Drum mic kit.....

[operandi]

Hi guys, I have been looking around the Home Recording BB and am very impressed by the depth of knowledge people seem to have here!

Does any one have any experience or knowledge on the Shure PGDMK4 Drum Mic Kit? It is a budget 4 piece set but I have been told you can get good results none the less. My studio is acoustically treated so there is no problem there. I am looking for a set that will enable me to gain respectable results when recording drum kits.


Any help much appreciated.

[Jeff_D]

I havent used em- how much is the set? What's your actual budget? What's your drum kit (5 piece, etc)? You may be able to get something better or cheaper. My old drummer bought a CAD set a few years ago, and it was all good until i used somethin better.

[operandi]

Its a four piece set, three A50D drum mounts and one PG52 kick drum mic. The price is 180 UK pounds, so as I say they are fairly budget.

I was also looking at the AKG drum mic kit which is five piece (one kick mic and 4 x C418 clip on mic) but have heard reports on here that they are very harsh sounding and not the most reliable drum mic's.

[Jeff_D]

Is this it? http://www.zzounds.com/item--SHUPGDMK4

If so, it doesnt give you anything to use as overhead mics. Wahts the excahnce? I have no idea what the pound is worth.
I use a pair of small diaphrams condensors for overhead (Oktava 012's) a SM57 on the snare and an old 58 on the kick (thats getting upgraded on the next project).
Im not real sure on availibility of the 012's these days but you could get a pair of MXL 603's for around $100, an SM57 for about $80, and another $200 for a real nice kick mic- all in all i think that lands you about $100-$150 over your budget, but i wouldnt use much less than that. If i had to pick, id start off with a pair a sd condensors for overheads- and use what i have around for the kick and snare. I would venture to say that a pair of sd condensors and whatever dynamics you have sittin around for the kick and snare will give you as good or probably better sound than the kit.

You'd be surprised how big a difference condensor overheads make.

[timboZ]

If your looking for mics for live sound and not the studio check out Superlux mics. They have a kit with 2 O/H 1 Kick and 3 tom mics and use a 57 on the snare.
Do a ebay search for superlux the best prices I have found are from AAAudio's ebay store.

[Jeff_D]

I'd definately go with SDC overheads in luei of individual tom mics. Especially cheap tom mics. IMO you only NEED 4 mics to mic a typical drum set. Anything above an beyond I consider additional control, and may or may not be necesary.

[operandi]

Ok, thanks guys.

I am rethinking my plan as I want a set that will get good results. I have decided to mixing and match - for instance I would like an Audio technica ATM 25 kick drum mic, and three sennheiser e614 mics. Also I will need to decide on some over heads - I am using them for a studio and would like to achieve a nice tight/clear sound.

Obviously this also depends on where you position them, the acoustics of the room and how you EQ them but the mic is the source of the sound so is very important.

PS - I have a Superlux CM-H8A mic which is supposed to be ok for overheads.

[operandi]

Oh, and my budget will be about 500 pounds which would be about $850 for the full kit.

[operandi]

I have been offered a set of AKG drum mic which consist of 1 x D112 bass mic, 4 x C418 percussion/intrument mics and 2 x C1000s mics.

What are peoples opinions of these? I would be very gratefull for any feedback.

The price I can get the set for is 330 UK pounds (about $550 US).......

[Jeff_D]

I havent used any of those, although, the D112 is on my short list of kick mics to check out. You might have better luck in the mic forum- i seem to remeber some discussion of the C1000's and i dont remember it being very positive- but i could be totally wrong. The kick mics on my short list to check out are D112, Shure Beta52, Audix D6. I'm sure there are others worth investigating- check the mic forum. I'm gonna keep stressing how important those overheads are though. Id go without tom mics at all before id go without decent overhead mics.

[Jeff_D]

http://www.hr-faq.org/micbuying.htm#III_5 SCROLL DOWN AND CLICK ON THE BUYING MICS FOR RECORDING DRUMS- GOOD STUFF

[DrummChris]

If you're going to be using the mics exclusively for recording, I'd say go with a triangle micing approach to get the best sound but still stay within your budget.

You can get a good bass drum mic (Audix D4, D6, AKG D112, Shure Beta 52)

and two overheads (AKG C1000s, MXL 603s, Shure KSM109) and get a stellar drum sound.

[operandi]

Thanks, I am still weighing up my options. I decided not to go with the AKG kit in the end.

I am leaning towards either an Audio Technica ATM 25 or Sennheiser E602 for the kick.

Was also considering Sennheiser e614 for overhead/percussion needs....

[vangore]

Originally Posted by operandi

I have been offered a set of AKG drum mic which consist of 1 x D112 bass mic, 4 x C418 percussion/intrument mics and 2 x C1000s mics.

What are peoples opinions of these? I would be very gratefull for any feedback.

The price I can get the set for is 330 UK pounds (about $550 US).......

I have that set and that sounds like an amazing price for those as th c1000s are bout $200 each and Iv gotten some very good tracks from those mics mite wanna get sonething fuller for the snare and meybe change the overheads at a later date but its a good set to start off with especially at that price.

[dwdruman]

Originally Posted by operandi

I have been offered a set of AKG drum mic which consist of 1 x D112 bass mic, 4 x C418 percussion/intrument mics and 2 x C1000s mics.

What are peoples opinions of these? I would be very gratefull for any feedback.

The price I can get the set for is 330 UK pounds (about $550 US).......

Even though you decided not to get this i thought id add my two cents. There was a thread about this awhile back, no one seemed to like the c1000's as overheads ( i was thinking about getting some myself) People said that they were way to... bright and.."trashy" for lack of a better term.