Shure Drum Mic Package?

[Lkoz91]

Hey all, I was wondering if this package is really worth the money: http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Shure-Drum-Mic-Package?sku=270263

I know that SM57s are basically universal and used in everything, but they're only 100 bucks seperate. Is the kick drum mic worth it at all? Am I saving any money buying these together or would I be better off buying the sm57s seperately and getting a different kick drum mic? I would also have to buy an overhead if I went with the package. Any suggestions on better packages?

The huge advantage I see with this package is that I've been told SM57s come in handy a good amount of time and that they are almost the industry "standard" now for recording.

Thanks for any help.

 

[darrin_h2000]

Id buy the SM57s used though...Ive been known to find them for $20 each.

 

[dgatwood]

The 57s are not my favorite mic for anything, but they'll do for toms. That said, it's the overheads that are the most important, followed by the kick, then the snare. By the time you get down to your close mics on toms, they're just not that important. I can think of plenty of mics for $20-30 apiece that will do that job just fine, IMHO.

If you prefer the Beta 52 sound, then by all means, go for this. You're saving about $20 buying it in the package. Personally, I like the D112 ($210) for kick, some cheap mics on toms (e.g. Nady SP-5 ($11); you're going to EQ the thing so hard that it really doesn't matter much what you start with, IMHO), and a better dynamic on snare. Spend the rest of your money on good overheads like a pair of Oktava MK-012 mics. They're by far the most important thing.

 

[Bisson820]

you're syaing a 20 dollar mic will give same sound as the sm57????


what!?!?

*maybe this is a case of not the mic but maybe a clientel error

 

[darrin_h2000]

Im saying if you look you can find the SM57 for $20...and IM the only guy lucky enough to find MD421s for $20...lol.

The industry standard is the SM57 so dont let that advice turn you from them...the Beta52 is a good bass drum mic...but an SM7b is a better bass drum mic and a very usefull vocal mic in the same price area if you buy used stuff.

Spend your money on overheads...and choose wisely...Im using a pair of AT3035 mics...Ideal choices would be a pair of KSM32s or AT4033s.

alot of people here will reccomend the SDC mics for overheads but the recording industry doesnt choose them 90% of the time.

 

[Bisson820]

Im saying if you look you can find the SM57 for $20...and IM the only guy lucky enough to find MD421s for $20...lol.

The industry standard is the SM57 so dont let that advice turn you from them...the Beta52 is a good bass drum mic...but an SM7b is a better bass drum mic and a very usefull vocal mic in the same price area if you buy used stuff.

Spend your money on overheads...and choose wisely...Im using a pair of AT3035 mics...Ideal choices would be a pair of KSM32s or AT4033s.

alot of people here will reccomend the SDC mics for overheads but the recording industry doesnt choose them 90% of the time.

i wasnt commenting on your post, the one after you that was saying that 57's werent good and compared them to a $20 mic.

 

[darrin_h2000]

i wasnt commenting on your post, the one after you that was saying that 57's werent good and compared them to a $20 mic.

I saw it...you can use the cheapo $20 mics but they wont be the same...those $20 mics are mics in the sense of the word...that they are shaped like real mics and have wires and such...but they pretty much dont do the job well.

 

[dgatwood]

I saw it...you can use the cheapo $20 mics but they wont be the same...those $20 mics are mics in the sense of the word...that they are shaped like real mics and have wires and such...but they pretty much dont do the job well.

Just to clarify, I didn't say that $20 mics would sound the same. I said that on toms, I could mic with a tin can and it shouldn't matter. That should be a tiny percentage of the overall mix, with at least 80% of the sound coming from your overheads. You should be able to leave the tom mics off entirely and get an acceptable sound. If you can't, you're doing something wrong.

And when you bring them in, I generally find myself EQing them with a pretty massive boost in the mids and the top and bottom end cleaved off entirely. When using mics in that way, as long as they aren't clipping, I could stick the cheapest $10 dynamic alongside a U47 and you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference because so little of the character of the microphone remains by the end of the signal chain.

And FWIW, I find that I like the cheaper dynamic mics *better* than the SM57/SM58 and similar mics precisely because their frequency response is less tailored. (AKG D2300S mics, in my case.) The Shure mics have response curves tailored for live use, resulting in a rather boomy thud of a sound. The cheaper mics end up being flatter in their overall frequency response in the ranges that matter (after rolling off the bottom to eliminate the proximity effect). It's counterintuitive, I know, but it has worked for me. Mics designed for voice or instruments in live settings are seldom the best choice for drums in a studio.