Drum Mics

  • Thread starter Thread starter carrillojoe8
  • Start date Start date
carrillojoe8 said:
Hello, I am looking for opinions on a set up i have in mind or recommendations of any other mics.

I have a 4 piece drum kit.

The mics I have in mind are the following:

Kick – AKG D112
Snare – Shure SM57
Rack Tom – Sennheiser e604
Floor Tom – Sennheiser e602-II
OverHeads – Audio Techinca PRO 37s

Thanks for all your help in advance!
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The D112 is a good kick mic, but I'd recommend getting something instead that could be used on other things as well, like vocals or guitar amp. A few years back I was going to get a D112, but I ended up going with the Electro-Voice re320.
 
Hey OP - per your request, here is the comparison performed again with some EQ on the AT2020 (for demonstrative purposes only!). I mixed the kick and snare in (raw, no EQ or compression) too on this one, to give you an idea of the two different overheads on a fuller kit mix. See screen grabs for various EQ and channel settings. Hope this helps!

AT2020 (with EQ) vs PRO 37 - YouTube

NOTE - I am not saying anyone *should* or *must* EQ an overhead mic or use any of these particular settings. The OP wanted to hear it with some high end pulled back from the AT2020 so I complied. This is for demonstration only. Your results WILL vary.
 
I will be going with the 2020s instead! Thanx for the comparison. I will just drop some high end on them. They are cheaper, PLUS I already own one of them, I will just need to buy another.

gregoryg said:
Hey OP - per your request, here is the comparison performed again with some EQ on the AT2020 (for demonstrative purposes only!). I mixed the kick and snare in (raw, no EQ or compression) too on this one, to give you an idea of the two different overheads on a fuller kit mix. See screen grabs for various EQ and channel settings. Hope this helps!


NOTE - I am not saying anyone *should* or *must* EQ an overhead mic or use any of these particular settings. The OP wanted to hear it with some high end pulled back from the AT2020 so I complied. This is for demonstration only. Your results WILL vary.
Click to expand...
 
I first thought of getting something that I could use on other instruments, but I'd rather buy different mics for each instrument and leave them assigned to their job.

guitaristic said:
The D112 is a good kick mic, but I'd recommend getting something instead that could be used on other things as well, like vocals or guitar amp. A few years back I was going to get a D112, but I ended up going with the Electro-Voice re320.
Click to expand...
 
carrillojoe8 said:
I will be going with the 2020s instead! Thanx for the comparison. I will just drop some high end on them. They are cheaper, PLUS I already own one of them, I will just need to buy another.
Click to expand...

I don't want to get flamed for giving advice so I will just say I use my AT2020s as drum overheads all the time and my PRO 37s left the shelf for the first time in a year only to do this test!

So you'll be saving about $180 after buying a second AT2020 -- what piece of gear are you gonna put that toward now?! :)
 
Fair enough!

I wil probably save up a little more and look into buying an AKG C214 for vocals :thumbs up:

gregoryg said:
I don't want to get flamed for giving advice so I will just say I use my AT2020s as drum overheads all the time and my PRO 37s left the shelf for the first time in a year only to do this test!

So you'll be saving about $180 after buying a second AT2020 -- what piece of gear are you gonna put that toward now?! :)
Click to expand...
 
Any experience using (2) 57s on the snare? Top & Bottom.

gregoryg said:
I don't want to get flamed for giving advice so I will just say I use my AT2020s as drum overheads all the time and my PRO 37s left the shelf for the first time in a year only to do this test!

So you'll be saving about $180 after buying a second AT2020 -- what piece of gear are you gonna put that toward now?! :)
Click to expand...
 
carrillojoe8 said:
Any experience using (2) 57s on the snare? Top & Bottom.
Click to expand...

I use an SM57 top and a small condenser on the bottom, flip the phase on the bottom mic. The amount of bottom mic I actually use in the mix is dependent on the desired snare sound.

Alan.
 
A trick I've been doing lately is reamping the snare drum. Just route an output of the snare track to an amp, Eq it a little maybe a gate and place the snare drum upside down ontop of the speaker faced down (I'm using a 1x12 guitar speaker) I did this about a month ago because I was getting too much kick drum in the bottom snare mic at the time works like a charm and saves you on channels and potential phase problems. Might need to adjust and tape the snare a little. This is also
Pretty cool to do to an entire drum buss if your tracks are just overall too sterile.
 
