Best Mics for recording Toms, limited Budget : AKG D40 or Rode M5 or Sennheiser E604?

DrumPlayer78

New member
Hi!

I'm new here and just looking to see what mics you all think are best for capturing the Toms?

AKG D40
Rode M5
Sennheiser E604

I've got a limited budget and need to buy four of them!

Thanks a lot!
 
I can't say that a small diaphragm condenser is going to be great for that job, so I wouldn't consider the M5. Either of the other two would be fine.

Heck, an SM57 or an i5 sound good on toms as well. They're cheap(ish) and can be used in several other applications too.

Ideally we'd all have the cash to buy MD-421s for toms. I've only been able to afford 1 so far. But it's awesome.
 
You don't need to look for dedicated tom mics. If you have an LD condenser, it'll work great on toms, especially floor toms, you just have to be more careful with placement and cymbal bleed. Any dynamic mic will work fine. I always thought sm57's were pretty trash for toms until I had to use them, and with some EQ and bass enhancers they work just fine. What I'm trying to say is: try to get as much use out of the mics you have. And if you don't have any, get mics that have many uses. What I would suggest, if you're not in a big hurry, regularly check your local craigslist or equivalent. Just a couple of days ago I saw a MD421 for $110. Sold immediately... not to me unfortunately. But you'll come across great deals if you're willing to wait a little. I got a beta57 for $80 a while back. If an E604 is in your budget, consider a beta57. You can get away with using that one for vocals and most instruments. It's my go-to for accordion. How's that for a selling point!
 
On a budget I would use SM57's the Sennheiser E604's are pretty good, I have used them on a live PA.
About condensers, I use condensers in the studio, Audio Technica AT3525's however they are not around anymore unless secondhand. The AE 3000 is the replacement.

Alan.
 
On a budget I would use SM57's the Sennheiser E604's are pretty good, I have used them on a live PA.
About condensers, I use condensers in the studio, Audio Technica AT3525's however they are not around anymore unless secondhand. The AE 3000 is the replacement.

Alan.

I don't have a ton of drum recording experience, so I've gotta ask: how do you manage bleed when using multiple LDCs on toms? I can imagine that they'd sound great, but would be really prone to picking up what everything else on the kit is doing.
 
I dig the i5, frees up my 421 for more important things (=. E604 is good too but should be on a stand for recording.
 
I don't have a ton of drum recording experience, so I've gotta ask: how do you manage bleed when using multiple LDCs on toms? I can imagine that they'd sound great, but would be really prone to picking up what everything else on the kit is doing.

The bleed from these condensers is no worse than bleed from a SM57.

With bleed sometimes I don't worry about it at all if the overall drum sound is good and tight, the bleed often makes the drum sound. If however I need to reduce the bleed for some reason, usually because the drummer is hitting the snare much harder then the toms and I need to increase the tom volume without turning up the snare bleed, I will gate the tom mics when mixing in the analog domain. If I am mixing in software I will edit out the sound between tom hits or even just reduce the volume between tom hits. A lot of this is to do with the sound required and how good the drummer is.

Remember that the drum kit is one instrument with multiple mics, bleed need not be an issue.

Alan.
 
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