A little help with mic/mixer options..

You're currently using over-the-head, headphones right? Another thing that will help with the drum bleed is in-ear monitors. Like these:

They are sound isolating. They will keep the external volume of the drums down so you don't have to blast anything in your ears to compete.

I can't use IEM's (ear issues) But i got a pair of Ultraphones... i can't imagine anything stopping sound more than them, i can barely hear my snare/kick in them.. only downside is they feel like they are squeezing my head til it's gonna pop..
 
I've use the Shure A56D with sm57s and Sennheiser e609s and e906s...
Shure-A56D-66631_E.jpg


A 90 deg xlr makes the cable end less obtrusive.
 
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Anyone have a tip on a clamp to mount the sm57 to the snare? i bought this but it puts the mid pretty much in the middle of the snare... really don't want another stand..

Since you said you aren't planning to gig, consider a stand.

If you want to mount to the drum with an SM 57, I'd recommend the LP claw mount.
 
I actually ended up just ordering a stand cause i knew i would end up doing it eventually anyway....

The focusrite showed up today, and i think i have everything now.. just need time to set it up :)
 
You’re going to love Focusrite control!
I wouldn't be surprised if they're overwhelmed. Mix control is full featured and reliable, but I didn't find it incredibly intuitive or quick to navigate. I'll imagine that will be amplified for a relative novice.

Or, since they don't have a lot of preconceived notions of how these things should work, or formed habits, perhaps it will be fine. I just think the 18i20 is a lot. Diving right into the deep end, as it were.
 
Ah thank you doggy and everyone else.. i'm gonna check reviews and such on the EAD as my set is a 5 piece (with snare) and not big at all.. simple and cheap is good:) I just find it hard to believe a EAD10 sounds as good as everyone says... I don't mind spending money, i just always seem to spend it wrong :)
Check "El Estepario Siberiano" in YouTube, he is using an EAD on most of his videos and judge for yourself...
Although his secret is the extreme tension of his heads and the muffling of the snare by a freaking weight on top...
 
I wouldn't be surprised if they're overwhelmed. Mix control is full featured and reliable, but I didn't find it incredibly intuitive or quick to navigate. I'll imagine that will be amplified for a relative novice.

Or, since they don't have a lot of preconceived notions of how these things should work, or formed habits, perhaps it will be fine. I just think the 18i20 is a lot. Diving right into the deep end, as it were.
I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed and the learning curve on Focusrite Control wasn't that steep for me. Granted, I was coming from Universal Audio's interface which was too much for me. So I don't know where that puts me lol

If you have any trouble with it, I'll be more than happy to help out as much as I can, @Icetech
 
That setup gets you in the ball park. Using the SM57 mics for overheads will not make your kit sound amazing but you'll know what you're playing. The kick mic is great and the SM57 has been used on snare drums more than any other mic. But for overheads, there's better but not cheaper.

The interface will allow you to expand when/if you add more mics to the kit. I've used one before and when it's set up correctly, latency is not an issue.

You'll still need mic stands.

And you'll need to learn Pro Tools to record. It's the industry standard, and it's a deep program.

I'd browse the Focusrite site to understand the interface before I buy, but that's me and my due diligence clause.
Or Logic or Reaper or Cakewalk or Studio one.. Protools is NOT the end all be all of recording... frankly I am glad I never got it all I hear from users is their ridiculous upgrade model that forces them to keep spending $$ just to have "The industry standard"..
 
Or Logic or Reaper or Cakewalk or Studio one.. Protools is NOT the end all be all of recording... frankly I am glad I never got it all I hear from users is their ridiculous upgrade model that forces them to keep spending $$ just to have "The industry standard"..
Logic is slowly gaining on them. I agree, ProTools is expensive and it keeps on costing you, which just feels wrong. It's advantageous to learn, but disadvantageous to own/use in your everyday music making unless you run a huge money making studio with some big names coming through.
 
thanks ogran i will check that out, took my kit down today and vacuumed and cleaned getting ready for stuff to show up... getting too many stands piled up :( Amazing how much dust gathers around a kit
A friend always covered his set with a sheet after playing, it is amazing how clean it remain and for how long. You do still have some dust and stick shavings but not as bad as if you just let it sit uncovered...
 
Or Logic or Reaper or Cakewalk or Studio one.. Protools is NOT the end all be all of recording... frankly I am glad I never got it all I hear from users is their ridiculous upgrade model that forces them to keep spending $$ just to have "The industry standard"..
I hear ya. I use Studio One and it’s plenty capable for my needs. Although I subscribe to the Adobe cloud/Suite (prolly similar to ProTools) I have never considered using Adobe Audition. And based on how often their new versions have legitimate coding errors, I wouldn’t want to rely on Adobe.

During a recording class at Sweetwater, when the instructor found out I was a photographer, he said, “ProTools is the Photoshop of the recording industry. And that’s not necessarily a compliment.”
 
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So.. i set it up last night and it is not intuitive in any way.. it wouldn't even work til i hooked it upto the computer which i found odd.. then took bout 40 mins to get the headphone monitor ports to work.. got it though :)

K.. so main issue, i have overheads about 3ft above the snare and ride, sm57 placed like i see in vids and kick mic barely inside the head. I am using no daw or anything just the software for the 18i20 and my drums sound almost tinny and far away.. Not sure if this is something normal or if it has to do with Pad/Air settings although i think i tried them both ways..
 
The pad button will decrease the input of your mics by some db so it'll make them sound way quieter. For the mics you have, I would leave this disengaged. Thats for when you have a source that is so hot that you are clipping like crazy. At that point, engage it lol

Try this:
If you plugged any of your mic cables into the first two inputs, make sure that you do not have the INST button engaged.

Go into Focusrite Control and go to the device settings menu at the top, look at your inputs. Whichever inputs you used for your mics, make sure that you have it set to MIC and not LINE
 
Turn up the preamp gain.
 
Which does help but it makes it clip like crazy, i'll move mics around, it's a lot to learn..

One question though is, i play along with youtube all night and right now have my computer>stereo>18i20 from the headphone jack in stereo into input one set to instrument (if i set it to line it gets weird noises) it works fine, but it's mono, is there a way to do this with stereo?
 
Which does help but it makes it clip like crazy, i'll move mics around, it's a lot to learn..

One question though is, i play along with youtube all night and right now have my computer>stereo>18i20 from the headphone jack in stereo into input one set to instrument (if i set it to line it gets weird noises) it works fine, but it's mono, is there a way to do this with stereo?
Your computer should be hooked up via USB and you should be able to monitor the audio from it without having to connect anything else. It's own volume fader should come up as "Software Playback" in the little mixing and routing page of Focusrite control.

If you want 100% stereo from a device, you would need a 3.5mm (or 1/8") to two TS 1/4" splitter cable like this:

You would then plug each of those into two inputs on your interface, go into Focusrite control and pan one far left and pan the other far right.

Do the mics still sound far away after fixing the input settings?
 
When I can't hear myself through the headphones, I just push one earcup off my ear a little.

But buying lots of gear is cool too I guess. :p :p
 
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