Your drum mike reccomendations..mine are bleh..

[enemyofthesun]

currently I use the following to mike drums :

several sm57s on toms
one or two akg d112s or Senn E602
Octava MC-whatchmacallits on overheads


What would you suggest for toms. Im looking for something that soudns better then the sm57s

[Harvey Gerst]

I like the sound of the SM-57s on toms, but you might try the Radio Shack 33-3032 mic which is designed for miking toms.

[TexRoadkill]

Are you sure you have good sounding toms? that may be the real problem. 57's are pretty common mics for drums.

[enemyofthesun]

uh that would be any of 20+ different drum kits. depending on who I am recording. I just know I need to get better drum sounds.

Also the 57s are pretty fragile. Even with careful positioning I have had recently two broken by drummers

[Slackmaster2K]

That is the first time in my entire life that I have ever heard anybody, regardless of race, creed, age, or otherwise, call the Shure SM57 a "fragile" microphone.

Slackmaster 2000

[Sonic Misfit]

If you are using the Octava MC012's on overhead, then the only difference I see from what I use is that I use a Shure Beta52 for bass drum. Overall, I've had a lot of luck with the SM-57 and they haven't proven to be fragile at all.

Maybe the problem is mic placement. The set-up you have looks like it should work.

It could also be your mic cables or a lot of other things, but in my humble opinion, you have a good selection of mics.

[harley96]

Originally posted by Slackmaster2K
That is the first time in my entire life that I have ever heard anybody, regardless of race, creed, age, or otherwise, call the Shure SM57 a "fragile" microphone.

Slackmaster 2000

LOL!!!!!!!!!!! I carry one with my concealed weapons permit!!!!!!

[enemyofthesun]

sturdy? how about that weak head.. hell man it EASILY moves back and forth

[Markd102]

You must get some rough drummers in your studio
I've never had anyone hit a drum mic.

I use 57s on snare and toms all the time and they sound fine. I usually have to crank the highs up on the mixer while tracking, but the mids and lows are flat.

I also advise drummers to put on new skins and take a bit extra care in tuning before a recording session as this can make a huge difference.

The drummer them selves can make a difference too. My house kit sounds totally different depending on who's playing them and how they hit them.

Best wishes
Mark

[baldguy]

You might try some of the little clip-on mics for toms. Sennheiser and AKG both have models. Strange thing is I usually hear people commenting on how they've gone back to 57s on toms. Good luck.

[Slackmaster2K]

Heck man, there have been contests where people will intentionally try to break SM57's! I toss mine around all the time. The head is all dented up but it hasn't changed the sound much.

Maybe the ball on a 58 would give you the protection you need?

At any rate, try to not put the mics where the drummer is going to hit them That seems to be the root of the problem, hehe.

Slackmaster 2000

[Markd102]

IMOP
Any drummer who hits a correctly placed mic is not very accurate and is not going to sound good on a recording anyhow.

[Gidge]

the mic of choice for beatin a ho up side the head when she walks in and ruins a take?....sm58 because it leaves those crazy grill marks oh her forehead....sm57 runner up......

[Markd102]

I've got one of those silver Shure Prologue thingies for that. Nice and heavy. Tape it to the end of a stuffed cable and you can get a good swing up.

[DougD]

Did you actually test that Radio Shack mic yet?

Was that a recommendation?

Did you try on a kick-drum? (Which they claim it's good for...I they listed freq. resp. only down to 100Hz though?)

What gives?

[Harvey Gerst]

Haven't tried it on kick, but it worked well on the toms. Remember the curve doesn't take into account proximity effect. Get that little sucker about 4" from the beater head, and it'll probably do just fine. I'll know more when I try it.

[knownuttin]

I'm thinking of getting the Radio Shack 3032 for kick (though I'm waiting for a sale), so please let me know how you like it.
Harvey, when you say to get it close to the beater head, may I presume that I will not want to use the handy clip that comes with it because of vibrations?

PS-Hope you're feeling better!
-kent

[Harvey Gerst]

Okay, we tried the Radio Shack 3032 on kick last night against an ATM-25. Bottom line; it was terrible. Very hollow sounding, and not enough bottom end. For toms, it works great, but it sure as hell is NOT a kick drum mic.

[DougD]

I was pretty close to just buying one of those RS mics just to kill the suspense. I appreciate the info.

Hey, the mic sounded okay on toms then? How did it compare to--say--a 421 or a 57?

Oh, BTW, a v67g is on its way. I finally got off the v67/C1 fence. (Sorry, Alan...)

Thanks for your always sage advice.

-Doug

[Track Rat]

I use SM-57s for the most part but I've also been using AKG C-1000s on tome with GREAT results.

[knownuttin]

Back to Plan A: gettin' a Beyerdynamic M88 for kick and other stuff!

[flapo1]

I've been using for toms two Shure headset mics and to my surprise they sounded pretty decent.

I wish I had your mics set!

[Harvey Gerst]

Originally posted by DougD
I was pretty close to just buying one of those RS mics just to kill the suspense. I appreciate the info.

Hey, the mic sounded okay on toms then? How did it compare to--say--a 421 or a 57?

Thanks for your always sage advice.

-Doug

It should a little more present sounding than a Shure 57, and not quite as full sounding as a 421. I only use a 421 on the floor tom - I'm not crazy about 421s for the high toms (plus they're a bitch to place where they sound good, but don't get in the way).