Best drum recording mics?

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tuxedo122

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Hello to everyone. It's nice to finally go into another forum other than just harmonycentral. Don't get me wrong they are a great forum but i think that these two conbined will give me a lot more and better replies. Ok to the question.

I am wondering what some really good mics for drum recording are. i already have an AKG c-3000b that I was going to use as one of the overhead mics. Is this a good choice? I know that i will probably need another condenser mic. I have an sm-57 for recording the snare drum. I haven't figured out what kind of mic I was going to use to record the bass drum.( Neither the brand nor if I was going to use a condenser or not) and I was thinking about putting some sort of small diaphragm mic in between the two toms like a shure 91 or the AKG c-1000. Any suggestions or comments would be HIGHLY appreciated.
 
Use the search function and type in "drum mics", I'm sure you'll find your answers.
 
tuxedo,

It sounds like you are on the right track.I use 57's and a Sm52 beta.I now have a pair of ecm8000's from Berringer that make excellent overheads for only $70 a pair.You can read all about it on the post,"Beringer may have just taken the lead for more bang for the buck..."on the microphone section.

And as rtzstudios mentioned use your search feature on the top right of the screen to search for exsisting thread information.

I noticed that you are new here.WELCOME! I hope you enjoy this great forum as much as I have.
 
heres my 2 cents :


kick drum depends on how much you wanna spend...anywhere from:
http://www.8thstreet.com/Product.asp?ProductCode=4854&Category=Microphones
to
http://www.8thstreet.com/Product.asp?ProductCode=4017&Category=Microphones
to
http://www.8thstreet.com/Product.asp?ProductCode=1053&Category=Microphones

for snare, you guessed right on the sm57

as overheads, id get a pair of ecm8000's that vulcan mentioned.....

use the akg as a room mic....have someone play the kit and walk around the room and find a sweet spot where the drums sound full and well balanced, and stick it there...it may be in front the kit, it may be behind.....wherever it works.....

if you must mic the toms, sm57(s) will work fine......
 
ok guys. I had already pretty much decided on the Audio techninca 4050 for overheads because everyone had recommended them until now. :( This process is never finished.

So acoording to yall I need a mic for the kick drum, a snare mic, 2 overheads, and use the akg for a "room mic". Do you not think that it might sound better If I miked the toms. I am not suggesting that it would, I really just wanted to know what yall thought. Thank you very much, Bo

for the bass drum would you approve of the akg d-112?
 
i would hold off on the AT4050 until you make sure it will do what you need. The AT4050 is a large diaphragm microphone, and i think it even has a tube in it. For jazz and country, these would make great overheads, but for rock and anything hard like that, you want a small diaphragm to get the punch out of it. Too much warmth and you will not be able to get the sound big enough to go through the heavy guitars, bass, and vocals. Also, i heard that the AT4033 and AT4050 are almost identical sounds, a little warmer on the 4050 side. So you might wonna consider saving some money by getting the AT4033 instead. Dunno though, test them yourself.

Darnold
 
My typical Drum Arsenal

Kick -AKGD112
Toms -Beyer M-201
Snare -ShureSM57
Overhead -AKG C1000


A lot of people hate the c1000's as overheads, but I like em. They manage to come thru in the mix more than enough. They are a little toppy, but for heavy/punk/overdriven sort of music they are a good choice. I'm getting some MXL603's soon to try out. Apparently they are better than the c1000's but I can't do a comp yet. The d112 on kick is great, SM57 on snare is awesome, and the m-201's on the toms are bettere than ANYTHING i've used (including the Sennheiser MD421's)

Hope this helps

`Link
 
so do you think that if I had to good overhead mics, a room mic, a kick drum mic, and a snare mic, that I would reall yneed to have tom mics?
 
If you got the right kind of overhead mic, with decent quality, and a kick drum mic, and a 57 on the snare, you shouldnt even need a room mic. Always remember that most of the time, less is better. You only want that room mic again for jazz, country, or somet older vintage rock, or if you really think it will help. Usually the toms cut through pretty good on the overheads. Actually, the snare does too if you cant afford the 57. There are alot of engineers who sometimes use 1 mic. Really, the style of music really is a matter you need to worry about on this. Its gonna be hard recording some hardcore rock music with AT4050 mics when they are warm and smooth when what you need is punchy and in your face. So make sure you put these things into consideration. Also you will probably want closed micing as much as you can if you are doing some hardcore rock or else they will not cut through the way they should.

Also, i need to make notice of another very important factor...your room. If the room is not tamed, dont expect those overheads to get what you want at such a far distance. In other words, it could be perfect. I believe that in some cases the room is more important than your mic.

