Drum Mic Recommendations?

L

loldoaflip

New member
Hey everyone, I really need some help in choosing a decent set of mics for drum recording. I've been scraping by with cheap equipment for the past few years, but I'd like to take my home recordings up a few notches in quality. Here's some info that might help you guys out:

-My drums (a Yahama Stage Custom kit) are set up in a basement room, but I've put up blankets around the kit to form a 10'x10' "box" and deaden the room. The room sound is terrible without the blankets so I think keeping them up is the best option here. The ceiling is relatively low as well.

-I run my recording mics through a Tascam US-1800 interface, and use Cubase LE5 (which came with the interface, I believe) for recording.

-The main thing I'm concerned about is getting better overhead mics, something to capture a better overall sound of the kit, so that I can use the individual drum mics to tighten up or complement the sound rather than relying on them. I've been using Behringer B-5s as my overheads, plus an assortment of cheap CAD/Shure mics as close mics, but surely I can do better without spending TOO much

-I'd like to keep my budget at around $500 if possible, but I'm okay with spending a little bit more if it's absolutely worth doing so.

I know very little about the world of recording mics, so anything you can do to point me in the right direction or help me assemble a set of reliable mics would be great! Thanks in advance, -Tyler
 
I upgraded to Shure KSM141's for overheads and it made a huge difference. Absolutely huge. Around $500 for the pair. Way Better than the Samson CO2's I was using.
 
I just purchased a set of Audix drum mics, but I haven't had a chance to use them. The equivalent kit runs for about $500 for 7 mics with Clips. If you have some time, I will provide a review once I get an opportunity to use, but I can't personally make a comment as of yet.
 
Although they list for around $525 each, I've acquired a half dozen AKG 391B's for (on average) $200 per. Also my Michael Joly MXL 603's sold for $500/pair new. Joly will also mod Oktava MC012's for $119.00 each and they are not hard to find in the $100 mark in stock form. That would also give you a set of incredible SDC's for around $500
 
If the room sounds good almost any mics will get a drum sound, sort out the room 1st.

I usually use a shure sm57 for snare, but on toms I have used every thing sm57's sm58's sennheiser 421's, akg 330, 320 or 310's, rode nt1s and at the moment my go to tom mics are audiotechnica AT3525's but these are discontinued. For overheads I use very early model Rode NT1's, fathead ribbons, sennheiser ME40's or even karma silver bullets, depending on how I feel at the time. Kick is a 10" speaker as a sub kick and a AKGD112, but I have even used a sm57, a sm58 or a 421 on the kick. When I have been out live I must have used almost every brand depending on the in house PA, and they all can get a respectable sound. If I was buying a pack now I on a budget I would get sennheiser e604's for toms, a sm57 for snare, and a D112 kick mic. Overheads depend on the budget.

What I am trying to get across is that there are a lot of cheap setups that work well as long as the room sounds good and the kit sounds good.

Alan.
 
witzendoz said:
If the room sounds good almost any mics will get a drum sound, sort out the room 1st.

I usually use a shure sm57 for snare, but on toms I have used every thing sm57's sm58's sennheiser 421's, akg 330, 320 or 310's, rode nt1s and at the moment my go to tom mics are audiotechnica AT3525's but these are discontinued. For overheads I use very early model Rode NT1's, fathead ribbons, sennheiser ME40's or even karma silver bullets, depending on how I feel at the time. Kick is a 10" speaker as a sub kick and a AKGD112, but I have even used a sm57, a sm58 or a 421 on the kick. When I have been out live I must have used almost every brand depending on the in house PA, and they all can get a respectable sound. If I was buying a pack now I on a budget I would get sennheiser e604's for toms, a sm57 for snare, and a D112 kick mic. Overheads depend on the budget.

What I am trying to get across is that there are a lot of cheap setups that work well as long as the room sounds good and the kit sounds good.

Alan.
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That is a point I stupidly forgot to mention. I have spent that time treating my drum room. Sometimes I forget that as it had been done a long time ago....

Still, the cheap overheads I was using were lame compared to the Shure's. I bet it would have made less difference if the room was not treated.
 
I have heard only good things about the shure ksm series, the 141's are great sounding mics for the money, I don't own any but would highly recommend them, jimmy knows his stuff
 
For overheads on a budget, a used pair of octava mc or mk012's will work well.

You can get a usable kick sound out of any kick mic. my favorites are the d112, the beta52 and the audix kick mic(the name escapes me)

For toms, my favorites are the sennheiser 604 or the older 504 clip on mics. But even 57's will work fine.

Snare gets a 57.
 
What sites are most reliable for finding used mics? I figure eBay is always an option but I'd feel better going to a music gear oriented site before eBay
 
loldoaflip said:
What sites are most reliable for finding used mics? I figure eBay is always an option but I'd feel better going to a music gear oriented site before eBay
Click to expand...

The guitar center used site has some good deals. But not as much mic selection as ebay. My recommendation is E602 for kick and E604's for toms. Both of them give a sound that is slightly pre EQ'd but can still be adjusted to taste. For overheads the Oktavas are great for the money.
 
After researching a lot of recommendations and weighing my options, I think that at this point in time, I might want to check out the Rode M5 overheads. I know "you get what you pay for" is usually the case, but they're one of the cheapest and most convenient options at the moment. They've been suggested to me at least once or twice and I haven't read anything bad about them yet, so I might as well give 'em a shot.

Of course, I'll continue to keep an eye on the used microphone market (Music Go Round seems to be a really useful site and I'll definitely make use of it in the future) and maybe someday I can find a nice used pair of Oktava MK-012s
 
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