Minimalistic 2/3 mic selection

D

DomD

Junior Member
Hi everyone,


I am just stepping into the miking/recording world and since I am right now tight on a budget, after a little bit of research I made, I came to these two microphones.

AKG D 112 MKII for the Bass drum
AKG C 451 B as an overhead

I am thinking maybe later I add one AKG C 451 B more.

I won't be doing right now any serious studio recording, but just some basic recording of rehearsals, maybe a quick demo to send to venues.
And if that mic setup could work in a live situation that would be the best.

Am I on the right track for this minimalistic mic setup I am going for?
Is there a better solution for less money or same money?
On the other hand I don't want to buy something very cheap and later regret it.

I am open to all suggestions !!
 
DomD said:
Hi everyone,


I am just stepping into the miking/recording world and since I am right now tight on a budget, after a little bit of research I made, I came to these two microphones.

AKG D 112 MKII for the Bass drum
AKG C 451 B as an overhead

I am thinking maybe later I add one AKG C 451 B more.

I won't be doing right now any serious studio recording, but just some basic recording of rehearsals, maybe a quick demo to send to venues.
And if that mic setup could work in a live situation that would be the best.

Am I on the right track for this minimalistic mic setup I am going for?
Is there a better solution for less money or same money?
On the other hand I don't want to buy something very cheap and later regret it.

I am open to all suggestions !!
Click to expand...

Great questions! Recording equipment can be such a rabbit hole, LOL. So many things to factor in...

If I had to start all over again, I'd buy used and start with quality dynamic mics. World-class dynamic mics (like the SM57, SM7B, RE20, MD421 / 441, D112, m201, etc) are -relatively- inexpensive and plentiful on the used market. If you choose wisely, these will be tools that can serve you your whole musical career. There's nothing worse than buying something that's mediocre and then selling it at a loss to buy something better down the line. Buy once, cry once.

As for the mics you mentioned, the D112 is one of my fav kick mics but the 451 B can be very bright. If you're into that sound great, but you might want to add a couple other condensers to your list to try out. Or, maybe even ribbon mics. FWIW, there are a TON of inexpensive condensers but a few I've found that I like on drums are the CAD M179, AT 20 and 40 series, MXL 603, Shure SM81, etc. I'm sure others will chime in with some good recommendations, too.

Good luck with all of this and let us know what you end up with. (y)
 
I use the sabian sound kit. It’s not pro recording quality, but I would use it live, although I’d probably want a second channel in the main board for the snare mic.

The sabian setup includes a kick mic, two overheads and a three channel mixer. The whole setup ran $299 when I bought it. You’ll still need to buy stands if you don’t have them though...
 
jdavis said:
Great questions! Recording equipment can be such a rabbit hole, LOL. So many things to factor in...

If I had to start all over again, I'd buy used and start with quality dynamic mics. World-class dynamic mics (like the SM57, SM7B, RE20, MD421 / 441, D112, m201, etc) are -relatively- inexpensive and plentiful on the used market. If you choose wisely, these will be tools that can serve you your whole musical career. There's nothing worse than buying something that's mediocre and then selling it at a loss to buy something better down the line. Buy once, cry once.

As for the mics you mentioned, the D112 is one of my fav kick mics but the 451 B can be very bright. If you're into that sound great, but you might want to add a couple other condensers to your list to try out. Or, maybe even ribbon mics. FWIW, there are a TON of inexpensive condensers but a few I've found that I like on drums are the CAD M179, AT 20 and 40 series, MXL 603, Shure SM81, etc. I'm sure others will chime in with some good recommendations, too.

Good luck with all of this and let us know what you end up with. (y)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice on specific products.
Too bright might not be my sound. Are ribbon mics warmer sounding? And can they be used as ovearheads?
And I guess if I use 2 overheads, they should be exactly the same, right?
The D112 would also work on an unported Bass drum head?
 
Last edited:
I think you are going in the right direction. And the Sabian Sound Kit that JBravo recommended should be considered, as well.

The last part of the kit I'd want to mic would be the snare drum. Why? Because if you have a mic on any other part of the kit (except the bass drum), the snare will still come thru loud and clear, I promise. I've done kits with only an SM57 on the upper toms, another on the lower toms, and an Audix D6 on the bass drum. It sounded fine. The SM57s on the upper toms (placed right between them) easily caught the snare and cymbals.

But the two mics you've suggested will do the same thing: D112 for the bass drum, and a single overhead for the rest. Simple and effective.

One final observation: toms are almost always much too quiet in most drum mixes. When you expand, go for a couple of dynamic tom mics. JMHO.

GeeDeeEmm
 
As I'm sure you can tell from my amazing artwork the orange is a short boom stand and the yellow is the ADX51.

I copied my response from another thread on this subject:

I've gotten great results out of just an Audix D6 and and ADX-51 pointed at the snare, between the rack and floor toms, under my ride. I am able to get fuller snare and tom sounds without the cymbals being too harsh. It's an easy setup if you don't have enough channels at the board or you don't want to close-mic every drum.
 

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DomD said:
Thanks for the advice on specific products.
Too bright might not be my sound. Are ribbon mics warmer sounding? And can they be used as ovearheads?
Click to expand...

They can be. If you're looking at ribbons, you might want to have a look at the Beyer M160. It's a hyper-cardioid pickup pattern (unlike a lot of ribbons) so it'll be better at rejecting a bad sounding room. It's not super-expensive and can sound great as a mono overhead. This is the mic used to record the drums on When the Levee Breaks, FWIW. Also, works great on guitars, vocals, room, etc.

DomD said:
And I guess if I use 2 overheads, they should be exactly the same, right?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Just Google "recorder man" or "Glyn Johns" drum recording techniques. You'll see what I mean.

DomD said:
The D112 would also work on an unported Bass drum head?
Click to expand...

Sure. Placement is everything, though. (y)
 
For what it's worth you might consider a Telefunken M82 (dynamic mic) on your bass drum and an Audio-Technica AE3000 or an Aston Origin as an overhead (both are condenser mic's so you'll need to supply phantom power from a board). That should be in the ballpark of your proposed budget.
 
There are plenty of threads and different opinions about this.
One band I’m in uses a shotgun mic (Rode NTG2) as an overhead to focus on more drums and less on cymbals. Another uses a hypercardioid (Rode NT3) for the same reason.
At the cheaper end, I’ve been happy with a pair of Rode M5’s - one above each tom, pointing at the snare. I’ve played with expensive mic’s and cheap mic’s and the live sound is pretty much identical.
 
Thank you all for the advice !
Although I forgot to ask..
What about the mixer?
What would you suggest?
Or what company at least?
 
If your budget permits consider the QSC TouchMix-16.
 
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