Snare mic problems

EricT43

EricT43

Senior Member
Hi guys,
The soundman for our band uses a set of Shure mics on my drums. Excuse my ignorance, but I do not know the model numbers. They might be PG56?

Anyway, there doesn't seem to be any place around the circumference of my snare drum where this mic can go that is not in my way. I have toms in front, my hi-hats on the left, myself behind, and the right side is no good. Picture of my setup is attached. Where I have it in the picture is the least intrusive location, but I still end up getting tangled up in it when I go from my snare to my 8" tom, or go to use my left hand on the hi-hats.

The ideal place would be at the top of my snare, between my 8" and 10" toms, but the mic cable sticks up too high.

Any suggestions for a different bracket, or even a different mic, that would solve my problem?
 

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You could try mic'ing it from below. Mike picks up the resonant head. We did it a few times because the sound guy wanted to try it. It worked well enough that I couldn't tell the difference.
 
Ask him if he can back the mic up a little bit, so it doesn't stick out so far past the rim of the drum. It would actually probably sound a little better if it was backed up about 2 inches and then moved up about an inch further away from the drum, angled toward the center of the snare.

As an alternative, you could try bringing your own mic. There was a thread earlier in the week about the Shure PGA98D. It's a small condenser mic designed for drums (handles high SPL levels). Just remember that these mics do not like to be super close to their sound source. Putting them about 3-4 inches off of the head pointed toward the halfway point between rim and center of the drum is ideal. You should be able to position one in between your 8 and 10" toms in an out of the way spot.
 
What Les and Brad said is excellent advice, with the XLRF right angle connector being the cheapest and fastest solution. I might offer one more thing you might try: I had the same problem while using my SM57 on the snare. I solved the problem by using the right angle connector along with moving the mic below the level of the top head and pointed at the shell of the snare. Problem solved, and the sound is tops.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Does anyone mic their snare from the inside ala the May miking system?
 
larryace said:
Does anyone mic their snare from the inside ala the May miking system?
Click to expand...
I can't justify drilling a large hole in my BB snare drum, (or any valued drum) to install the XLR plug for an internal mic.
 
bobdadruma said:
I can't justify drilling a large hole in my BB snare drum, (or any valued drum) to install the XLR plug for an internal mic.
Click to expand...

There's actually a contact mic you can get that uses the vent hole, they sound really good...used them for the toms on the new Gloryhammer album. I'm thinking about getting some. I think you'd want to pair it with a mic on the top head too though, it's more of a snare-side/shell mic sort of sound. But very clear and crisp, and better isolation of course.
 
drum4fun27302 said:
I think someone makes a 90° angled sm57. That should take care of it. [/url]
Click to expand...

This should do the trick for you. Factory SM57 with a Granelli elbow plus it has an AMI mod making it sound like the vintage SM57 Unidyne III:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121373521674?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

If that doesn't work you could try an Audio-Technica ATM450. It is a side address mic, so it can be mounted upward at a very steep angle, angled at your snare head and it shouldn't hit any of your other gear in that proximity. Bear in mind it is a condenser mic and requires phantom power from the board.

You might also consider an Audio-Technica ATM23HE. With a right angle XLR connector/cable, this may have the smallest footprint of most dynamic mic's. It is a discontinued mic, but you can readily find them used.
 
PQleyR said:
There's actually a contact mic you can get that uses the vent hole, they sound really good...used them for the toms on the new Gloryhammer album. I'm thinking about getting some. I think you'd want to pair it with a mic on the top head too though, it's more of a snare-side/shell mic sort of sound. But very clear and crisp, and better isolation of course.
Click to expand...
Cool, I forgot that there were mic's that used the vent. I can see it on toms but not on a snare. The snare sounds best when mic-ed from top and bottom.
 
larryace said:
Does anyone mic their snare from the inside ala the May miking system?
Click to expand...

You can, but nobody has really done it. Reference Terry Bozzio's first instructional video when he just left Missing Persons. He used the internal mics on all his toms and bass drums, and the upper toms sounded like crap on the video. I can imagine how bad it would be on a snare drum. You have to admit, that video sounded pretty unique, though.
 
larryace said:
Does anyone mic their snare from the inside ala the May miking system?
Click to expand...

I believe Jonathan Moffett was an early endorser and used the May mic system on his custom Recording Customs for Michael Jackson's 1984 Victory Tour, but I wouldn't testify to this in court.

More recently Thomas Lang has installed the May mic'ing system on his drums, including the snare drum. But his internal snare drum mic is angled downward towards the snares and it appears from the video posted below that he still uses an external top mic for the batter head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrC-JruZ-hs
 
Thanks for the responses, guys. The PGA98D looks like an interesting solution. It says it has a built-in pre-amp and doesn't require phantom power. I assume that it uses a battery?
 
The PGA98D DOES require phantom power. I state that in the first post of my thread that I linked.
Most interfaces and mixers have phantom power built in. If you don't have phantom power on your mixer/interface, you can purchase an inexpensive device/box that supplies it to your mics that require it.
 
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