A drum mic question

[junkyardearl]

The microphone forum has been no help so far, which brings me here. First, my story....

I'm building a mobile studio for the purpose of recording demos for younger bands. I'm bartering sessions for things like microphone cables, stands, and other equipment while I build some talent and a name in this area. Eventually when I have enough equipment and I've learned enough I will begin charging something like $10 an hour. Now that you know that, here's the questions.

I want to get the CAD drum mic package that's right about $150 dollars. I know this isn't going to give me totally pro studio results, but I want to know if I'll get results that are worth anything at all. Second, I'm trying to decide which Condener mics I'll be buying for the overhead drum mics. It's either a set of CAD CM17's or Audio Technica ATM10a's. Which of these is best? Are CAD mics any good at all? Please help.

~james

[Kris2]

I haven't used that CAD package, but for a little more money I bought two of the Audio Technica KP Drums packs, which contain 4 mics each. I've been very happy with these. I spent more on overheads, where I chose a pair of Earthworks mics.

Kris

[Tim Brown]

Hi James,

I know a soundman who used both the CAD's and The Nady Mic's, and he said both sets were fine.

Granted, it's a little different situation for live sound, BUT-at the same time-if you can get it to sound good in a Live Situation, they should sound fine for recording.
Especially if you're going to be doing Demo's for younger bands.

About 10 years ago, there was an Article in Home Recording about me; I was mentioned in the Article, and I had inspired the guy to write it.
I did exactly what you're talking about doing.
I had a 24x4 Kelsey Mixer that I re-wired/rebuilt, and I cut the internal routing (the board was a split console with 12 channels on each end, and the master section in the middle.) I rebuilt the Mixer to be a pair of 12x4 Mixers in the same mixer, which essentially gave me 24x8.(because I could route each of the 12 channels to separate sets of outputs)
I used Economy Mic's, and cheap Gates and Compressors (DOD and the Digitech line-I can't remember the names of the Audio Logic? maybe...they're long gone...)-but I paid attention to details, and several of the bands that I recorded thought my recordings were worthy of pressing, and they released records of the material.

One band (My curent Bass player's band-it's how we met) liked my Home recording better than one they spent Several tousand dollars on..so, If you can get a clean sound, and a great Vibe on tape-that's half the battle!
(I was doing this in the late 80's/early 90's.)

I think any of those Microphones should be fine for what you're doing. Hell, I was miking Toms with the Shure Prologue series mics-and those things were like $25 each back then...If they still make them, they're probably about the same price.

Tim

[maurolin]

I actually have 2 pairs of CAD mics. I LOVE THEM.
Great for live apps, and last night I recorded 1 whole track and it cae our very good.

Our drummer uses timbales and he has a fusion set, small kick and toms, and the sound was recorded very nice.
For $150 I deff. recommend them! (I did upgrade the kick drum though, and I use the package's kick drum on the floor tom to puck more low end.)

I also have a kelsea Mixer 16 channel. it is like new. I have used this about 10 times, and I want to get rid of it. $80? anyone???

[sk8bobby10]

very interesting I'm at about the same spot you're at, I'm currently working on a tiny recording space in my bedroom, and I'm on a really tight budget and just getting things here and there, its fun in a way, because I'm still in highschool and I don't have to worry too much. Those CAD mics were ones I was looking into as well, so thats good to hear things about them! Good luck with the studio, the bardering idea for cables and stands and stuff is a good idea too...

[appleyardrules]

i had the cad drum mic package, the one that was supposedly the "best" of them. lol in the end it still didnt cut it
as soon as i got the chance i immeadiately ditched it for a couple 57s and an akg d112
beleive me spending a little more on mics for drums expecially one by one REALLY pays off especially with mics liek 57's and d1112s because its is also well known that they are diverse and can be used great for other instruments
my .02

[drossfile]

if you mean the ICM-417s, then yes, they're decent. i bought a CAD package that included 2 icm-417s, a kbm-412 (low freq), and 3 tsm-411s, and use the OHs and the tom mics, but replaced the kick w/ an AKG D550 (D112, shure beta 57 or audix D6 would be better), and use an sm57 on snare. with the 417s as a spaced pair i get pretty a pretty nice combo of warmth and sizzle from my cymbals and a good stereo image on the entire kit--but you definitely need the supplements of individual close mics. the CAD kit is a really decent starting point.

but for $10/hour you should be using two soup cans connected with strings. believe me, if you're looking to record young local yokels you can charge 3 times that and still be the cheapest guy around without ripping anyone off. the first demo i cut was with a total clown who charged $30/hour (and this was 15 years ago) and i get way better results in my own home--he insisted that he's played with journey (as if that's a plus), but my pawn shop cheapo drums kept coming into his board too hot and he couldn't seem to fix it--he was a douche.
if you spend the time to dial in your home studio for decent tracks and mixes, you'll have no trouble making a modest business out of it. guys that actually know what they're doing in a local good studio are charging at LEAST 50/hour. i'd say split the difference, get a CAD kit, an AKG perception 100 and studio projects VTB-1 for vocals, and sony sound forge for mastering. chances are, bands that come in will already have a guitar rig you can mic w/ a $100 sm57 and a bass you can record direct, and voila! $25/hour studio time for a better-than-shit-less-than-"local pro" cd. just my 2 cents.

[sirslurpee]

I have the CAD Pro-7 pack.. They are decent mics for the price but I upgraded the OH's to MXL603s and they are definately a LOT better.... Also I got an audix i5 for the snare. I'm still fighting to get a good sound out of the kick but I think I am having room/tuning issues still. All in all I think that spending a little bit extra money on mics will help drastically.. Also room and tuning especially on drums is a big factor in the final product. Good luck!!

[chester]

i suggest looking into joe meek JM27s for overhead, i use them and they sound great. I got them in ebay as a pair for like 80 bucks i think. Its a bargain.