Radio Shack Drum mics?

[HomestarRunner]

I saw the radio shack drum mics and they were cheap,came with clips, and came with cables i believe. Are they any good? Should i save up for better mics? ?????????? Help.

[Blue Bear Sound]

With a few notable exceptions, you get what you pay for - especially in studio gear....

[ZEKE SAYER]

radio shack make some good mics but i would save up for a better mic like a shure sm57 or 58. What was you planning to use the mic for? where you going to use it as an all-around mic or a vocal,bass guitar mic??????

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by ZEKE SAYER
radio shack make some good mics

...not generally, although there is one model that Harvey says is worthwhile....

It is the exception however... Radio Shack stuff is notoriusly bad overall.

[mikeh]

I own some Radio Shack drum mics (RS33-3032) which I purchased in response to favorable comments from Harvey and others. They look very much like the Sennheiser E604 (for about 1/3 of the price).

I've A/B'd the RS mics against SM57's and agianst CAD drum mics (NDM 10's) on drums and hand percussion in the studio and have used the RS mics in a live setting on both toms and percussion.

The RS mics compare very well on smaller toms (10' - 14") and on congas & bongos. I did not think they did well on kick drums (no surprise) or on larger toms. They sound OK on a snare - but I still prefer an SM57. I do like them because they have a very small profile (much smaller than an SM57) with makes them easy to fit in a tight space on a drum/percussion kit.

The mic housing seems frail and I suspect a fall or two would kill the mic (vs. an SM57 which you can use as a hammer!!!!) and the clamp looks like it would break after repeated use (I immediately replaced the clamp with Mic-Eze clamps). Accordingly, I would not recommend the RS mic for live application - but used carefully it can be a useful studio mic.

I think the RS33-3032 go for about $40 (I got mine for $30 on sale) and at that price it is a value. However, for $80 you can get an SM57 which is a good drum mic (probably the most used snare mic), it is also a good guitar cab mic and it can also work well as a vocal mic for stage applications.

[ZEKE SAYER]

My very first mic was an Optomus RD mic. I worked really well. but sence then i have bought better mics from shure,nady and other brands. the RD mic picked up what ever i was trying to record very well and it was warm sounding. the only thing about it was that i could not get as loud as my other mics. I'm not saying that RD mics are better than shure or nady or whatever, but some of them are good for the money. i resently used my RD mic on a project that i was working on. i have used all of my "good" mics on my drums and i still needed a room mic. so i use the RD. I was very pleased with the sound, but a condinser would have been better.

Bottom line: If you want to get "OK" sounds, spend your money on a radio shack mic. If you want to get a "great-terrific" sound, save your money and buy a better brand like Shure and so on.


ZEKE
"Relax, it's only for tonight!"

[jmproductions]

I have a few RD electret condensers. They seem to work pretty well although the older ones cannot be used for close micing because they can't handle the SPL.