New Drum Mic Set

[Harlequin Man]

I am upgrading my studio..

I need a new set of Drum Mics...

Bass Drum
Snare Drum
(3)Toms Mics
(2)Overheads

I am looking at about $500

I already got two SM57 and a shitty DMK-7 set.


I'm 15 give me a break...

Thanks Alot..

[mjm620]

Originally Posted by Harlequin Man

I am upgrading my studio..

I need a new set of Drum Mics...

Bass Drum
Snare Drum
(3)Toms Mics
(2)Overheads

I am looking at about $500

I already got two SM57 and a shitty DMK-7 set.


I'm 15 give me a break...

Thanks Alot..

I would get the SURE mic set. Either set, the one with overheads, or the one with 3 sm-57s. I use parts of both, because the BETA-52 and the SM-57 are IMO, the 2 best drum microphones, ever. The set with overheads, come with, obviosly 2 overheads, and 3 tom mics. Best luck on ebay though. I would get a BETA-52 bass drum mic, and since you already have an SM-57, use it for the snare. Now all you need are 3 tom mics(depending on how many toms you have) and 2 overheads. You could get out of the tom mics of you wanted, unless you have a certain tom sound in mine that you probably wont be able to achieve without them. For overheads, get a couple PG 81s, and for toms, a few PG56's. Now, you will probably get better idea's, ect, from the posts about to come, so dont think that im trying to make you do anything, even though that is what it probably sounds like. I am just discribing my setup.

[Harlequin Man]

If you had to chose from the folowing which would you pick...

Audix Fusion Series 6-Piece Drum Mic Pack
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/270665/

Shure PG 6-Piece Drum Microphone Package
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/270298/

Audix Custom 4-Piece Drum Mic Package
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/270642/

Shure Drum Mic Package
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/270263/

Or Build a Custom one for about $400???
(If so, what microphones?)

[giraffe]

if you need to cut corners, do it by not getting tom mics.

[Harlequin Man]

I like the sound of close mics though...

if you had to chose one of those sets of micsw which would it be..

[giraffe]

the toms will sound fine with half decent/properly placed overheads.

NOT the pg6 or fusion, both are worse than you could possibly guess.

either of the others, but neither of those sets include overs,
and you HAVE to have overs.
you cannot get by without cymbal mics, period.

[jonnyc]

Giraffe is partly right IMO as I said early don't get the pg series and the fusions aren't great but are certainly usuable. However the tom mics on the 4mic fusion set are decent, as I also said earlier the overheads and kick mic in that package didn't cut it but the tom mics aren't terrible. IMO if you can't make the toms sound decent with audix fusion mics then your skills need more of an upgrade than your mics do.

[giraffe]

Originally Posted by jonnyc

Giraffe is partly right IMO as I said early don't get the pg series and the fusions aren't great but are certainly usuable. However the tom mics on the 4mic fusion set are decent, as I also said earlier the overheads and kick mic in that package didn't cut it but the tom mics aren't terrible. IMO if you can't make the toms sound decent with audix fusion mics then your skills need more of an upgrade than your mics do.

just my opinion, but i have owned the fusion set and throwing the tom mics out will make your toms sound better.
no joke.

[Harlequin Man]

so..

I got the SM57 for snare..

what 2 overheads and bass drum mic do i want?

$300 ish range???

[vcgeetar]

See if you can find a 2 oktava mc-012's for overheads. I used those quite often on overheads when im not using my rode nt-5's. Kick I personally liike the beta 52... the slapamatic... but then again alot of ppl like the audix d6 subimpulse i think it is. Oh and I would go with mic'ing the bottom snare before i worried about mic'ing toms.

[giraffe]

if you're keeping it on the cheep, the atm25 is a good kick mic, new at 150$
(50 cheeper than most other dedicated kick mics)

[Tim Brown]

And just for reference - I'm selling a pair of AKG D112's for $160 each.



Tim

[bileshake]

Thanks I got one, but that's where I'd start. Start with a D112 and the try different overheads.

[mjm620]

Originally Posted by Harlequin Man

so..

I got the SM57 for snare..

what 2 overheads and bass drum mic do i want?

$300 ish range???

I would get the SURE BETA-52 bass drum mic. It is very popular.

[Harlequin Man]

Doing that leaves like $150 for a pair of overheads... so what then do i want?

[Tim Brown]

Originally Posted by Harlequin Man

Doing that leaves like $150 for a pair of overheads... so what then do i want?

For overheads, I personally would look for MXL 603's.



Tim

[Dr ZEE]

Originally Posted by jonnyc

IMO if you can't make the toms sound decent with audix fusion mics then your skills need more of an upgrade than your mics do.

