Miking drums for live shows

NoahTweedy

Junior Member
Alright, I'm a drum noob. What I need to know is basically everything about miking a drumset for live shows.

So my plan is to use these mics:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/CAD-PRO...one-Pack-102796992-i1126745.gc?esid=102796992

For me this is rocket science... I need someone to help me understand it..

Do the mics come with the chords i need to plug into the system?
Or do I have to buy my own? What kind?

One that I have all the mics set up, and chords coming out the back of them, what do I plug it into? I'm planning on eventually triggering my bass drums, so I need something that will take all of the chords for the mics, and then have an output chord that I can just give to the stage guy and tell him to plug it into the speakers.

I need a PA recommendation that will do that. I'm not very educated on this.
(I'm fucking retarded)
Do I need a different module for the bass drum triggers?

Sorry for me being such a retard, but thanks for any help you guys can give.

xnry1z.jpg


That's my drum set.
 
Not sure about the drum triggers, but I can give some insight on the mics.

First, if you can, avoid buying CAD drum mics. They're cheap and won't sound that great, and those rim mounts look a little sketchy.

If you can, consider buying one of these: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Shure-DMK57-52-Drum-Mic-Kit-101161255-i1126540.gc
I've used one of these kits with a high level of success. The Shure SM57 is the standard workhorse for miking instruments in the sound industry (and believe it or not, the "cheap" alternative to many mics!) and can be used for other things if you need them too (miking guitar cabs, vocals, etc.), and the rim mounts are pretty solid. Expensive, yes, but well worth it.
You may need to buy two of them to cover everything (especially if you want a mic on each kick for now...)
You'll also need 1 or 2 stands for the kick mic(s) depending on if you use two. These work great for them: http://www.onstagestands.com/catalog/item/home/model/ms7920b/grp/GRP000110
With that kit you'll also need a pair of overheads and then stands for those. Audiopile has a pretty solid pair of overheads for cheap on their site.
Finally, you need cables, one for each mic. These cables are cheap and solid: http://www.audiopile.net/products/Mic_Instr_Cables/SLMA/SLMA_cutsheet.shtml

If you need your own PA system and mixer, that's a different story. What I recommended there though will allow you to mic your kit up with a pretty good level of success. Pro audio equipment isn't cheap! My recommendation to you is if you can wait a bit now and get the better equipment a little later down the road it will last you a lot longer and sound a lot better than a cheap mic kit now. Buy once, cry once right? ;] Sorry if that's way too much information to handle at once! It's also just my opinion too, the decision is totally up to you. :]
 
Not sure about the drum triggers, but I can give some insight on the mics.

First, if you can, avoid buying CAD drum mics. They're cheap and won't sound that great, and those rim mounts look a little sketchy.

If you can, consider buying one of these: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Shure-DMK57-52-Drum-Mic-Kit-101161255-i1126540.gc
I've used one of these kits with a high level of success. The Shure SM57 is the standard workhorse for miking instruments in the sound industry (and believe it or not, the "cheap" alternative to many mics!) and can be used for other things if you need them too (miking guitar cabs, vocals, etc.), and the rim mounts are pretty solid. Expensive, yes, but well worth it.
You may need to buy two of them to cover everything (especially if you want a mic on each kick for now...)
You'll also need 1 or 2 stands for the kick mic(s) depending on if you use two. These work great for them: http://www.onstagestands.com/catalog/item/home/model/ms7920b/grp/GRP000110
With that kit you'll also need a pair of overheads and then stands for those. Audiopile has a pretty solid pair of overheads for cheap on their site.
Finally, you need cables, one for each mic. These cables are cheap and solid: http://www.audiopile.net/products/Mic_Instr_Cables/SLMA/SLMA_cutsheet.shtml

If you need your own PA system and mixer, that's a different story. What I recommended there though will allow you to mic your kit up with a pretty good level of success. Pro audio equipment isn't cheap! My recommendation to you is if you can wait a bit now and get the better equipment a little later down the road it will last you a lot longer and sound a lot better than a cheap mic kit now. Buy once, cry once right? ;] Sorry if that's way too much information to handle at once! It's also just my opinion too, the decision is totally up to you. :]

I would love to own a good set of mics. but sadly this is all i an afford for now. It will do fine for smaller shows. And do you have a reccomendation for pa system? I just need something to run the cables to so its all in one box and i can just give them the hors they need to plug into their speakers.
 
I agreee, dont buy the CAD mics, if you got to go with a inexpensive set of mics try the audio technica dk4 or dk6 kits as they are about the best quality your gonna get in that price range. As for a PA `you should probably do a lot of research before tossing some cash as there are many different routes you could go and could easily end up paying for stuff you dont need or not getting everything you do need but a second hand 12 to 16 channel powered mixing board and a couple speakers and a couple monitors might cover most of your needs until you become more familiar with the equipment and figure out what you need your PA to do and what features you actually need and want.
 
I agreee, dont buy the CAD mics, if you got to go with a inexpensive set of mics try the audio technica dk4 or dk6 kits as they are about the best quality your gonna get in that price range. As for a PA `you should probably do a lot of research before tossing some cash as there are many different routes you could go and could easily end up paying for stuff you dont need or not getting everything you do need but a second hand 12 to 16 channel powered mixing board and a couple speakers and a couple monitors might cover most of your needs until you become more familiar with the equipment and figure out what you need your PA to do and what features you actually need and want.

The only thing I really need help with is the PA system situation.. I don't have any idea of even where to start looking. I can't even find one that i'm 100% sure would work.
I don't need any special effects. I just need the sound to go from the mics to the amp.
 
Do us all a favour, & refrain from profanity & references to mental health. Neither are allowed here, & I personally find the latter offensive.

As for your PA situation, if you're linking up to someone else's system, the mic's will plug straight into their desk, usually via a stage box.
 
Yea, it just sounds to me that you need a microphone mixer to plug into an established PA system. I too wouldn't recommend the CAD mics, but you got to do what you got to do.

Dennis
 
Alright, let's talk PAs! Few questions first though:

1. What's your budget for a PA system?
2. What is the size/style of your band? How many singers, guitarists, etc.
3. What size shows are you playing and where? Indoors, outdoors, auditoriums?
4. What are you looking to put through the PA?
5. Do you have any PA equipment right now?
6. What's your location? (This is just for seeing what used gear may be available near you. Closest largest city will work too. If you think this question is too personal or revealing, feel free to leave it out :] )

I'm not trying to discredit tard's suggestion of a powered mixer and some speakers but those make me a little nervous. When dealing with amps, whether built into a mixer or separate, and passive speakers, you have to learn a bit about ohms, wattage (overpowering and underpowering), etc. It's easy to blow something up when you don't know what's going on. However powered mixers are fine suggestions if you're just looking to put vocals through them. They generally don't come with enough channels to put a whole band through however and not all can necessarily handle the SPL sent through by miked drums.
 
I kinda like those mic's. I have the same set. No, they aren't the Audix D series but I never expected them to be comparable. One thing I'd advise for you is to buy a couple of BD mic's (I recommend the Audix D6 but cheaper ones will be fine if you're gonna use the CADs) and use the BD mic from the cad set on your floor tom.
 
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