$750 drum mic budget- opinions needed!

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hawaiianshirt

the jerk at the board
A few years ago, I had these to record my drums in my basement project studio:

1 pair Studio Projects C4 (overhead drums) - $400
1 AKG D112 (kick) - $250
1 SM57 (snare) - $100

But then I lost the space to record (enter apartment living). I started a band with some old friends. I donated all that stuff to the band's PA, since it was just sitting in a box. Now I have space to record again, and the band is making money. So they've agreed to replace my mics with new ones.

I LOVED the C4's... but that's over half of my budget. I was happy with the SM57 on the snare. The D112 gets a "meh". It sounded good, but I don't believe it's worth $250.

Drum package recommendations? Cheaper overhead recommendations? Don't change a thing? Any opinions would be helpful.

Thanks! Cheers!:D
 
Get lucky and find a used audix DP-7 package? I've only used an i5, D6 and D2 before so no opinion on the OH mics included but the i5, D6 and D2 are all awesome mics IMO.
 
D112 is a good mic, and I get lots of mileage out of it, even though I have RE-20s and MD-421s. Try some different heads and beaters until you land a sound you like. It's not a silver bullet, but it's a far cry from meh.

I'm going to go sideways and recommend you try a pair of Studio Projects B1 LDCs and use them for overheads. They are multipattern mics, and the B1 I have is a workhorse. It takes crazy high SPLs. I'm currently using it as my snare mic. Very sturdy and useful microphone that I think is a decent budget stand-in for an AKG 414.

You like the 57, so that's an easy one.

All of these come out to less than 600 bucks. :shrugs:

If you really don't like the D112, you've got 450 to pick up something nice. Maybe an RE-20 (also my favorite vocal mic) or an MD-421? Maybe a third multipattern LDC to use as a room mic? I understand the Audix i5 is a good snare mic, and people around here recommend the beyerdynamic M-201 for snare as well. Maybe you could pick something nice out for the wife.

I couldn't record drums without a room mic anymore because I find it adds so much depth to the recording.

Good luck!
 
IDK it's always a toss up between LDC and SDC when it comes to over heads I always have to wait and see how the sound is during dialing in the set if maybe going the other way is the way to go and I usually start with SDC.
Take a look at naiant microphones for over heads!!!







:cool:
 
I re read that, so your saying these mics are still around?

If so then I say stay with the C4s for now, stick the D112 on the floor tom, keep the 57 on the snare and just snag a couple mics for your toms and a different mic for the kick.

Seems like the cheapest and best alt to me. If you want to upgrade anything I would upgrade the OH mics, but the 57 and D112 are good mics.
 
Thanks for these responses guys!

The old list of microphones are band property. We gig two or three times a month. So I could use them in a pinch, but I'm looking for a drum sound that gets set up and never torn down. And I don't want to reclaim these microphones, because we've beaten the hell out of them over the last 3 years.

The D112 is the only kick microphone I've ever known. And I have always wrestled with it. Maybe "meh" is a bit harsh... but my personal tastes definitely have me in the market for something new.

I'm in research mode on these other suggestions. Cheers!
 
I usually use a Beta 52. Sounds almost exactly like a basketball. A friend of mine uses a Beta 91. The 91 does not sound like a basketball.

Beyer M88 gets mentioned for kick drum once in a while.
 
snow lizard said:
I usually use a Beta 52. Sounds almost exactly like a basketball. A friend of mine uses a Beta 91. The 91 does not sound like a basketball.

Beyer M88 gets mentioned for kick drum once in a while.
Click to expand...

Yes you see the m88 used all the time on evilbay a very good kick drum microphone.

The Sennheiser e602 is a great kick drum microphone or the upgraded model e902, both can be had in a package deal with stand and cord.








:cool:
 
My fav kick mic by far is the Sennheiser e602/e902. And for $199 new, it's a relative bargain.

Stick with the SM57 for snare: $80

OH's: A pare of Rode NT5 SDCs: $429

Total before sales tax/shipping: $708

Work a deal with a single dealer, and you can get the whole shebang plus XLR cables and tax or shipping for $750.

EDIT:
Oops, I see Moresound beat me to the e602 recommendation by 2 minutes, like Bell at the patent office ;). Well, I concur.

G.
 
Those naiants look amazing for the price, and the experts here sure have a lot of nice things to say about them. But my ceilings are a bit low (7ft before I add the cloud!) and reflective, so I'm a little hesitant about omni's as overheads.

I like Sennheiser products. I like what I'm reading about the e602 and e902. I think I'll give that route a try on the kick.

So that and the sm57 on the snare leaves me $450. Here is where I'm torn.

Blow it all on overheads (SP C4, Rhode NT5 for example...)? Or go cheaper on overheads (SP B1, MXL603, Behringer ECM8000) and try to get three more microphones for toms (Naiant X-T/D, Audix D2)?

