Drum Mic Sets?

[LivingFod]

Are any of these cheap drum mic sets even worth the money. I am talking about the ones that are any where from 150/200 to 300/350 dollars? I am looking at buying on sometime in the future.

 

[vcgeetar]

i use a radio shack mic for bottom snare sometimes.... its like this crappy drum mic that cost like 30 bucks or something like that but it sounds badass on bottom snare. wish i knew the name of them though

 

[Dogbreath]

Can't say as I've tried the sets, so I can't help ya there. I DID, however, post about the same question a couple years ago and got the basic response of, "Don't waste your $$$"." (ish)

I only use 4 mics on my drums so...........I like the Shure Beta 52 and the AKG D112 on kick, the ever present '57 on snare and either the Shure KSM 109's or the Studio Projects B1's as OH's. A simple setup but it's workin out pretty good.

Jus my 2c..........hope it helps....

 

[Dogbreath]

I guess I should reiterate.....not all the mic sets are bad..... just havent heard em myself...

 

[Crazy Drummer69]

I just purchased the Samson 8 mic kit, it should get shipped out on Monday I'll let you know. Tomorrow morning I'm heading to the music store to buy a Presonus FIREPOD, 8chnl preamp with firewire

 

[markitzero]

I have the 6 piece Shure PG series drum kit (PG52, 3 PG56s, 2 PG81s).... I've used the Beta/SM versions of the above extensively so I know what they should sound like... I can honestly say this kit is worth the money you pay for it. All the mics are built solidly, and the cheap drum "claws" actually work suprisingly well. The only thing I hate about the kit is that the PG81s have on/off switches (which makes sense because they can also be battery powered instead of phantom powered, but I still hate it).

As far as sound, they're all solid. I've gotten excellent results from the PG56s on toms. I was actually suprised they sounded that good. They don't work amazingly on snare though, so I'll generally use a 57 with a cheap SDC next to it both on the top of the snare and that usually does the trick. The PG52 isn't as great as its Beta counterpart... the Beta52 usually gives me the sound I need with little trouble. With the PG52 you have to work a little harder, as it sounds a little bit boxier and without the nice spike in the 4K range that the Beta has. I currently am loving the EV RE27 on Kick, so the PG52 is now relegated to being the second kick mic in a double bass drum setup... I'll sample the RE27 kick and just use the PG52 signal as a trigger for Drumagog to replace it with the RE27 sound. The PG81s are very useable as well... I've used them as overheads on a couple of projects that came out really well. I'd rather use Oktava MC012s, but don't have those at my disposal right now.

Bottom line: for under 400 bucks its a solid deal for a good amount of useable mics. If you have the cash, spring for the real deal (Beta52, Beta56, Sm81s)... But even saying that I do not regret my purchase at all.

 

[Supercreep]

It depends on what "good enough" means for you.

 

[RFrecordings]

There is one that I know of... The Shure DMK 57-52 Drum mic pack is probably the best band for the buck. You can find it easily for under $400, usually around $350. It comes with 3 SM57's, 1 Beta 52 and 3 Drum Mic Mounts, plus a hard case to fit everything in.

IMO it could be one of the best mic kits for its value.

 

[dgatwood]

Re: the 57-52, it still has no overheads and no snare mic, so it's only a partial kit for that price.

Re: the PG kit, you're still short a snare mic and you probably eventually decide to replace all of the mics with something better, so in the long term, it probably doesn't make much sense.

I'd pick and choose. Get some stuff that you'll keep forever and fill in the gaps with cheap stuff that you'll eventually replace.

1. Get an AKG D112 (or a Shure Beta 52A if you prefer) for kick. Do NOT under any circumstances succumb to the temptation to buy a Nady DM90 kick mic.

2. Get a couple of inexpensive SDCs. You'll eventually want to upgrade them to get better low end response, but a couple of Nady CM90 mics will do reasonably well for overheads for now as long as you have a decent kick mic. The CM88 pair costs less, but I've never tried it, so I can't give any advice there. Since it's a long-term-throwaway part, you should probably go with the cheaper ones.

3. Get a three pack of AKG D2300S mics for tom. Not as good a deal as when I was paying $5-10 apiece of them, but still a good deal, IMHO. Don't use them on snare. Too muddy. The sound is a little heavy, but it balances out the lack of low end on the CM90 pair. You'll probably upgrade these when you upgrade your overheads.

4. CAD drum clips for toms and snare.

5. Decent snare mic. Some folks like the SM-57. Never liked it, personally. Find yourself a used AKG 190E (thanks, RickW, that mic rocks). Failing that, a used Unisphere will do.


Total:

$200 - D112 (or $190 for the Beta 52A)
$100 - Nady CM-90 pair ($80 for a CM-88 pair)
$080 - 3 x D2300S
$080 - 4 x CAD DSM-1
$020 - Used Unisphere

That comes to about $480 ($450), of which $280 ($270) is stuff that should last the rest of your life. The rest is stuff that you'll eventually upgrade.

 

[Gamelan]

Are any of these cheap drum mic sets even worth the money. I am talking about the ones that are any where from 150/200 to 300/350 dollars? I am looking at buying on sometime in the future.

Depends on what you want to do with it. I've not seen any drum "mic pack" that I would use for recording. (Clip on mics aren't good for recording anyway, IMO, better to use stands) If this is for live sound, then I would consider the Sennheiser 604 (? I think that's the number) or something similar. There is no such thing as a good drum sound for $300 (I wish), unless you can find someone who's giving away great mics.

 

[Supercreep]

D112

2xMXL 603s - Or 2xSP B1's

SM57

This setup will give you a very workable drum sound for 500 bucks.