anyone else hate bright overhead mics?

eeldip

eeldip

New member
i just dont get it.

i suppose it is just how i work, but i never have gotten anything useful out of a bright mic up on top. always just a bunch of cymbals... and real thin drums. then you add in the close mics to thicken it up and it sort of works, but you lose the fun of the OH mic room sound.

plus, i always seem to have too much high hat in my snare mic already. why do i need more?

my favorite OHs: ribbons (i own an m260 that i love here, i have tried some coles that were cool as hell), earthworks stuff, and sometimes sm57s or decent dynamics.

am i alone here? people keep recomending oktavas and mxls... and all i can think is: oh yea, just TRY to compress that mic and not just get some crazy awful crash sound.

now i figure it probably has a lot to do with my room(s). they suck. but how many people here actually have nice sounding rooms? i would say less than 10%.

how are you all doing it?
 
I must admit that I do prefer darker sounding cymbals. But that's because I'm British and we traditionally tend to mic up everything (except for the occasional vocal) with some species of dynamic. :D
 
Mark7 said:
I must admit that I do prefer darker sounding cymbals. But that's because I'm British and we traditionally tend to mic up everything (except for the occasional vocal) with some species of dynamic. :D
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Try some LD darker mics. My drummer loves the Oktava MK-319s for this. They are just right for the sound as his cymbals are really bright.

Good Luck
 
It really depends on the cymbals themselves. Heavier ones ment to cut thru when playing live sound really harsh when recording. They seem to be alll overtones and less fundimental splash. That's when a bright mic will take the top of your head off and I reach for something darker. The Octava MC-012's tend to work well there or ribbon mics. I'm REALLY liking Earthworks mics lately as overheads. They image really well.
 
I have a pair of ECM8000s. They're supposed to be fairly neutral (i.e. not overly bright). The only problem is they're omnis and I'm afraid they may not paint a very flattering picture of my space.
 
I want a pair of Earthworks for overheads, because my living room (with vaulted ceilings), sounds pretty damn good, IMHO. I use ECM8000s with good results, though I also like the Oktavas. I don't think they're too bright. The 603s are a different story, though.
 
I share in the general dislike of bright overhead mics.


Earthworks are very nice as Trackrat mentions. Not a lot of extra high-end goop going on with them.

Another very nice one for overheads is the Shure ksm32. Very flat, neutral, etc . . . less high-end goo, also.
 
cominginsecond said:
I want a pair of Earthworks for overheads, because my living room (with vaulted ceilings), sounds pretty damn good, IMHO.
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Hmmph

I hate you :mad:



From a guy with an eight foot ceiling :rolleyes:
 
what sucks is that dark cymbals tend to be more expensive. and very few people feel like laying out the cash for Ks or HHXs or whatnot. so they seem to bring in these super bright cymbals that they NEED to play cause they FEEL right.

anyone know of any dark SD condensers? besides earthworks?
 
eeldip said:


anyone know of any dark SD condensers? besides earthworks?
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Out of some of the SD's I've been using, here's some of the ones that lean towards a darker or colored sound. Note: translate that into "mics that are not overly bright and that work well at taming harsh, bright transients".

Josephson C-42
Audix SCX-One
Groove Tubes GT33
Groove Tubes GT44
Studio Projects C4
Mojave Audio MA-100
Microtech Gefell M300
Microtech Gefell M295
Neumann KM184

Dan Richards
Digital Pro Sound
The Listening Sessions
 
"mics that are not overly bright and that work well at taming harsh, bright transients"- well said. replace every instance of me saying "dark mics" with that.
 
My absolute 2 favorite OH mic set-ups:
1) Royer SF-12
2) Matched pair of Earthworks QTC-1s

After many years of trying different drum micing techniques, these are all I use on OH. I've even recorded entire kits (no other mics) with the Earthworks pair placed just right.

Scott
 
Hmmmm. I like my KM-184s a bunch, but I would never describe them as dark. They are fairly bright. In fact, the purists who prefer the older KM-84s often describe the 184s as overly bright in the high end.
 
I'm not sure I get it, Eeldip. I wouldn't describe the MC012's as bright, just the opposite, in fact. They don't produce harsh sounds from fast transients, and respond very well to EQ. As far as I can tell, they don't do a single one of the things you are complaining about. Have you actually used a good pair of them as overheads?-Richie
 
We've had good luck

Using a pair of SM81's. They punch through quite well. Placement is important--move them around you will be surprised at the changes in sound you can get.
 
Richard Monroe said:
I'm not sure I get it, Eeldip. I wouldn't describe the MC012's as bright, just the opposite, in fact. They don't produce harsh sounds from fast transients, and respond very well to EQ. As far as I can tell, they don't do a single one of the things you are complaining about. Have you actually used a good pair of them as overheads?-Richie
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well, i never said anything about mc012s. i have tried my 319 in this role and didnt like the cymbals at all. but as i was saying, i think i am working totally differently than other people, cause i have never gotten a condenser to work for me as an OH except for my earthworks sro.

but then again, i am reasonably pleased with the sound of a single 57 pointed at a drum set from a few feet back.
 
Re: We've had good luck

sloop said:
Using a pair of SM81's. They punch through quite well. Placement is important--move them around you will be surprised at the changes in sound you can get.
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SM81's are my choice too. And you are right..... placement is critical.
 
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