Drum mics: what to get, what to get

N

Newbie dude

New member
okay. Question for you guyses

Now, excluding recording cymbals,if you could use an sm57 and get this to record the rest of your drums, which is 250 bucks:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Shure-PG-4Piece-Drum-Microphone-Package?sku=270297





or, you could get a shure beta 52, and then use a 57 on the snare, then one 57 and 2 58's on toms, and this option will be 190 bucks



or, finally, you could buy this for 300 bucks:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Audix-Fusion-Series-6Piece-Drum-Microphone-Pack?sku=270665














what would you get? thankee very much, sirs and ma'ams.
 
Those aren't very good options. For the money, I'd suggest starting with a decent pair of overheads. IMO this would get you more bang for your buck than your other options. Then, work on a decent kick mic.

Something in your range might be a couple of MXL 603's (ebay says a pair can be had for about $110) and perhaps an Audix D-6 on the kick (ebay sez $160 - $199). Of course, the kick mic selection should be tailored to your style of music. And then, your 57 on the snare.

Four mics can get the job done, unless you are dead set on close-miking the kit.
 
Maybe the $20 MSH mics will work well for at least part of the kit and will free up some cash for other mics.

Do a title search for "MSH Drum Mics" or something, there have been a few at least.

Also, check out the drum sound clips:
http://www.naiant.com/studiostore/audiosamples.html

I've never owned even a semi-high-end mic before so I can't offer advice on that, but I do use the MSH mics exclusively and can speak from experience that they sound very nice on acoustic guitar.
 
Of those two options I would go with the audix set and a 57 because you at least have two overhead type mics in there.

If I were you I would start with 4 mics, two M-audio pulsars ($99 each and I have not heard them yet), one blue kickball ($99) and one sm57 (not pg). That whole deal will run you less than $400 and you can add some e604s ($299 for 3) later if you absolutely need tom mics, I know I do.
 
Well, for overheads I already have a studio projects B1 and a Shure ksm[ i think thats what its called]. Does that change your answers, or should I still focu on better overheads rather than better drum mics?
 
I would save a bit more money and get a Shure sm57 or a Beyer dynamic M201, or a couple of sennheiser 421's and a AKG D112, you wouldn't be disappointed. The 421 (although the 441 is magical) is a pretty good all rounder and would be my first choice for Toms. Shure SM57 on snare. AkG D112 on kick.
Plus The 57 and the 421's are great on many applications.
 
Another option for your floor toms is the Audio Technica Pro25. It is primarily considered a kick mic, but I really despise it as such, though on floor toms it sounds great. It can be had for around fifty bucks on ebay.

This is not to be confused with the ATM25 which is about twice as much on ebay, but sounds great on toms and kick!
 
What kind of music?

I think different kick drum mics work better for different types of music. For example, I think a D6 kicks ass for metal, don't think it is the best for other stuff. A Beta 52 works real good for country and regular alt/rock, and is pretty good for metal, but not as good as the D6 for metal. I've never used a D12, but in any case it might help if we knew what kind of music you plan on recording.

For some types of music you can get pretty good results with a couple of overheads. For other types a couple of overheads and a kick drum mic.

See, lots of different options...
 
thanks for the advice guys. i'm gonna look into all the mics suggested.

Lemme sort do a restart on this thread A little. Me and a couple friends are starting a smell recording studio to make demos for local bands, artists, and such. Therefore, we will be recording different types of music, however we will most likely be end up withthe majority of our clients being hardcore metal bands such as Parkway Drive and As I Lay Dying, seeing as that the biggest music scene around here. Here are the mics we have already have:

Shure ksm 27
studio projects b1
[2] sm57
[1] sm58


And according to my friend, we have an arsenal of 57's and 58's we can use from his church at our disposal as well, though half the time he's full of shit, so.......


but anyways.


We'd like to, of course, get the best sound possible, and if we were to add to our mic collection to get a better sound, we'd like to keep the money we spend in the lower range, at the very most 400 bucks, but perferably lower.







so.....

who wants to instruct a newbie?:]
 
Listen, I have the Audix set you listed. I use all of those plus a SM57 on the snare. I think they do a great job for the money. Go to my soundclick page and you will get a idea of how they sound (Audix + SM57 on snare). Also remember Ive been recording for about 8 months now, so Im still learning every day and my drum sounds get better too. Give them a listen. Also I suck at drums. And if I remember right there are I thinks three tunes at the bottom of the site where I used loops. Its easy to tell them from me. The loops are in time :)
 
thanks for the advice, dude. your drum recordings sound pretty good. Not crazy about the kick sound, but i'm sure that could be fixeed with a little eq tracking. I might end up buying that package.
 
Yep the kick and snare is very hard to get everyone to agree on. Some like it boomy, some a simple thud, some like alot of click in it. Its very much a personal taste thing. Most time in the studio is spent getting the drum sound the way the the band recording likes it. I can eq it and get any sound I like. But yea they do a fine job for the money. But definately use a SM57 on the snare.
 
Based on the mics you have, I would get a D6 and two matched SDCs, like the MXL2003 or Joemeek JM27's. You would be in pretty good shape then.

You could use the 57s and 58s on toms and snare, the B1 and KSM for the ride and the hat, and the SDCs for overheads, and the d6 of course for the kick...
 
RAMI said:
More mics doesn't mean a better sound. In fact, very possibly the opposite. I say start with 4 mics. You'd be surprised.
Click to expand...


Rami, I didnt mean getting mics to add what we have to record drums. I should have been clearer. I meant to get more mics that we would use to replace some of the mics we already have to use on drums.
 
Newbie dude said:
Rami, I didnt mean getting mics to add what we have to record drums. I should have been clearer. I meant to get more mics that we would use to replace some of the mics we already have to use on drums.
Click to expand...

Sorry, my mistake. You're absolutely right. I misunderstood that one.

Just to throw in my two cents for what it's worth, I use a 57 on my snare, a D-112 on kik, and 2 C1000's for over heads. I'm happy with the 57 and D-112...Can't say I'm unhappy with the C-1000's, but they would be the first things I would change.
 
I thought I posted this reply yesterday, but I guess not...


How important is it that both the overheads mics are the same mic as each other?
 
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