Buying four microphones on a budget

[HokosPokos]

Hello, hello

I'm building a home studio and have come to the conclusion that a low end drum set microphone kit might not be what I'm looking for. From what I've read I would be better off bying the microphones separate. I have an Alesis IO4 (phantom powered) so I only need four. Kick, snare and two overheads. I don't really know much about microphones other then SM57 is the most popular one, thomann-branded are a gamble and the overall ”you get what you pay for”.

My budget is £250($370). I'm a little flexible. I already have all the necessary cables and stands.

Should I spread the money evenly on each microphone or could (or should) I spend more on one than the other?

 

[JimmyS1969]

Microphones are kinda like underwear. It is what you put into them, that counts.

Any mic recommendation in this price range, may be a hit or miss, depending on what you are looking for. More important, is the sound of the kit you are recording, and the way it sounds in your particular room. Get that right, and the mics will be only a part of your issue/question...

Well, then there will be approximately 10,000 more questions. Use, abuse, then make your own opinions.

 

[HokosPokos]

Nice metaphor haha.

I'm aware that no microphone can save a crappy sounding kit, but all that (tuning, heads, cymbals, room etc) is not what I'm concearned about. Since I don't knowmuch about microphone brands I would buy them at random if I wouldn't receive any tips or suggestions.

”What I'm looking for”? Do you mean like the answer to ”What kind of cymbals I should buy”? I'm looking for reliable microphones that takes up low, mid and high's well. Spread out on three different (four in total) microphones that doesn't cost me much more then £250($370).

Just like I would suggest any medium priced bright cymbals (unless he/she's into jazz) to a new drummer what mics would you suggest to someone new to recording drums?

 

[JimmyS1969]

Naw, 'what are you looking for' was directed more to what kind of music are you recording. You actually posted the 'what I am looking for' comment first. You never stated what that is...lol

Well, then there is a basic starting point. I have had good luck with Samson C2's as overhead mics. Not the best, but in budget, I would give then a 8 out of 10, for handling the task.

 

[Justsomeguy]

Tbf, it's a tough one within the £250 budget. Saying that, my suggestion would be to pick up 3 mics to start with and add a forth when you can. For example, you could pick up a reasonable pair of SDC's for overheads (which in a 3 or 4 mic kit setup are going to be very important) and an SM57 to use for kick to start with. When you've got a bit more cash, pick up a dedicated kick mic, move the SM57 onto snare and voila.

In terms of kinda "bang for buck" SDC's, as Jimmy said, the Samson C02's certainly aren't the worst mics i've ever used. The Rode M3's i've heard sounded pretty good (although i've only ever heard them as live drum overheads). You can pick up a pair of sE1a's for £170 which would serve you very well. Although a slightly oddball mic in looks, the 12Gauge Green are pretty cool and for £62 ($90) a pair they're well worth a look. If you can find a pair on evilbay, the Oktava MK012's with just the cardioid capsules would serve you very well for a very long time, although new would take up your whole budget

 

[HokosPokos]

jimmys69: I understand. I'll be more precise in the future. When it comes down to genre, punk and heavy metal is the deal. Do you mean certain mics are better for ”this” or ”that” genre?

The Samson C02 seems like a good deal.

Justsomeguy: Yeah, buying almost anything music oriented on a budget is never easy! I liked the shotgun mic but I think it feels a little gimmicky. However, I noticed that with £300 I could get a pair of Samson C02 (or two Rode M3), an SM57 and still have £100 to spare on a kick microphone.

Looks like its between these two:
- AKG Perception Live P2
- Shure PG52

And these:
- Samson C02
- Rode M3

By coincidence, I actually found a guy on youtube that uses Samson C02, SM57 and Shure PG52. I think it sounds alright. Maybe a little dull but that's what eq and reverb is for!

youtube.com/results?search_query=My+Drum+Mic+Setup

EDIT:
Third video from the top.

 

[Justsomeguy]

buying almost anything music oriented on a budget is never easy!

True dat!

I've not tried either if the kick mic's you've mentioned, but you could pick up an AKG D112 for about £90-£100 second hand on evilbay.

