well i was skeptical

[BlackHawk2029]

at first.... when i bought the $89 CAD mic pack. but... for some reason, i actually like them more than a lot of more expensive mics. i borrowed a set of shure's from the sound guy who runs the jam night i'm at a lot once a while ago, and for some reason i actually prefer these.

[PhilGood]

From where? Can you post a link?

[BlackHawk2029]

http://www.zzounds.com/item--CADDMP4 these are the ones i got. i got 'em 10 bucks cheaper though.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--SHUDMK5752 these are the ones i had borrowed some time ago.

[Drakaland]

I own the same CAD mic line, albeit the 7 mic version. I'm a noob but to my ear they sound good. I did have some crackling issues with the bass mic however, that seems to have been corrected. I have a feeling it's the pres going into my soundcard.

[BlackHawk2029]

yeah i think i just got lucky and ended up with a good batch, being that to my ears they sound better than the shures. it could also be the way my drums are tuned.

[TerraMortim]

I like CADs

[BlackHawk2029]

Originally Posted by Drakaland

I own the same CAD mic line, albeit the 7 mic version. I'm a noob but to my ear they sound good. I did have some crackling issues with the bass mic however, that seems to have been corrected. I have a feeling it's the pres going into my soundcard.

yeah it's most likely an issue with your soundcard. especially if you're using your default PC sound card.

[Drakaland]

It a delta 1010lt. But it seems to be ok now with a little tweaking via the jumpers.

[TerraMortim]

Originally Posted by Drakaland

I own the same CAD mic line, albeit the 7 mic version. I'm a noob but to my ear they sound good. I did have some crackling issues with the bass mic however, that seems to have been corrected. I have a feeling it's the pres going into my soundcard.

Sounds like a bad cable, methinks. Try swapping out the cable and see if your situation improves.

[BlackHawk2029]

touche terramortim. didn't think of that. i'm currently having a lot of fun with my new gear. momma got me an alesis io|26 and the cad mics for xmas, along with some new mic cables (all mine were pretty much shot.) maybe i'll throw up a sample in a day or two. best drum sound i've ever gotten. ever.

[Greg_L]

I have the 7-pc version with the SDC O/H's. They're mostly pretty good, but the kick mic kind of sucks. I use it anyway, but I'm looking for a better kick mic.

[Schloo]

Cool! I'm excited to hear some clips.

[BlackHawk2029]

really greg L? i rather like mine actually.

[BlackHawk2029]

http://media.putfile.com/American-Life-29 here's a funked out primus cover my cousin and i did last night to test out the drum mics and the new alesis io|26, which i'm absolutely in love with by the way. dont mind the the high pitched thing in back of the vocals. we were trying something and i forgot to edit that out.

Drums were recorded with the CAD mic pack, and an MXL 990 overhead, vocals with the MXL 990.

before anyone asks, NO the kick drum wasnt triggered, just heavily eq'd.

Bass and guitar were DI'd through the alesis. direct input from the bass sounded amazing, but i was less than excited by the guitar tone. not excited at all actually. make that disgusted.

[BlackHawk2029]

sorry for all the silence by the way, and it's a bit quiet

[BlackHawk2029]

any opinions/tips?

[jrhager84]

Sorry, but I can't STAND the way CAD mics sound... I only use the pencil condensers when I'm not worried about the quality of the sound coming in...which is very rare. The drum mics are a joke.....and don't get me started on the kick mic....blegh!

I don't know what would compel you to prefer CAD over shure, but I'm gonna have to politely disagree with you on this one.

-Joel

[Dogman]

I've had pretty good luck with the sounds using the CAD mics...I'm sure you can get better, but it's all subjective.

[BlackHawk2029]

well. anything you guys think would be worth mentioning to get the best out of these? so far i'm liking the sound i'm getting as opposed to just overhead, kick, and snare mics. I'm getting ready to get a second MXL 990 as well, and maybe a pair of 993's.

[drossfile]

Originally Posted by BlackHawk2029

well. anything you guys think would be worth mentioning to get the best out of these? so far i'm liking the sound i'm getting as opposed to just overhead, kick, and snare mics. I'm getting ready to get a second MXL 990 as well, and maybe a pair of 993's.

it goes to show you that this whole recording gig is more subjective than anything. i upgraded from a really cheap, dumb setup (i'm not even going to try to explain) to a 7-pc CAD setup and it was a huge improvement. then i bought better drums, better mics, and found that 2 overheads+snare+kick is the best i've heard so far. go figure.

i didn't care for the tom mics (tsm411)--never got a good sound out of them, no matter what i tried. and the OHs (icm417) left a bit to be desired too, but at least i got decent stereo image by using them as a spaced pair--they were the most usable of the bunch. the kick mic (kbm412) is terrible. the best sound i got out of it was by boosting the highs, scooping the mids, and compressing the crap out of it. and even that was disappointing, but usable.

the subjective part comes in when you're chasing a particular sound. if you found your sound for $89, more power to you. i wish i had such luck.

[BlackHawk2029]

i dunno maybe it's just that i've never been a sure fan. but i definitely like having mics on my toms, it's a lot more balanced and i get a lot better definition out of them, instead of them sitting in the background while my kick, snare, and cymbals take over the mix. my toms are a bit tame, but my kick and snare are really loud, so the toms dont come through as well.