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dumass
New member
so anyone think i should get the b1 for the floor tom?
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dumass
New member
and also DJL please check out my drum track in the drums and percussion forum n tell me what you think please...thanks
Rimshot
New member
I just got in after a long day on the road and I'm catching up on the current posting.
DJL, I don't own the B1 mic, I use the Oktava Mk219's on drums though and I like their performance on floor toms. A friend of mine used the SP B1 on my rack toms for a recording of his and another friend purchased te B1 on my reccommendation and is using it on his floor toms with great success. They of course are mounted on floor stands and not as close as you'd go as with traditional close mic'ing with dynamic mics. Both the Mk219's and the B1 seem to deal with lower frequencies quite well and give a real "true" sound to the floor toms without "a lot" of EQing. Of course my first choice for floor toms would be the AKG D414, but if you don't happen to have a spare $700 to spend, the Mk219 and the B1 do the job quite nicely. The M319 and the SP B3 with the 10db pad will probably do the job even better, but they are twice the price and we were talking in the under $100 range. Just make sure you keep them out of harm's way, set back away from the drums more (turn up your signal a bit) and out of the way of an accidental hit from a stick. Another friend of mine that is a jazz drummer has been using the Mk319 with a pop screen as his kick mic and he gets really good results.
Just another opinion for the stew.
DJL, I don't own the B1 mic, I use the Oktava Mk219's on drums though and I like their performance on floor toms. A friend of mine used the SP B1 on my rack toms for a recording of his and another friend purchased te B1 on my reccommendation and is using it on his floor toms with great success. They of course are mounted on floor stands and not as close as you'd go as with traditional close mic'ing with dynamic mics. Both the Mk219's and the B1 seem to deal with lower frequencies quite well and give a real "true" sound to the floor toms without "a lot" of EQing. Of course my first choice for floor toms would be the AKG D414, but if you don't happen to have a spare $700 to spend, the Mk219 and the B1 do the job quite nicely. The M319 and the SP B3 with the 10db pad will probably do the job even better, but they are twice the price and we were talking in the under $100 range. Just make sure you keep them out of harm's way, set back away from the drums more (turn up your signal a bit) and out of the way of an accidental hit from a stick. Another friend of mine that is a jazz drummer has been using the Mk319 with a pop screen as his kick mic and he gets really good results.
Just another opinion for the stew.
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Dot
New member
The SM57 is not a particularly good tom mic in the studio. If you're still looking in the $80 area, I'd recommend the SP B1.
Dan Richards
Digital Pro Sound
The Listening Sessions
Dan Richards
Digital Pro Sound
The Listening Sessions
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dumass
New member
ohh...well yea the idea of that came to me when i saw a professional quality studio using them....so i decided to get some more..
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DJL
Self Banned
Hey thanks rimshot... I was wondering if you had problems with the B1 clipping when using it as a floor tom mic... but, you said it wasn't close so that explains that... but, what about bleed then, did you have a problem with bleed?
Rimshot
New member
Yes I do pick up a bit of my snare and kick on the floor toms mic, but it's not that bad of a problem. I have also done a close mic'ing of the floor toms with a smaller dynamic and I got virtually no bleed, but I like the sound that I get from the larger diaphram condensers. There's a roundness that the Mk319's give to the tone that the little hypercardioid dynamics didn't give me, it's truer to the timbre of the drum. Yeah, it's a trade-off, but one I'm perfectly willing to make. It's a faint bleed anyway.
EDIT: OOPS! That should have read
Mk219's. It's just a Freudian slip. I'm wishing that I had purchased the Mk319's instead 'cause they have the 10db pad switch. But I do like my Mk219's.
I wish I could read Russian tho.
EDIT: OOPS! That should have read
Mk219's. It's just a Freudian slip. I'm wishing that I had purchased the Mk319's instead 'cause they have the 10db pad switch. But I do like my Mk219's.
I wish I could read Russian tho.
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ScienceOne
New member
What about the "almost condenser" e604 from Sennheiser? How is that on toms? I hear it's just incredible.
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DJL
Self Banned
Thanks rimshot. 
Rimshot
New member
Hi ScienceOne,
The Sennheiser e604's are great little mics, I own two and use them on my kit. They're good for snare and small toms but they won't give the roundness that I like to the floor toms. That's where you'll need to use a kick mic like the one this thread is about or a large diaphram condenser (properly protected).
If I were made of money, I would opt for the AKG 414's or the Sennheiser 441 on floor toms, (sound engineers have used them on my kit and I watch jealously) but for a man of simple means like myself, I've learned to get by with less expensive options.