Darnold
 
Hiya Tux

If you don't have Tom mics, then your best bet is to try to pick them up in your overheads. No other mics really have anything to do with it, If I were yo I'd probably look into getting some tom Mics before you looked into getting a room mic. You said you might think of putting a C1000 in between your toms to pick em both up!! Try the Beyer M201 if you got the money.

To be honest, I'd skip the room mic and concentrate on getting your drumkit close miced

Good luck Tux

`link
 
Id skip the room mic too, but since he has the 3000b already, he might as well use it....id say try the setup without tom mics and see if you are satisfied...if not, go out and get 2 or 3 sm57's.....that will bring you to a total of 6 to 8 mics on the kit and the usual problem is having enough preamps/mixer to handle that, but if you have that covered, you are in business.....
 
I already have like 4 more sm-58 's that I use for live recording and I didn't mentio that but I just thought that it might sound better If I had some over head mics a sm-57 on the snare and a bass mic. I understand that I probably don't need a room mic I was just going to use it since I had it. So if yall don't like tha at 4500 for rock music (which is what we play) then what other types of condenser mics would you recommend. Thanks Bo


Ohh.. Would you recommend the at-4500 on vocals, and guitar amp? On vocals I really think that I want a warm sounding mic even though we play rock music, kinda like creed b/c vocals always sound warm on their cd's. Granted they probably have million dollar recordings but I was just trying to find an example in my opinion that warm vocals sound good on.
 
if you have all those sm58's and preamps to get them in, id mic the toms.....definitely get a pair of Behringer ecm8000's as overheads....

then put the sm57 on the kick to get the click and the c3000 out in front of the kick a bit to get the low end...viola...no kick mic needed....

take the ball off your sm58's to get them more 57 sounding....put one on the snare and 3 on the toms......

for a vocal mic there are 2 that I recommend often:
Marshall MXLv67 and StudioProjects C1
 
I definatelly recommend the AT40 series. I have a AT4033 which is great, and like i said above, ive heard the AT4033 and AT4050 are very similiar in sound. The AT4033 is a great all around mic for anything. I recommend it for everything except guitar amp. A SM58 (er 57) does a great job at recording guitar amp. The AT4033 might work well as a background or room mic about 3 feet away from the amp. Of course your style depends alot in this. So far, i have to the AT4030 to be much like a SM57 but as a condensor. Of course there is now the Studio Projects C1 that might have pulled in front of it for bargain price for vocals, but the AT40 series mic are a great mic to have in the studio.

I cant remember exactly who it is, but there is someone else here who does GREAT recordings who is also a AT4033 fan. Thats all he uses besides SM57. You need to know that the AT4033 used to be $1000 retail and $800 non and the price was cut in half. So this can be compared to many mics in the $800 range even though it might be the lower end type for the $800 (if that makes any sense).

Like Gidge said, the ECM8000 are great mics for their money also. You can get a stereo pair for around $70. These can also be used to many other things like acoustic guitar.

I do not know what all your needs are in your studio. But i dont think you can go wrong with mics like the AT4033, ECM8000, or the SP C1.

Now, some other option you have. You could buy the ECM8000 stereo pair for $70. Then there might be a need for a stereo LD so you could put the rest into the another AKG C3000, which should also do pretty good on vocals, and could work as drum overheads again. Then later, if you worried about vocals from their, try and save a little more money for the SP C1, and you will have a very varsitle, hefty, colorful mic cabinet. Just some options.

Darnold
 
I miised that guitar amp question...sm57 or 58 definitely....if you are getting a decent room sound, you can use a consenser further away (3-6ft?experiment) to capture some of it....

the big fan of the 4033 would be Ed (sonusman)....his theory is that with a sm57 and a 4033, there isnt much you cant do.....similiar to my theory about the sm57 and MarshallMXLv67.......
 
The 57 and 58 are the same thing. You can get a 57 from a 58 just by taking off the ball foam gaurd. Yes and it is sonusman. Of course the AT4033 and the 57 can record just about anything decently, there are still other mics that do other things better. The room part isnt a huge deal when its that close, or at least it shouldnt be. But usually a 57 in a perfect spot will be all you need, but if you need a little more room sound, then throwing up a condenser a couple feet back and maybe putting it on the opposite side of the 57 track (in panning) and bringing it down will give you a decent roomier sound. However you might actually want to keep it the same panning as the 57 or else the panning will be almost in the middle of the two tracks. Sorry if im not making any sense right now, im a little out of it.


Good luck with your decision. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Darnold
 
aaaanother 2 cents

one good mic and a wicked sounding kit. sounds stupid to be saying this but the biggest problem i have is kits that sound shite if you get the kit sounding kick arse then a good mic in the right place with some quality compression and your cooking. but the other way is good sounding kit and 2 o/h kick 'n' snare but can't stress enough get the kit to sound good then use whatever you have and the results will speak for itself.
 
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