I also saw this set up on another site. It said it would provide more “sheen” in the upper mid frequencies. Can you relate to this?

"This combo can be used to capture an aggressive sound as well, but provides more “sheen” in the upper mid frequencies. In this configuration, the SDC does a great job at bringing out the “buzz” of the snare wires and is well suited for capturing intricate stick work such as rolls, ghost notes, etc. The SDC may sound a bit thin in comparison to a dynamic mic on the resonant head."

witzendoz said:
I use an SM57 top and a small condenser on the bottom, flip the phase on the bottom mic. The amount of bottom mic I actually use in the mix is dependent on the desired snare sound.

Alan.
Click to expand...
 
Interesting technique! I will give it a try some time.

David Cooke said:
A trick I've been doing lately is reamping the snare drum. Just route an output of the snare track to an amp, Eq it a little maybe a gate and place the snare drum upside down ontop of the speaker faced down (I'm using a 1x12 guitar speaker) I did this about a month ago because I was getting too much kick drum in the bottom snare mic at the time works like a charm and saves you on channels and potential phase problems. Might need to adjust and tape the snare a little. This is also
Pretty cool to do to an entire drum buss if your tracks are just overall too sterile.
Click to expand...
 
The sennheisers on the toms should be fine. I would not get a D-112 for the kick, there are many other much better choices.
 
carrillojoe8 said:
I also saw this set up on another site. It said it would provide more “sheen” in the upper mid frequencies. Can you relate to this?

"This combo can be used to capture an aggressive sound as well, but provides more “sheen” in the upper mid frequencies. In this configuration, the SDC does a great job at bringing out the “buzz” of the snare wires and is well suited for capturing intricate stick work such as rolls, ghost notes, etc. The SDC may sound a bit thin in comparison to a dynamic mic on the resonant head."
Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply, been on and off the road this last month. I mainly use the bottom mic to add snare to the snare, if you know what I mean, a bit more of the wires, this really helps when the snare itself is a bit on the dull side. As a rule (but rules can be broken) I shelve the lows from the bottom mic, I also sometimes gate the bottom mic but with a gate triggered from the top mic, this helps if the snare wires have a bit too much rattle for the sound required or they are rattling with the kick or toms. I sometimes also gate the top mic but only if it is of benefit to the sound I want/song style.

Don't forget that a fair bit of the snare sound is from the overheads.

Alan.
 
Sounds great! Thanks for your help!

witzendoz said:
Sorry for the late reply, been on and off the road this last month. I mainly use the bottom mic to add snare to the snare, if you know what I mean, a bit more of the wires, this really helps when the snare itself is a bit on the dull side. As a rule (but rules can be broken) I shelve the lows from the bottom mic, I also sometimes gate the bottom mic but with a gate triggered from the top mic, this helps if the snare wires have a bit too much rattle for the sound required or they are rattling with the kick or toms. I sometimes also gate the top mic but only if it is of benefit to the sound I want/song style.

Don't forget that a fair bit of the snare sound is from the overheads.

Alan.
Click to expand...
 
What are some cons on the D112? And what would you recommend?

ShofB said:
The sennheisers on the toms should be fine. I would not get a D-112 for the kick, there are many other much better choices.
Click to expand...
 
After months of reading reviews and looking into drum mics. I went ahead and got another AT2020 for OHs since I already had one. I also bought the SM57. I decided that I will buy MD421s for both toms. But I am still stuck on what mic to get for the kick. I found out that the D112 does sound a little thin and that a D6 is hyped and not suitable for all genres. As of now I am interested in the Sennheiser E602 for the kick, I have heard recording and read reviews about its punchiness; which I like. Any opinions on the E602?
 
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The E602 is a very solid mic. I have one and I am very happy with it. It is scoped but just enough to give you some help with the EQing. This makes is very good both live and in the studio. I also had the D112 and I was never a huge fan of it. It altered the kick sound in a way I didn't like. It was cool on floor tom and guitar cabs though.
 
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