Drum micing - How do you get your tom sound

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zbert

zbert

In the swamps of Jersey
I've been doing some reading on drum sounds. I've read some people get their tom sound mostly from the overheads (even though they mic close mic the toms too) or others from close micing. What do you use for your drum tom sound? Do you perfer overheads or close micing? When close micing do you use matched mics or mix them up?
They last CD I did was with 4033/4040 as overheads and close micing was with a SM7 on the 10" tom, 421 on the 12" tom and a Sennheiser 602 on the floor. Let me know what you do.
Thanks
 
overall image from the overheads (SP B1's) then sound reinforcement from the tom mics...57s at the moment
 
Pretty happy with the tom sound from just the o/h's at the moment,(mxl604's),using the recorderman method.
 
I use the overheads for the 'smack' and close mics for the 'boom'.

Currently using MXL603's for overheads and CAD M177's for toms with the -20db pad engaged.
 
I've heard some good things about the 177's on the toms.
Phil, have you ever tried a 421 on the toms and if so how do they compare?
 
lately I have been using CAD177's as OH's and I use Sennheiser e604's on the toms...on a well tuned kit, I am 100% please with the 604's...add a little reverb for the mix and they are good to go....

have any of you guys ever taken the reso head off of the toms and mic'd from the inside??? Someone tried to tell me to do that once but I was kinda scared to suggest it because if it didnt work, Id look dumb.... :p
 
thajeremy said:
have any of you guys ever taken the reso head off of the toms and mic'd from the inside??? Someone tried to tell me to do that once but I was kinda scared to suggest it because if it didnt work, Id look dumb.... :p
Click to expand...

Very popular method back in the 70's through some of the 80's. I used this method mainly for live use. The first copuple of sessions I did were miced this way too. It was supposed to give you a bigger focused sound with out the bottom head. Harvey might be a good one to ask on this method with all his years in the studio.
 
Generally speaking, I get most of the drum sound from the overheads (a pair of Earthworks SR-71's) in X-Y. I tight mic the toms (AKG C-1000's on the rack toms and a C-3000 on the floor tom) and push those up under the overheads till I get enough punch. As has been said many, many times here, it still comes down to the drums themselves and the drummer. If they have crappy heads or the drummer is "lacking", it's still garbage in, garbage out.
 
I have three overheads... I use a modified Mixerman set up. AT4050s for the L/R OHs and an SM81 for a center OH. It takes forever to measure this out so that the phase is right and the center is in the center... but I find I get a great image. Then I have a D6 on kick, i5 on rack toms and snare, and a MD421 on the floor tom.
 
Track Rat said:
I tight mic the toms (AKG C-1000's on the rack toms and a C-3000 on the floor tom) and push those up under the overheads till I get enough punch.
Click to expand...

I just got a pair of ACM-310's from the last group buy. They are similar in structure to the AKG C-1000 except with a tube. I asked last week if anyone tried these on toms but got no responses. Guess I'll give them a try myself.
 
Sennheiser e 604s on all the toms. What ever gets into the overheads (sm-81's)if fine.

I do mostly metal, so everything has to sound larger, deeper, and have more attack than in real life.
 
thajeremy said:
have any of you guys ever taken the reso head off of the toms and mic'd from the inside??? Someone tried to tell me to do that once but I was kinda scared to suggest it because if it didnt work, Id look dumb.... :p
Click to expand...

That's how you get the early Alex Van Halen sound.
 
zbert said:
I've heard some good things about the 177's on the toms.
Phil, have you ever tried a 421 on the toms and if so how do they compare?
Click to expand...

Haven't used the 421 on toms, but have compared the 177's to 57's. So far I prefer the 177's.
 
Right now I'm using AKG C1000's for overheads and ATM 23HE's on the toms. Attack from the overheads and body from the tom mics.
 
MK-012s in X/Y on overheads and 57s on the toms. I keep the OH's pretty flat, and pan them out till I get the width I want for the song, then bring up the tom mics, usually pushing the lows, till I get the depth I want from them.
 
A pair of Naiant MSH-1 on OH & 421's on toms.

I try to get the best sound first on the OH, then add the close mic as needed in the mix for the toms.

I have samples, and even though it is with a "Not-so-Good" drummer :o , the recordings gave me a great idea of my set up, compared to what I used to have.
 
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