It's really annoying as the Red5 RVD1 is an awesome budget kick mic but they've gone back to just selling it as part of their set. Tbf the whole set is £159 of which the kick mic is awesome, the overheads are about the same kinda quality as the C02's, but the Tom/Snare mic's are a bit.... well, they work but if you've got a 57 to hand i'd go for that every time over them.

 

[JimmyS1969]

I use a D112, for my kick mic, but I have to be honest.....I could use a piezo pickup for a kick drum now, because I find it much easier/better, to use SS Trigger for a kick drum. I use the sample at about 60%, but for the price, I would say replace it for the cost of Trigger. I'm sure to get some crap for this comment. Anyone want to buy my subkick?

 

[Guitargodgt]

blue mics should really get a kick in the face for discontinuing the kickball as I would recommend that if you could find one.

 

[Raymeous]

Ok these may not be the best options but... they are within budget

Shure PG series drum mic kit Shure PGDMK4-XLR | Sweetwater.com
1ea. PG52 (kick)
3ea. PG56 (snare +2 toms)
3ea. rim mount
1ea. case


MXL small diaphragm pair MXL 840 Small Diaphragm Instrument Microphones (Pair) | GuitarCenter
2ea. MXL840


Going this route would let you mic up the snare, kick, and two toms, with an overhead stereo pair for around $400 new. Not too shabby.

 

[HokosPokos]

Justsomeguy: I prefer to buy new, not used.

The RVK7-set isn't available on Thomann where I plan to make the purchase. And since I can only use four mics at a time, buying that kit would only give me mics just laying around. Even it's (+the SM57) in my budget. But thanks for the suggestion!

Guitargodgt: I'll keep my eyes open!

Raymeous: Thanks for the suggestion but I can only use four mics at a time. So my plan is to spend all my budget on only four mics. Plus I live in Europe and they don't match the US' prices :/

 

[Guitargodgt]

If you want to buy new, you will never find a kickball. They have been discontinued for some time now. At one point though you could find them for $50 new.

They required phantom power though.


I doubt you will find one new, but the Audix F14 is a good mic to look at for kick as well. It's very similar to a D6 but doesn't pick up quite as much thump in the lower registers as the D6 does (hence it's price tag).

 

[JG96]

The GLS ES-57 is a good SM57 clone.
Put one of these on the snare and one deep in the bass drum:
Official Speaker Repair Site - Orange County Speaker - Home of GLS Audio GLS Audio ES-57 ES57 Professional Microphone Mic - 3 Pack

Add a sample or a DIY subkick to the bass drum and you should have a good drum sound for real cheap!
I realize the GLS mic may not ship worldwide but they are also sold on amazon.

I have heard of Karma K-Micros being a good set of condensers for the price (35 bucks for a pair?!?)
If you are trying to go as cheap as possible that is a good option. Personally I do not think overheads are the best place to skimp.
I have SM81 overheads and I think they are real nice but they are costly.
I have also heard good this about samson mics.
Personally I have only heard the Samson C01. It did a very good job on vocals and bass drum for the cost!

 

[Justsomeguy]

Justsomeguy: I prefer to buy new, not used.

The RVK7-set isn't available on Thomann where I plan to make the purchase. And since I can only use four mics at a time, buying that kit would only give me mics just laying around. Even it's (+the SM57) in my budget. But thanks for the suggestion!

I do know what you mean, just looking at the various budget alternatives tbf you could sell of the three toms mics for £20 each and buy something else

I have heard of Karma K-Micros being a good set of condensers for the price (35 bucks for a pair?!?)
If you are trying to go as cheap as possible that is a good option. Personally I do not think overheads are the best place to skimp.
I have SM81 overheads and I think they are real nice but they are costly.
I have also heard good this about samson mics.
Personally I have only heard the Samson C01. It did a very good job on vocals and bass drum for the cost!

