What do you guys like on snares and floor toms these days?

[Whoopysnorp]

Until recently, my typical drum mic setup would be 1 SM57 each on the snare and the rack toms, 2 MXL603s overhead, a CAD M37 on the floor tom, and a Sennheiser e602 on the kick. Last month I traded a pair of my SM57s for a pair of Beta 56As, and I was quite happy with that deal. They're slick little mics, and I'd say they're somewhat better on both toms and snare than the 57s. It's not a huge difference, but I like that extra bit of treble. Since I have two of them and a five-piece kit, I'll probably want to stick them on the rack toms and keep using a 57 on the snare for now. Should I decide to get a new snare mic, what should I choose? The 56A sounds good, but there may be something better out there.

As far as the floor tom goes, I don't like the sound of the SM57 on it at all. Using the M37 (a large diaphragm condensor) on my floor tom when it's tuned right really makes the low end of the drum cut through the mix and lets me get a nice rumble on sections where the drummer is riding on the floor tom. However, it's kind of awkward to position a condensor mic by the floor tom, since it's in danger of taking a stick impact over in that area of the kit, and it's tricky to keep the ride cymbal from bleeding through too much. Does anybody know of a dynamic mic that sounds good on the floor tom, or perhaps a more directional condensor?

[Harvey Gerst]

We use either a 421 or an AT25 Pro (not the ATM25) on floor toms.

[MadAudio]

I've become quite partial to the Beyer M201 on snare. In fact, I may never go back to the 57.

[Whoopysnorp]

Originally Posted by Harvey Gerst

We use either a 421 or an AT25 Pro (not the ATM25) on floor toms.

Who makes the 421?

[giraffe]

Originally Posted by Whoopysnorp

Who makes the 421?

sennheiser md421

[AlexW]

I've been using an old A-T ATM63 on snare and it sounds surprisingly good. For rack toms I've used a Sennheiser E604 and old Beyer Dynamic Soundstar--both work well. For floor tom I've had good sucess with A-T ATM25.

[Yareek]

I haven't used much, but I really like the sound of Sennheiser e604's on mounted toms. I've also seen lots of the pro's use them live on floor toms, but they lack some of the bass of bigger guys like MD421's (which is my favorite on most toms). I don't like any of the clip-on condensors that many manufacturers offer. However, I haven't tried any large-diaphragm condensors (mainly because I only have one NT2) up close, but I imagine they would sound great for jazz (I'm thinking the B1 here). Go to the Listening Sessions and they have either B1's or C1's set up for toms on the Jazzoo recording (really well done).

Also, for snare, I went M201 and never looked back. I use a little bit of my NT2 underneath, phase reversed for snare sounds. I want to try my buddy's B1 sometime though and move the NT2 back out front.

- Jarick

Just read Harvey's reply again, I think the AT25 or ATM25 would be a great choice for floor tom mics on the cheap. I'm gonna pick one up myself sometime soon to try it out for both floor tom and kick. If you've got the money though, I'd highly recommend the 421, plus it sounds great on a lot of guitar cabs.

[Track Rat]

I still like the usual suspects. A 57 can work sometimes. I really like a 441 on snare and an AKG C-1000 can sound tight. All of the above on toms too.

[Yareek]

Originally Posted by Harvey Gerst

We use either a 421 or an AT25 Pro (not the ATM25) on floor toms.

Hey Harvey, do you not like the ATM25 on the floor tom, or does the PRO 25 just do it better for the price? I'm curious because 8thstreet has the PRO 25 for 60 bucks, ATM25 for 140. I think you were one of the many who really liked the ATM25 for kick. Right now I've got an old Digital Reference (AT's budget line) DR-2500 kick mic which looks similar to the PRO 25 that I'm using for floor tom right now. Can't find any info on it, but it's a really nice mic that I've never heard anything about. Not as "transparent" as the MD421 but it gets it on track well.

- Jarick

[Eagertone]

i've used sm57, audix d1s and d2s, and just picked up some e609s (one black, one silver) which i'll try next.

421s are always a trusted bet on toms.

i've been curious about the new audix i5... seems like a lot of people are replacing their trusted 57s with the i5s now.


anybody try the i5?

[Han]

I sometimes use an old AKG D12 on floortom.

I always use the Beyer M201 on snare, simply the best snare mic on the planet.

[Nakatira]

I think the Studio projects B1 is good on floor toms.

[Harvey Gerst]

Originally Posted by Yareek

Hey Harvey, do you not like the ATM25 on the floor tom, or does the PRO 25 just do it better for the price? I'm curious because 8thstreet has the PRO 25 for 60 bucks, ATM25 for 140. I think you were one of the many who really liked the ATM25 for kick. Right now I've got an old Digital Reference (AT's budget line) DR-2500 kick mic which looks similar to the PRO 25 that I'm using for floor tom right now. Can't find any info on it, but it's a really nice mic that I've never heard anything about. Not as "transparent" as the MD421 but it gets it on track well.

- Jarick

We love the ATM25 on kick; the Pro 25 just seems to work better for floor toms.

[gemsbok]

d-4 audix floor tom senhiesser e-835 snare

[Yareek]

Just wanted to answer my own question,

I asked the guys at Audio Technica about the Digital Reference DR-2500 mic versus the Audio Technica AT PRO 25 microphone, and they said they were the exact same mic, just rebadged for Guitar Center. I did an eBay search, and occcasionally these DR-2500's pop up for 25 bucks or so. KILLER DEAL on this microphone.

With Harvey's thumbs up on their use, maybe I can start the latest HomeRec buying frenzy

Anyway, thought I'd give you guys a heads up and maybe give something back to the forum. I'm not selling mine or anything for that matter

- Jarick

[mshilarious]

I'm getting to the point where I use the M201 on everything. I may end up with a big locker full of nothing but M201s

[HangDawg]

Originally Posted by mshilarious

I'm getting to the point where I use the M201 on everything. I may end up with a big locker full of nothing but M201s

I tracked some guitars leads with the M201 and was very happy.

[formerlyfzfile]

I LOVE the the MD441 on snare.
May not use the sm57 again ..... well maybe.
Didn't try it on floor tom because I only have 1 ... for now.

Did try the CAD e100 on floor tom (instead of kick) and thought it sounded pretty descent.

-mike

[bgavin]

ATM23 or Audix D3 on snare, Audix D4 on floor and rack toms, ATM25 on kick.

[RMP]

Originally Posted by Harvey Gerst

We use either a 421 or an AT25 Pro (not the ATM25) on floor toms.

Harvey,
As the AT Pro 25 is a discontinued item, I picked up a few of the Pro 25 25ax.
Any discernable difference? I've not been able to learn what AT means when they add the "ax" suffix, though I see it on several of their mics.
Any help?

Mark

[usernamebob]

201 on snare is great... interesting about the guitar thing.. I've never actualy tried it.. but thinking about the characteristics of that mic I can imagine it would be nice

[Henri Devill]

421's on the toms,D6 in the kik and e609 on the snare lately,which has "opened up" the snare sound for me quite a bit over a 57..It could all change tommorow,its a endless search

[dudge]

I love the M201on snare. An SM57 works great too, but has more funky sounding off axis bleed. Sometimes I use a C1, especially if using brushes.
e604 or B1 on rack tom.
MD421 or B3 on floor tom.

[VWYF11]

The pro25 is an awesome floor tom mic, and I'm finding it tough to beat the m201 on the snare. The beyer M420 is my next choice for the snare, especially that coupled with an mxl603.

[giraffe]

nt4 is my go to on snare.

still looking for my fave floor tom mic (really just need to buy a 421)
but my 604's kick ass, and will do fine till then.