Yes.
Or, maybe you just was expecting too much of a magic - just hang the mic, plug it in and hurrah-hooray!
...and so, if you CAN'T make the toms sound decent with f10s, then make sure to keep posting "Fusion mics suck... fusion mics suck". Even if you never held f10 in your hand, but read "Fusion mics suck"-line somewhere ...then post it anyway. Post it many many times and it will fly like a truth-dragon in the sky. And so it does
same goes to pg56 for toms (and the whole bunch of other applications ...not just drums), same goes to f15s for overheads/cymbals micing , same goes to pg52 for bass-drum... and the whole line of mics, which do the job just fine, but differently ...and non of them are so hopelessly terrible (sure there are nuances ... one way or the other).
On the other hand any mic is hopelessly terrible if the user does not want to deal with realities of acoustic instruments recording/micing guitar cab or vocal recording. It's not an easy ride.

/respects

[giraffe]

or maybe, just maybe, i made a purchase mistake that their is no reason for any one else to make.

and maybe you really can get a better, more life like tom sound out of a pair of overheads if you've got 10 minutes to goof on placement.

na, that couldn't be it.

[Supercreep]

603s or B1s for OH.

Use the 57s for snare top/bottom

Pick up a D112 for the kick.


Congratulate self.

[Dr ZEE]

Originally Posted by giraffe

or maybe, just maybe, i made a purchase mistake that their is no reason for any one else to make.

and maybe you really can get a better, more life like tom sound out of a pair of overheads if you've got 10 minutes to goof on placement.

na, that couldn't be it.

That's a good one! , giraffe. Could it be or couldn't - you only one who knows, because that's your experience. So you share it. Then, you maybe say: "I've purchased pg56s (or f10s) ... was trying do this and that with them and never was happy with the result I was getting.... not enough life. Then I've got "x-brand" half decent overheads and after about ten mins of placing them around it worked magic for me. So I get great toms full of life now without "tom-mics".
And that's the story.
"...the pg6 or fusion, both are worse than you could possibly guess." - this is a completely "different story". That is your conclusion based on your expirience. I see no problems with someone expressing just a conclusion. The problem with it is that when you do express JUST the conclusion, then nobody have a slight idea about what your conclusion is based on. And so your conclusion "sounds" dead ..., but if you shine a bit light on your actual experience, then your conclusion becomes more life like
..that's all I'm really trying to say here.

oh, and btw ... "One man's meat, another man's poison", or say: "One man's mistake, another man's treasure coin in the dirt". That's the way it is in the "art of sound recording" ..imho

/respects

[FattMusiek]

I can't really say I recommend the Audix Fusion pack. I got them a while back and while they serve my needs for micing the rest of my drum set (toms, hats, ride), they're not the best. They're probably more suitable for live use and not studio use.

[Dr ZEE]

Originally Posted by FattMusiek

I can't really say I recommend the Audix Fusion pack. I got them a while back and while they serve my needs for micing the rest of my drum set (toms, hats, ride), they're not the best. They're probably more suitable for live use and not studio use.

There may be a good point here. Actually, I would speculate, that you can say this about any mic pack. When it comes to recording the "concept" of mic-pack is very questionalble (imo)... I mean, different drums, different studio rooms, different drummers and different tastes/musical styles plus add to this different recording equipment/setup.... and so, I'd say it is nearly impossible to design some sort of "universal mic pack" which will work great in many/most home/studio-recording situations. Maybe that's why 'pack-recommendations' are not very popular and most people, who worked through drums recording, end up with some specific combination of different mics (not a pack) which works the best for them.
"Mic Pack" concept (maybe!) may set expectation, that it will (or have to) work great right out of the box....while in reality all it is - it's just a set of specific mics..that's all ..heh heh , even though the pack called "drum-pack". Some mics from that pack may work well (or, say, the user may find the way to make it work well in his/her situation), some may not.... most likely - the first recording experience with any pack will NOT meet the expectation and thus the purchase will be disappointing.
I don't really know how to avoid "mistakes" when just starting out in drum recordings. It is really hard to recommend where to start, especially when a person has limited $$$-amount to spend... (and who does not? )...
You gotta start somewhere though... That's why I think that it's better to actually describe your specific experience instead of just labeling mics as good/bad. Well, I don't know really... ranting sorta'speak

if $ spending power is a real issue, then one thing you may take into consideration: purchase used or purchased mics which are more 'resellable'.... or better both. I believe that both shure pg mics and audix fusion are pretty easy to sell on e-bay and not so easy to buy really-cheap. These are pretty popular on open-market. If you hunt on e-bay for some time you can score a pack for somewhat half-price or so....
Buying any of these packs new? I'd say - no-no (if you don't have much cash and just starting out/trying out to record drums), but that's not because of the mics in these packs are crap or bad... you just never know for sure whether or not the combination of these mics will work well for you ...especially if you've got just 10 mins to "play around" before hitting rec.button

/respects

[Harlequin Man]

Looks like...

The 2 MXL 603 on overheads..

57 on the snare

and D112 or Beta 52 on bass..

[trizzent]

If you're gonna dump $200 on a d112 or beta 52... Just get an audix d6. Rockin kick sounds

[trizzent]

Although the audix fusion drum pack is a good value and actually isn't bad sounding at all, it is very easy for the tom mics to clip out and distort. They handle a pretty low spl. If you're not dealing with heavy hitters and you have some room to pull away from the toms, then it's a pretty decent set for the $.