$400 for Drum overheads

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nick The Man
  • Start date Start date
Hey nick,
Before you buy check out the oktava mc-012's first (the RUSSIAN ones) Way more studios use mc-012's than the ones that use the nt-5's (though I will say the Rode's are an excellent choice!) You can usually find new mc-012's matched pair for under $400. Either the mc-012's or the Rode's would definately be a good choice. I agree with the c-100's suck comment earlier also, I have never liked those mic's, I had a pair and couldn't wait to replace them, of course I replaced them with a nuemann km-184 matched pair :D I will also mention that if you are on a tight budget you won't believe how good Samson co2's actually sound on overheads lol. I have a matched pair and a single co2 and I am shocked every time I use them how good they sound for the money ($119 matched pair) Of course they don't hold a candle to the nuemann's, but show me a mic that does.... lol
 
The MC 012s ( Russian ones anyway) sound pretty good for the price. They give me a pretty decent overhead picture of the kit.
 
oktavausa is selling the mk012s on ebay, matched pair for $350

c4s are a good buy since they're relatively flat, $300 new, and come with omni and cardioid capsules

jm27s and se1as look nice cause of that $20 stereo bar :)
 
and don't forget about audio technica, the pro37s are pretty popular
 
ive thought about the oktavas in the past but never got them ... i guess they werent my top prioriety at the time
 
Everyone raves about the oktava 012 for drum overheads, but I disagree. There are much better mics for the purpose out there, unless you are specifically after a lo-fi veiled sound. For $400 you can get a used pair of SM81's on ebay. It's an "industry standard" mic and generally blows away any of the cheapies in this price range.
 
Reconsider the Russian Oktava's. I scored a used matched pair for just over $200 on ebay and they really impressed me through my Aardvark pre's (which aren't the best). Also one on the 12th fret 8" back and one on the bridge of an acoustic will blow you away. I've even heard they sound awesome close mic'd on a floor tom. Somewhere somebody even said they got good results with one on female vocals, though I question that. Not too mention you can pick up the other capsules for them later on down the road and really open up the possibilities.
 
Gamelan said:
Everyone raves about the oktava 012 for drum overheads, but I disagree. There are much better mics for the purpose out there, unless you are specifically after a lo-fi veiled sound. For $400 you can get a used pair of SM81's on ebay. It's an "industry standard" mic and generally blows away any of the cheapies in this price range.
Click to expand...


i agree with you ... ive used oktavas before and i wasnt impressed


they were the russian ones too
 
you could get 2 audio technica 4040-s on ebay for 400$. if you have a small room i like these better than a pencil type condenser mic. then you would have mics for acoustic guitars and not too shaby on vocals and just about anything really.
 
i plan on getting one AT40 40 for vocals ... as of right now i think im going with the Rode NT5 's or NT3's
 
Gamelan said:
Everyone raves about the oktava 012 for drum overheads, but I disagree. There are much better mics for the purpose out there, unless you are specifically after a lo-fi veiled sound. For $400 you can get a used pair of SM81's on ebay. It's an "industry standard" mic and generally blows away any of the cheapies in this price range.
Click to expand...


I have noticed that shure guys are shure guys through and through. I have met people who literally think that every mic should be a shure. I have a friend who loves ksm27's but to me I think it is one of the worst sounding mic's I have ever used. Every time I look at a frequency response chart in a shure mic box I wonder how they can be considered for recording at all. It looks like my signature lol. (which generally resembles a large skribble)

Don't get me wrong I do like and use a few shure's, and I am not trying to say your wrong bye any means. I am not disputing you at all. I value your opinion and would never want to argue with anyone about their mic choices. I just thought it was something I would mention that aside from nuemann I have never seen people so dedicated to a microphone company. I sell shures at my store and it astonishes me how many people will buy SM58's even after I show them a much better sounding mic for $10 LESS! Some people will outright refuse to buy anything but shure. I have A/B'd several mic's to an SM58 that were obviously much better sounding mic's and many times people will still buy the 58 lol.

With my opinion probably abused now and I am sure "shure lol" I have made some new enemies "oops-no harm meant I swear!" I will say that

SM81's are in fact another good choice in your price range!!!


For the record I own or use:
SM57's (personally modified however)
SM7's
beta57's
530's
beta52's
SM81's
beta58's

HA! I even own a PG58 (think I paid $5 for it lol)
 
heyyyyy just bought a matched pair of Rode NT5's Ebay for 280 brand new!!

they were selling for 325 but i made a best offer of 275 and he accepted!
 
sweet deal...i paid the same for a pair about a month ago. you should be pretty pleased with them when they show up!
 
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