Drum mics

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sam1

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HEYYY,

i play a tama superstar kit and indie rock style stuff. What would be a good budget mic setup? atm im thinking a pair of studio projects c4's for overheads, sm 57 on snare and toms and a beta 52 in the kick.

Would mxl 603's be better than the studio projects?
 
While I own, use (and like) the 603's, I can't say they offer any tremendous advantage over the SP. However if you send them off to Michael Joly, they become a completely different animal.
 
In my experience, the stock SP C4 has a truer, rounder and smoother tone than the stock 603.

Paj
8^)
 
I have a 5pc kit as well and here's what I'm using:

2 - L&R overheads - MXL840
1 - Snare - Shure SM57
1 - Kick - AKG D112

MXL 840:
These small diaphragm condenser mics are $150 for the pair with metal shockmounts. The cardboard box they come in is stuffed with gray foam with cutouts for the mics, and shockmounts. These are usually displayed at GC on a bracket that allows for both mics to be mounted on a single stand. The bracket is not included in the kit, but for the extra $15 you might as well just get the additional boom stand instead.

Soundwise I was pleasantly surprised here. These are by far my favorite part of mic'ing my kit.

Shure SM57:
Not much needs to be said here. They're $100 new, and around $50 used. In terms of snare mics, even in pro studios you will find a 57 on a snare, even when they have a mic locker full of $2,000+ toys. Soundwise you have heard the 57 on a snare thousands of times. It sounds great. The SM57 is a good investment, and they're friggin' affordable which is awesome.

AKG D112:
The "Football" as I call it, sells for $200 new, or around $115 used. I picked this guy up as it is at every club and bar I've ever been in. The thing is to my ears it's a little too "pillowy". This is easily fixed with some EQ but essentially if you're looking for a "round" sound this is it, however, if you're looking for a more modern kick sound, the Beta 52 sounds pretty good.


I have also been able to make use of my friends Audix mics for mic'ing individual toms, which is nice, but with just the pair of overheads you will still get a great stereo image for your tom rolls.



Here's a great clip on drum mics.
Unfortunately out of all of these mics, the one I ended up with was my least favorite of those tested. =*(
The Basement - Big Kick Drum Mic Comparison - YouTube


I hope this helps in some way.
 
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