What would you do? Thanks again, guys!
 
hawaiianshirt said:
Those naiants look amazing for the price, and the experts here sure have a lot of nice things to say about them. But my ceilings are a bit low (7ft before I add the cloud!) and reflective, so I'm a little hesitant about omni's as overheads.

I like Sennheiser products. I like what I'm reading about the e602 and e902. I think I'll give that route a try on the kick.

So that and the sm57 on the snare leaves me $450. Here is where I'm torn.

Blow it all on overheads (SP C4, Rhode NT5 for example...)? Or go cheaper on overheads (SP B1, MXL603, Behringer ECM8000) and try to get three more microphones for toms (Naiant X-T/D, Audix D2)?

What would you do? Thanks again, guys!
Click to expand...

Don't think you'll have much of a problem with the Naiant as over heads in that room.








:cool:
 
I ain't gonna tell you omnis will sound good with a low ceiling, because they won't. But let's think about cardioids and low ceilings for a moment. Do you aim your mics straight down? Because you'd need to in order to get good rejection from a cardioid. Consider that ceiling reflections aren't all going to be all straight down, especially with a low ceiling your overheads are going to be a couple of feet away, so you have reflections incident over a much wider range.

So you can do that, but that limits you to AB micing. When you go to XY or Recorderman or something, your mics get aimed maybe 135 degrees to the ceiling, and reflections could be 90 degrees to the mic, where a cardioid only has ~6dB of rejection.

Problem #2 is that once you get to low frequencies, cardioids get somewhat omnidirectional. So your toms will be reflecting off the ceiling and bouncing into your mics 4 msec after the direct sound hits them--no mic can prevent that, expect maybe a fig-8 with its nulls aimed at the ceiling and your kit, which is not particularly useful.

Moral of story, I don't know how destructive you can be, but if you can, and also if isolation is not important, then tear off the drywall, fill the joists with insulation, and cover with fabric. That will make 1000% more difference than mic selection.
 
Cheers, MSHilarious!

I do have a plan for treating the room, and I know that the low, reflective ceiling is the biggest problem. I'm filling the room up with a ceiling cloud, super-chunk bass traps and panel absorbers over the next few weeks. I've got a lot of Owens Corning 703, burlap, and the 1"x3" furring strips all ready to roll.

My plan is to get that stuff up and then start testing. If the ceiling needs to come down, then so be it. Isolation isn't a concern that I can really afford- but the only people I'm isolating from our my wife and kids. Screw them anyway!

But that's all stuff for another thread. I'm just asking for opinions on $400 overhead microphones/ no tom microphones vs. $150 overhead microphones/$250 tom microphones. Thanks!:D
 
That depends mainly on style of music. Overall I don't see anything wrong with your original mic setup, I mean I would prefer an M201 to a SM57, but the 57 works. Why not get the C4s back? I'm not following something.

Also note that the ECM8000 is omni.
 
Thanks for the heads up on the EMC8000! I hadn't caught that yet...

I'm causing confusion with the OP. Those are the microphones that I had (SP C4's, D112, SM57). I had no recording space, so I gave them to my band. My band (jerks!) abused them. Kicked, dropped, spilled beer on, left out in the cold for days.

I now have recording space again. My band (nicest guys in the world!) will now buy me replacement microphones. I could replace my old set-up exactly. Or I could switch it up and get drum microphones of equal value.

It's weird. I know.

I just record myself. Mostly indie-rock and punk songs. I like a bright, clean drum sound. I like the idea of having microphones permanently set up on my kit, ready to record when inspiration strikes (and my wife and kids leave...)

The SP C4's sounded great. But if I spend $400 on them, then I can't afford adding 3 tom microphones. So I thought I'd ask for expert opinions.

If some experts jump in and says "I've compared these $140 microphones to those $400 microphones before! They were very close!" then I'd give it a try and have something left over for toms. If some experts say "Nothing compares to the SP C4's! Save up for tom microphones next year!" then I'd try that too.
:D:D:D
 
I can't comment on the SP4s, as I have never used them. All I would say at this point is that I'd rather spend all my money on the right overheads and not have any tom mics at all, than to skimp on OHs just to afford adding some tom mics.

G.
 
Sonixx - Those Fat Heads are figure-8 ribbon mics... that's a little out of my comfort-zone for overhead mics in a room with a low ceiling.

Glen- Yeah, I've slept on it. I agree that skimping on SDC's to afford mics for the toms was a silly notion. I mean, how much would I have to skimp in order to get 3 more mics? Am I seriously considering MXL 991's? No. I'm done with that. If I end up choosing between Rode NT5's or more Studio Project's C4's, then I can't really make a bad choice.

But this notion of using LDC's as overheads is nagging at me a little. Thanks Supercreep. I'm still mulling that over. Senheiser e902 on kick, 57 on snare- that leaves $450. There's a few good looking $150 - $200 LDC's that might do an OK job on my overheads, and they might get taken down off those stands for vocals once in a while too.
 
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