I need drum mics. Any suggestions?

R

redeyedrichard

New member
Hey people,
Me and my brother are setting up a recording studio at home and we are in need of some drum mics. However, I have a rather large top end of the range Tama drum kit consisting of 10 drums (including toms, snares and bass drum). This means that in total I need a maximum of 12 mics including overheads. However I could get by with 8 mics I can imagine at the moment. You see my kit sounds amazing in the studio and live and I really want to capture the same sound with the mics. But at the moment I'm a little strapped for cash. So my question to you is, are there any mics or mic packs that would capture that sound that you would strongly recommend within a resonable price?


ReR
 
fill us in on this first:

-what software you are using,
-what recording interface
-your computer
 
Any reason you feel that you've got to mic each instrument? Any reason you can't multi-track them in with existing gear? Or are there 12 players to go with the 12 drums? Or some large venue with amplification to deliver those sounds to the nose bleed section?

MXL603/604 seem good for drums OH. I haven't actually used them, but the sound samples on studio auditions jam sessions seems nice for that mic / purpose.
 
My advice would be to get the best pair of overhead mics you can afford and spend the time getting them sounding good. Then its a sm57 for the snare and an Audix d6 for the kick. Add where necessary.

john
 
redeyedrichard said:
We are still in the process of setting up at the moment. Still got to get a computer, and we are planning on using 2 of the new "Focusrite Saffire Pro 40" audio interfaces. Going to be using Cubase 4 as well.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.:D
Click to expand...

You can cover that set with a minimum of just 3 mics; the overheads are the key. What's your budget? You can spend anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand.

Basic set up I would recommend is as follows:
OHs - MLX 603s (w/OktavaMod - worth the extra money but you have to send them your mics)
Snare - BeyerDynamics M201 or SM57 (budget conscience)
Kick - Audix D6 (really thumps) or AGK D112 (more picky about placement but more utility, IMO)
 
my setup is similar to yours: tama starclassic performer: kick, snare, 6 toms, plus rotos.

i went from 8 mics on a 5-pc to 4 mics on an 8-pc (11 if you count the rotos). i use (2) mxl 603s in recorderman configuration, a 57 on snare and an audix d6 on kick. VERY happy with the results.

you can check out the sound here (no effects on anything, and eq only on kick and snare, OHs completely raw):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDBEY-TKTOY (be sure to listen in HQ)

it's not pro quality by any means, but i think i'm doing ok on a budget. the 603 pair cost me $110 on ebay (new), the d6 was $160 used, and the 57 for $90 new.

keep in mind that my room is acoustically treated with diy broadband absorbers, which goes a long way towards getting a good sound on tape.

good luck! :)
 
If you need to go really cheap, the CAD KBM412 is a steal kick mic for $50. Sounds huge. Great on floor toms too.
 
provided you have enough channels.
Get a set of these instead of mics
Click on the Pictures to go to the sales page


these for the cymbals


these triggers are fantastic! the drum you hit is the drum that you hear on the track and no other, these are very easy to EQ and you can just keep them on the drum they are great for live use also, especially with an ampless sound stage or if you want to save valuable time by not having to setup a crap load of microphones and eleminates a lot of feedback problems associated with having a stage full of microphones. and no more tripping over fricken mik stands
 
Hey all, thanks for your info. Just going through a rough patch financially at the moment so the mics and stuff are temporarily on hold. Great advice...thanks for the links and videos you posted etc. I like what I am looking at.

Rich
 
Over heads are the key here...you need an SM57 on the snare...most bass drum mics are fine for bass drum...and the best sounding overheads to pick up those toms are LDCs...alot of engineers like Eddie Kramer (Led Zeppelin) are using shure KSM32 mics...I use 2 AT3035s...I was impressed at how they sounded at the gretch drums site using just one on all the kits just 4' above.
 
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