distorted toms???

[earwhig]

I've been recording drums for a couple of weeks. It's going pretty good except for the toms coming out distorted.

Here's my gear and method-

Two mxl603s either in xy configuration or one almost over the drummers shoulder micing the left side of the kit and one over the right side(over snare HH and cymbal.) I usually go xy, though. about 2 feet over cymbal tops

into m-audio audiobuddy mic pre

Sm57 on the snare

AKG d550 on kick

all this is either being recorded strait to tape on my Tascam MKII 4-track
or into my DAW using the 4-track as a mixer.

It happens more so when I'm going from 4trk as mixer into DAW.

Any Ideas as to why the toms and nothing else distorts sometimes????

(all my levels are strait and my pre shows no clipping)

 

[Rokket]

I'm far from expert when it comes to mic'ing drums, but just from what I read, it sounds like either there is something wrong with your mics, or they are not ideal for micing drums....
Do you have other mics available to swap them out?

 

[earwhig]

I was using some cheap audio technica dynamic mics as overheads before. I did have a bit of distortion on the toms but not as bad as my SDL's. I find that making a cut at around 250 khz helps a bit. It's been pissing me off. They sound good on acoustic guitar and all the other drums/cymbals. The toms are tuned and have brand new heads on them.

What gives??????????I'm starting to get a tad irritated with this. I want to be able to get as good a sound as possible before even touching the e.q. knobs.

 

[the dan]

You can overdrive some condenser mics if the low end is too loud. Simply back the mics up away from the toms. A good way to get good tom sounds is to set the mics up like overheads and aim them directly at the toms. About 3-4 feet from the heads.