57's good for what I need?

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zwh

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My band plans to record a demo soon so I'm in search of some decently affordable but good mics for micing my drummer and my guitar cabinet. We plan to DI the bass and keyboard and dub in the main vocals later using an AT 2020 mic.

My current gear setup includes:

Fostex VF160ex recording unit (8/16 track)
Behringer UB2222 mixer (using it's pre's only - insert outs as direct outs)
AT2020
SM58
Sennheiser e835
Some other cheap mics...


I'm thinking three 57's (one snare, two overheads) and one Beta 52 (kick) for the drum kit, and one 57 for the guitar cab? Is this a good set up or should I be looking elsewhere? I know the pre's on the Behringer aren't the best so I'm wondering if they'll spoil the sound of any good mic...
 
Use what you have. The 58 or e835 on cab and kick, AT2020 as a single overhead. Try all the mics on vocal, you never know what will work best.
 
mshilarious said:
Use what you have. The 58 or e835 on cab and kick, AT2020 as a single overhead. Try all the mics on vocal, you never know what will work best.
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+1 Try what you've got. The 58 does OK on kick, and sometimes I prefer the 835 over a 57 on snare. These are useable mics.
 
I love the 57, however, If you're planning to buy 3 SM 57's, one for snare and 2 for OH you might want to consider other options for OH. 57's might not good for that... although I've never done it. In any case, you might want to consider these for OH:
http://www.samash.com/catalog/showi...*mxl*+AND+*603*&Search_Type=SEARCH&GroupCode=
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-ECM8000-Microphone?sku=270400
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...argeDiaphragm-Condenser-Microphone?sku=271242
 
FWIW I have used all these mics and have gotten great results. The ECM 8000 are really flat and work really nicely but being omni, you should only use them if your room sounds good. The AKG perception 100 are pretty good even if the room is not that great; especially recorderman/glyn johns.
 
If I were you, I'd get a second AT2020 and use them for overheads. Use one of your dynamics on snare and buy something for kick---probably either a Beta 52 or a D112.

You almost certainly don't want to use dynamic mics for overheads. An SM57/58 will sound horrible on cymbals---the SM5x series rolls everything off very rapidly from about 12kHz up. For overheads, you want something that's close to flat from 20-20.

BTW, I wouldn't suggest the 603. I'm pretty sure it has a weak low end and a pretty harsh, bright high end. Take it from someone who wasted a lot of time trying to make NADY CM-90s sound usable for overheads before I gave up and bought MK-012s. :)
 
You can use an SM57 for damn near anything, and it's certainly a go-to guitar cab or snare/tom mic, so it's definitely worth having at least one of 'em around. However, it wouldn't be my first choice as an overhead - an affordable pair of small diaphram condensers, maybe...?

I'm not sure what your budget is, and if you're planning on doing a lot more recording down the road, but in a pinch you could always buy a SM57 for your cab, re-use it on the snare, and try to rent a pair of SDC's from a local shop or studio to use as overheads, I guess... Your board has phantom power, I'm assuming...?
 
I think the question should rather be ... are your needs good enough for the '57?

:D
 
dgatwood said:
Take it from someone who wasted a lot of time trying to make NADY CM-90s sound usable for overheads before I gave up and bought MK-012s. :)
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Yeah, no kidding. The EQ I have to use to make those mildly usable is stupid. But I upgraded to Naiant, those might work for the OP, too. Plus they're really cheap.

Having already bashed Nady, they kick mic that comes with their drum pack isn't terrible if you're willing to do some EQing (mostly cutting mids). Never really tried a 57, but I love the D6.

But yeah, you've got way better mics than I do and I can still get usable sounds, so you should be ok for the most part.
 
The 57, if used right can be used on almost any source with good results IMO.

GGK.
 
Yes my board has phantom power...

So I'm better off just getting one 57 for the snare or guitar cab? I already have a 58 and have taken the windscreen off (supposedly makes it more like a 57) yet haven't been too pleased with the results...

I had no idea condensers were preferred for over heads. I figured it'd be way too loud up there for them. My price range is around the prices for a used 57 on ebay.
 
zwh said:
Yes my board has phantom power...

So I'm better off just getting one 57 for the snare or guitar cab? I already have a 58 and have taken the windscreen off (supposedly makes it more like a 57) yet haven't been too pleased with the results...
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With the windscreen removed, it is nearly identical to a 57. The capsule is the same, so you are left with the tiny difference the 57's grille makes, plus a small difference in the transformer. If you don't like the 58 on your cab, then you need to play with mic and amp positions before you think about spending money on something that is going to sound exactly the same.

I had no idea condensers were preferred for over heads. I figured it'd be way too loud up there for them. My price range is around the prices for a used 57 on ebay.
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Condensers generally handle a max between 120dB to 145dB. Whether or not your preamp can handle the output level from the condenser is another question, but most can.
 
Dynamic mics do not have the high frequency response required to really pick up cymbals well.

That said, many condensor mics have attenuaters on them to drop the volume. On my RODE NT2-A mics, there's a -5 and -10 dB drops on them. I can use the -5, have the preamp set to noon, and not clip, though it does get close at times, up to -2 on the meters. That's why I usually go -10.
 
Seafroggys said:
That said, many condensor mics have attenuaters on them to drop the volume. On my RODE NT2-A mics, there's a -5 and -10 dB drops on them. I can use the -5, have the preamp set to noon, and not clip, though it does get close at times, up to -2 on the meters. That's why I usually go -10.
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Generally, you should reduce the preamp to minimum gain before you engage the mic's pads. It makes a difference in signal-to-noise ratio; that's usually not very important for drum overheads, but you don't want to be in the habit of using the mic's pad when you don't need it.

The exception to that rule is when the source is so loud you are actually clipping the mic's electronics rather than the preamp.
 
Personally, I'd rather have one SM57 and two AT202's instead of three SM57's....
 
I don't see much a reason to have more than one or two SM57s, because in what scenario would you really prefer having 3-4 SM57s tracking at the same time?
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
I'm not sure what your budget is, and if you're planning on doing a lot more recording down the road, but in a pinch you could always buy a SM57 for your cab, re-use it on the snare, and try to rent a pair of SDC's from a local shop or studio to use as overheads, I guess...
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The way I figure, the OP already has one decent SDC (the AT2020), so it's probably easiest just to get another. You'll probably want to boost the bottom end a little to flatten the response, but I would expect it to be reasonable for an overhead.

at2020_freq.jpg
 
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