For close mic'ing the ATM Pro 25 or even better the ATM 25 will work well, but I have three floor toms, so that would be three of those puppies for close mic'ing, I just can't afford that now. For live sound I get by with the e604's and the Radio Shack imitations of them the 330-3032's and for studio I use the Mk219's (which I had been using as overheads) but I've gone back to the ECM8000's as overheads because I so liked how the Oktavas worked as floor tom mics.
When I can afford it, I will pick up either a matched pair of Oktava Mk012's or a pair of SP C4's to use as overheads.
The e604's are a lot like the Sm57 to my ears but they are smaller and stay out of my way better. They are cardioid dynamics BTW, nothing like a condenser,just real good dynamics like the SM57.
The Sennheiser e604's are great little mics, I own two and use them on my kit. They're good for snare and small toms but they won't give the roundness that I like to the floor toms. That's where you'll need to use a kick mic like the one this thread is about or a large diaphram condenser (properly protected).
If I were made of money, I would opt for the AKG 414's or the Sennheiser 441 on floor toms, (sound engineers have used them on my kit and I watch jealously) but for a man of simple means like myself, I've learned to get by with less expensive options.
For close mic'ing the ATM Pro 25 or even better the ATM 25 will work well, but I have three floor toms, so that would be three of those puppies for close mic'ing, I just can't afford that now. For live sound I get by with the e604's and the Radio Shack imitations of them the 330-3032's and for studio I use the Mk219's (which I had been using as overheads) but I've gone back to the ECM8000's as overheads because I so liked how the Oktavas worked as floor tom mics.
When I can afford it, I will pick up either a matched pair of Oktava Mk012's or a pair of SP C4's to use as overheads.
The e604's are a lot like the Sm57 to my ears but they are smaller and stay out of my way better. They are cardioid dynamics BTW, nothing like a condenser,just real good dynamics like the SM57.
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ScienceOne
New member
Ok, I just used an RE20 on floor tom and a D112 on bass for my last drum recordings, now i wish I had switched them around.
A few people have said that the E604's sound like condensers, that was the only reason i put the condenser reference. But if they sound similar to a 57, then I don't know how anyone could say it's comparable to a condenser. 57's just SOUND like dynamics.
What's the difference between a 441 and a 421 (Sennheiser)?
My last tom sounds were anything but big and full, i used a 57 on the single rack tom and an RE20 on the floortom. Maybe I should have miked the bottom drum heads instead of the top? Of course, most of my sound came from the M/S pair out front (C414 and a 603s). Anyone know how to make your tom's sound huge?
Rimshot, that is a bigass set. How many rack toms do you have? Our drummer used to have 4 tom toms and 2 floor toms, 2 bass drums, and a shitload of cymbals. He used every single piece equally (we know cause he broke every head). However, when he downsized to just ONE rack tom, ONE floor tom, and one bass drum with a double pedal (leaving all the cymbals), his playing actually improved speed and accuracy-wise. I guess it's like what the White Stripes say about more limitations cause you to be more creative. Even though we are a melodic hardcore band, not detroit blues-rock.
A few people have said that the E604's sound like condensers, that was the only reason i put the condenser reference. But if they sound similar to a 57, then I don't know how anyone could say it's comparable to a condenser. 57's just SOUND like dynamics.
What's the difference between a 441 and a 421 (Sennheiser)?
My last tom sounds were anything but big and full, i used a 57 on the single rack tom and an RE20 on the floortom. Maybe I should have miked the bottom drum heads instead of the top? Of course, most of my sound came from the M/S pair out front (C414 and a 603s). Anyone know how to make your tom's sound huge?
Rimshot, that is a bigass set. How many rack toms do you have? Our drummer used to have 4 tom toms and 2 floor toms, 2 bass drums, and a shitload of cymbals. He used every single piece equally (we know cause he broke every head). However, when he downsized to just ONE rack tom, ONE floor tom, and one bass drum with a double pedal (leaving all the cymbals), his playing actually improved speed and accuracy-wise. I guess it's like what the White Stripes say about more limitations cause you to be more creative. Even though we are a melodic hardcore band, not detroit blues-rock.
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donkeystyle
New member
hey DJL, you shouldn't worry much about bleed....as long as it's good sounding bleed.......if you're close micing drums, you'll still get seperation........the only problem i've run into with using condenser mics on toms is the cymbal bleed.....and that was because the drummers had their cymbals like 2 inches away from their toms......man i hate when drummers play like that.........it's so hard to mic.....and like i said if you use condensers (i use the AT 3035's) you get a ton of cymbals in the tom mics........i don't worry about it though.....because it still sounds good, and i still get enough seperation from the other toms that i can pan them.
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