Drum Mics

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carrillojoe8

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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!
 
That's pretty much a standard set up at this level of home recording. There are a lot of options, but what you have here will serve you well.
 
If money is a factor, you could shave off about $80 and just get a couple more 57s (in liue of those Sennheiser mics) for your toms. I have used those PRO-37 mics as well as AT2020s as overheads and both do fine. Again, swapping out the PRO-37s (x2) for AT2020s will save you another $80. Let me know if you want to hear some samples.
 
Thanx for your recommendations . Sure, I would like to hear some samples!
 
This is all down to preference isn't it. I use exactly this kit (well, bar the OH's) on my live shows, but in the studio, I tend to swap things quite a bit. The 112 works for me live, but is a bit thin in the studio.
 
This sounds like a good plan. I really dig the sennheisers on the toms. I use the sm57 on my toms sometimes and unfortunately the sweet spot is almost always in a dangerous position on smaller toms. But otoh you can never have to many sm57s.
 
I think I like the Pro 37s more than the 2020s. The 2020s seem a little sharp. The cymbals sound smoother on the 37s.

Thanx for the comparsion. Great video.
 
No problem. Please keep in mind there are a lot of variables in recording (set up, set type, the room, mic positioning, how things will be mixed/EQed...) and so on...

This is just a 0db A/B of the four mics on my kit. Your results WILL vary.

carrillojoe8 said:
I think I like the Pro 37s more than the 2020s. The 2020s seem a little sharp. The cymbals sound smoother on the 37s.

Thanx for the comparsion. Great video.
Click to expand...
 
FWIW - If you are interested in my opinion, I prefer the AT2020s. They do a better job (in my opinion) of capturing the entire kit.

When I was first starting out in recording, I was all about separation when micing/recording drums, I felt the overheads should capture/represent the cymbals and the cymbals alone! Close mics on the toms, kick, and snare should be gated and representative of the sole drum miced.

Lately, I have moved away from this philosophy. I now focus in on the overheads capturing the entire kit, and use the close mics of each drum to supplement the mix. This is probably why I prefer the AT2020s.

Neither is right or wrong. Just my personal preference. Style of music you are working also impacts the direction you are going. If I were to do a strict metal project, I'd probably have to revisit my approach, for example. Hope this helps.
 
Very true. Do you think the 2020s can be EQed to sound better?
 
Maybe that is the newbie philosophy lol. I am new to recording and am stuck to this viewpoint. I am going to have to try your approach.
 
carrillojoe8 said:
Maybe that is the newbie philosophy lol. I am new to recording and am stuck to this viewpoint. I am going to have to try your approach.
Click to expand...

Because I have both sets of mics and enough inputs, I did a couple records with both set up and recording! I was so torn for a while. I went from the PRO 37s, to some kind of weird blend of the two, to the AT2020s exclusively. That's my journey of inexpensive overhead mics! It's been quite a ride.

As far as EQ goes, sure, you can do all kinds of adjustments to either mic. If you have something in particular you want to hear (i.e., more low end, less mid range, whatever), just let me know. I still have the session on my DAW from this morning and I'll gladly put together some mp3s of various adjustments if you would like.
 
I can give you mp3s and do some screen grabs of the EQ so you can see what all has been adjusted.
 
Disclaimer to the thread police: I am in no way advocating that EQing a $100 microphone is preferred over higher-quality microphones. Just offering to provide audio samples upon request.
 
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