I've been eyeing up the silver bullets for a year or so, heard nothing but good things, love the super tiny size, but shipping to the UK brings the price up to about £80 ($100ish), and that's if there's no fannying at customs (which there would be because there's then 20% VAT to add, and then the charge for the delivery company for paying your VAT which can be anywhere from £10 to £30 depending on whether it's courier of royal mail) so, although i would love the silver bullets and would recommend them to anyone state side, they're not the same bargain they are in the states this side of the pond

And i'd agree about the Samson C01. It was the first ever LDC i ever owned. Cost £40 nearly 10 years ago, did a sterling job on acoustic guitars and vocals, tried it a couple of times as a second kick mic along with a D112 and worked really well, i loved it as a room mic for drums, and when i lent it to a friend a couple of years ago he loved it so much he bought it off me for £35. It's certainly not as bright as a lot of the other super cheap LDC's i've heard/used which is a really nice change, and it even after 10 years of abuse it's still going strong

 

[HokosPokos]

Guitargodgt: Thanks for the suggestions, I'll keep an eye out for them in the future!

JG96: I don't want to too low either. And as you said, you shouldn't skimp on overheads.

Justsomeguy: You have a point there .

What's the difference between the Samson C01 and Samson C02?

This looks like a killer deal
thomann.de/se/samson_c01c02_cl_studio_kit.htm

So it's the Samson C01 + the C02? The C02 in this deal is called C02 CL so I don't if that extra ”CL2” makes it a different model.

 

[ibleedburgundy]

If I were you, this is what I would buy:

A pair of Naiant x/s's - small diaphram condensers. - $125 for the pair.
SM57 for the snare - $90
Audix D6 for the bass drum - $175.

I realize this is $15 over your budget but this would be a solid set of drum mics.

 

[HokosPokos]

SM57 is a no brainer as my snare mic. However that Audix 6 would eat the rest of my budget.
Things are so expensive in Europe.

 

[Justsomeguy]

SM57 is a no brainer as my snare mic. However that Audix 6 would eat the rest of my budget.
Things are so expensive in Europe.

Audix D6 for the bass drum - $175.

True dat Unfortunately, they're £170 here, which is about $250 and even used they're not a whole bunch cheaper Hopefull the euro will catch on in the states and then all our conversion problems will be solved

What's the difference between the Samson C01 and Samson C02?

This looks like a killer deal
thomann.de/se/samson_c01c02_cl_studio_kit.htm

So it's the Samson C01 + the C02? The C02 in this deal is called C02 CL so I don't if that extra ”CL2” makes it a different model.

I think the "CL" bit refers to the package rather than directly to the C02. Everything on the Samson website about it just refers to it as a C02. The big difference is diaphragm size and, as a result, frequency response. The C01 has a medium diaphragm (i've seen it advertised as large diaphragm but it does seem smaller than the average LDC, and recordinghacks say the same and they're normally bang on), whereas the C02 has a small diaphragm. As a package it would be cool starter package for your average singer/songwriter where you could use the C02 for acoustic guitar and C01 for vocals (MXL have a couple of similar packages), but for how you want to use it for drums it may be a bit odd having a mismatched pair for overheads (if that was your intention for it). Don't get me wrong, you don't need a perfect "matched pair" for stereo stuff, the majority of the time two of the same mic are close enough to work as a pair (i.e you could buy one SDC now and then buy another of the same SDC later and use them as a pair with no real issues), but using essentially two different mics may cause problems.

I'd be more tempted by a straight up pair of C02's

 

[techstar25]

Here is my two cents. I had a very low budget and so I did a lot of research.
I started with:
An SM57 on the snare.
A PG52 on the kick (there are better mics out there, but these are a good value).
Pair of Behringer C-2 as overheads in "Recorderman" position.
I've been happy with it so far to just do demos of my band.

Later on I added PG56's on each of the four toms.

 

[JG96]

I must have read the budget part and not your actual budget.
I think two Cad M179's would make great overheads along with having other uses. They seem to get nothing but positive reviews.
I still say GLS ES-57 on snare.
I have only used a MD421 and D112 on kick. But the EV PL 33 seems nice.
That would put you at about 380 bucks but I think I would be a set up that could last you quite some time.