snare, some matched 040 for hats and ride, and a 440 pure or two for main overheads. or the 040s as matched overheads :)

BUT Thats jsut my suggestion, if you want to go with them youve chosen, go for it :)
 
Lewitt mics are nice but I have 5 toms and the snare, so that puts me way over what I would like to spend.. can I spend that much? sure but I can also use that extra $$ for other studio items.. I still have time.. and Yes the Presonus records separate tracks hence the reason why I am choosing that vs a regular mixer.. if it was only a 2 track out then I might as well save me a lot of $$, get an analog mixer and use my dual input focusrite card..
 
Here's a sample video of what can be done with three Aston Origin microphones in a modified Glyn Johns position. The Origins sell for $299 each brand new. You may be able to score a good deal on several used ones.

 
I guess as soon as I have the place I will start posting videos of the build process it should be lots of fun.. I will still have to work but I will retire from the military and just return to the same place as a civilian (to basically double my salary) so I should have enough funds to make it happen...
 
The idea behind Earthworks mics is that the most phase shift happens in the highest octave. So they creat a mic that basically extends the top octave up an octave to where it can’t actually be heard and the phase shift goes with it. OTOH, ribbon mics inherently have very little phase shift, even the cheap Chinese ones. If you've never tried a ribbon you really should. They make great overheads.
 
get a cheap pair of joe meeks. I got two of them maybe 10 years ago and they have been perfectly serviceable.
 
I have two AUDIX NT5, matched pair so, that's why I use them, I also have two audio technica ATM 4041 but they were bought separately and different years (they are on e Hihat and the ride though), they could work well as well if matched paired.... And finally, a pair of KEL Audio, a brand that was originally from where I live, that are kind the same type of capsule of a Neumann KM184 but they were also bought separately, I use them as a pair of room mic and I heard them on OH and they were great...
 
I don't see Earthworks becoming standard.
Small condensers are standard. There is some affordable ones. Or cheaper ribbon ics, or Aston (as mentioned above). Lewitt, Austrian Audio OC8.
 
I don't see Earthworks becoming standard.
Small condensers are standard. There is some affordable ones. Or cheaper ribbon ics, or Aston (as mentioned above). Lewitt, Austrian Audio OC8.
I think that if you can make cheap gear sound good, then why spend thousands? Tons of great sounding drums were made with expensive gear (at the time) but now some of that tech is used on very cheap mics that will get you pretty close. What used to cost you 15k, can now be found super super cheap. And if you have to depend on expensive gear to get a good recording, (not saying you do just expressing an opinion here),then your drums most need a lot of help. Look at "El Estepario Siberiano" in YouTube, he has an EAD10 but his drums sound very clean. (extra super tight heads which make it really easy to do the rolls he does) but regardless of that he has a very cheap setup mic wise and sounds very good. if he was to mic his kit with Earthwors, he would have to spend at least 2k... super small setup say 2 overheads, one tom mic, one bass drum mic one snare mic, so around 1000 to $1500 and if you are going to spend the money you can't have a cheap interface so another 1000 for a decent one...and once you get all that you can still sound bad because you don't know how to tune the drums, or properly eliminate unwanted overtones, or just don't know how to use a compressor...(mind you I don't properly know any of those things, but I am learning).
 
I have a set of shure ksm 137’s that I’m very happy with.
 
I was using the RODE NT5 matched pair but have since switched to the AUDIX ADX51's and sound just brilliant, definitely worth a look.

These get a lot of hate on gearslutz/forums but a metal producer Iike, Dave Otero, uses an NT6 on snare and I think it sounds great.

NT6 at 4.45, it's the same capsule and parts as the NT5, just set up as a remote capsule.
 
These get a lot of hate on gearslutz/forums but a metal producer Iike, Dave Otero, uses an NT6 on snare and I think it sounds great.

NT6 at 4.45, it's the same capsule and parts as the NT5, just set up as a remote capsule.
Personally that's all I use on my kit with no issues whatsoever, been dream to use.
 
These get a lot of hate on gearslutz/forums but a metal producer Iike, Dave Otero, uses an NT6 on snare and I think it sounds great.

NT6 at 4.45, it's the same capsule and parts as the NT5, just set up as a remote capsule.
Fantastic! Best comparison video ever.
 
Fantastic! Best comparison video ever.


It's a good one. I feel a lot of shootouts end up with a 441 if it's in the mix (it's a $900 dynamic mic, so yeah...it's amazing) or the mic that most sounds like a condenser shining. MD421 has some similarities to a condenser, as does the SE V7 (IMO).
 
havent had any experience with them mics, but the mixer is definitely good, you'll have plenty of channels, though i cant find any info if it records separate tracks or as a stereo mix of everything.
I'm pretty sure that the StudioLive mixers also serve as a multi track interface, in much the same way that the Behringer X32 does.

As far as mics go, use the cheap stuff to get busy recording so you can practice your technique as far as mike placement, room sound etc. Then, when it's time to add better quality/industry standard mics, I would focus on kick, overheads, room and snare...in that order. Good kick mics are relatively inexpensive but I think they make a big difference vs a cheap BD mic. Good overheads run the gamut in terms of pricing, but I think the market is sane enough that you can let your ears do the shopping without getting bent over on the price.

Good overheads would probably do well as room mics if you decide you need them, and then the snare can still be done with a pair of old reliable SM57s top and bottom, which are still clocking in at under 100 each.

Still, all that gear means nothing if you don't know how to use a compressor to enhance your snare or kick attack, or all of your perfectly reverbed toms suddenly disappear once the rest of the mix shows up. I've had to spend a lot of time learning about recording just to get an acceptable drum sound on my own, and the jury's still out on that one! Watch the studio tours that Andrew Masters does on YouTube and note how many of these studio owners are primarily drummers. I don't think it's an accident.
 
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