convince me to run out and rent 414's!

[johnfindlay]

Hi,

I finally miked up a kit-with SM57s.............

The overheads sound brutal - harsh thru a Mackie 1604.
Ive used 441's for ac. gt. and vox-will it help alot-is it worth "just' for drum overheads?[apologies to drummers].

Also I do have a real drummer with real drums coming for the session.

.....I do have Radioshack PZM's-would that be a step up?


JF

 

[CGibson]

Hi,

I finally miked up a kit-with SM57s.............

The overheads sound brutal - harsh thru a Mackie 1604.
Ive used 441's for ac. gt. and vox-will it help alot-is it worth "just' for drum overheads?[apologies to drummers].

Also I do have a real drummer with real drums coming for the session.

.....I do have Radioshack PZM's-would that be a step up?


JF

Why do you need to be convinced?
414's as over-heads are about as good as it gets in my book.
I only have one 414 at this point so I use my studio project stereo mic for over heads and it does a great job.
Here's a sample of the stereo mic over-head that I recorded a few weeks ago.
So to answer your question....Hell ya use the 414’s

http://www.cgibsonstudio.com/drumsample.wav



C

 

[capnreverb]

For starters, we need to know one important thing. Are these drums being recorded by themselves, or are they being recorded in the context of other live instruments at the same time?

if i was going to record them solo with what you have mentioned, i might try putting one sm57 in the sweet spot behind the snare between the kick drum and high hat, and two pzms placed somewhere in the room where it gives the overall best sound.
if its in a situation with other instruments, you might try one sm57 in the same sweet spot, and the other 57 as an overhead.

But context is everything, including type of music you are recording, and at what volumes the drummer plays at.

There are a lot of mics out there that would probably give you more of a better/accurate/pleasing sound.

My favorite for drums right now is a mdc/ldc in the sweet spot, and a matched pair of sdc's as overheads.

 

[johnfindlay]

Thanks guys-its my wife $ that really needs convincing!

Hey C -your overheads defintley sound sweeter than what Im getting now..
Studio Projects are great from what I hear.

Thanx capnreverb- we're doing blues mainly.
I think Ill give the Realistic PCM's a crack-they're not bad for recording live gigs.

What/where are mdc/ldc..?

hey i just gotta lotta good ideas thanx.


JF

 

[Massive Master]

iF You donT GO REnt tHe miCROphonEZ, the bUnnY geTs it.








Convinced?

 

[chessrock]

I just want to know what you have against Bunnies, John?

 

[CGibson]

Thanks guys-its my wife $ that really needs convincing!

Hey C -your overheads defintley sound sweeter than what Im getting now..
Studio Projects are great from what I hear.

Thanx capnreverb- we're doing blues mainly.
I think Ill give the Realistic PCM's a crack-they're not bad for recording live gigs.

What/where are mdc/ldc..?

hey i just gotta lotta good ideas thanx.


JF

I guess my point is, several people including myself have used small capsules as over-heads for so long that we forget that ldc's can produce a nice tone in the application also.
The 414 model is one of my favorite all around mics to capture several things. So I don't think you'll hate yourself in the morning if you use them as over-heads.

C

 

[CGibson]

I know!

I just want to know what you have against Bunnies, John?

Bunnies are slowly becoming the new trend for studios.
Out with the Lava Lamp and in with the furry little carrot eating, pellet dropping, buck toothed, big-eared fuzzy fellow we call the studio mascot.

And if He dies we just plug the Lava Lamp back in.

C

 

[Massive Master]

I really have nothing against bunnies - It was a South Park reference.

Here's a nice one... Been slow this week...

 

[darnold]

I love the 414s on overheads. Infact its all i use if i want a big tight drum sound for rock and stuff.

The question is, how much do they cost to rent?

Danny

 

[dudge]

Quick, get the Holy Hand Grenade!
Thou shalt count to three, and three shall be the number of the counting...............
Thou shalt not proceedeth to
four...........................................................five's right out

 

[johnfindlay]

.............that rabbits dynamite!


Hows about AKG C1000 [digressingly rabbitly].


JF

 

[johnfindlay]

414's to rent up here in Toronto are about 75$ a week...


C1000 are about 25$ p/week

 

[In Tune Audio]

You asked in your original post if overheads were worth it. Overheads are where most of your drum sound comes from. The close mics are just to reinforece the sound. So if your overheads sound like crap, think how your drums will sound.


Using good quality overheads are worth every single penny.

 

[johnfindlay]

thanx intune-ya i just did a test and tried my Realistic PZm mics-I know they're
not great but they have more top-not as mid rangy harsh as a 57-
so i imagine if I go to akg's I will benefit.

...even the PZMs made the kit " breath" a bit better overall.

Ive got some great drum sample libraries to A/B[unfortunately they're too good]-
Peter Erskine-Steve Gadd-etc.

 

[lpdeluxe]

Ultra Bunny

John, there's only one possible improvement on the UltraBunny...

 

[Dot]

414's are great but your Mackie pres aren't going to help much at that level. There are other less expensive LDC mics you can use on OH's that sound excellent.

Studio Projects B1
Oktava MK319
Red5 Audio RV8
Audio-Technica AT4040

I'lll put any rental money towards the purchase of a pair of mics instead.

 

[johnfindlay]

Thanks Dan-i've taken note of that list.


JF

 

[dalon]

I would just buy two MXL 603 mics. Sounds great. Costs less.

Daan

 

[darnold]

603s sound a little thin as overheads to me. SP B1 would be a similiar choice to the AKG 414s.

$75 a week for microphones is dirt cheap though! See if you can rent some better preamps too to run them with. If you did something like that it would be worth the rental in my opinion. Or buying a good pair and renting out a good preamp also will be an excellent choice.

Danny