Drum Overhead suggestions...

[drossfile]

drossfile- nice sounding track... The drum tracks sound raw but really nice... The guitars sound a little weak between the 1:00 and the 1:30 mark... maybe some punching in new more solid takes might do... otherwise, great track! OH's sound fine and even the mix sounds good!

thanks carlos, and that is indeed a raw mix of the song. the guitar leads are pretty weak in general, just because i'm not that good at lead. i put this up in the mix clinic last week, but only posted it here to demonstrate that the mxl 603 pair does just fine as OHs (at least i'm happy with them).

 

[ausrock]

Unfortunately I can't listen to that mix at the moment but I think what people tend to forget or overlook where o/heads are concerned is the variation between cymbal brands/models and the room acoustics.........and this is where the the 603's reputation comes from.

I own both 603's and Oktava 012's and regardless of what cymbals are used the 012's win out every time but put them on acoustic guitar and I find the situation is reversed.

 

[PhilGood]

Completely disagree. It all depends on the genre of music. In no way is simpler always better.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[PhilGood]

Dude, trust me on this one: wait a month or two, or five, don't go out to eat, don't buy beer (you can't tell me it's hard to mooch in college), don't go out to the movies, etc. Save up and buy the good stuff right away!!! This is true of everything for the rest of your life. Use the time for practicing whatever material you plan on recording. Think about it: you'll be 2-3 months better at the material, AND you'll have some kick-ass mic's to use when you do! Win-win my friend.

Never ever ever ever ever buy the cheap shit if the only reasons are money and time. Quality first.

Oh, I forgot to add that I recommend buying used when it comes to analog equipment (mic's, mixing boards, outboard gear, etc.), and new when it comes to digital (computers, hard drives, etc.)

Steve, this is some sage advice coming a man of your tender years! I'm impressed! Very wise!

I wish I had that wisdom as I was finding out about mics and learning, but then again had I just gone out and bought great mics in the first place I would have got the education I did learning how to improve on them and/or building my own based on what I learned.

I think in my case it worked out OK, but I would give the same advice, skip the cheap, save for the good!

 

[GuitarRuss]

I also got a 604 on Harvey's recommendation and it is really a great mic for my Dobro and Spanish guitar. It also has worked for other applications like a second mic closer to the neck of an Upright Bass to get the attack and slapping sounds while my LDC went for the body sound (I rolled off the low end on the 604). I would recommend the 604's omni cap because it can be really nice with acoustic instruments when you want to get a more spatial sound and is great to experiment with. A pair of these are good solid overheads, don't pay attention to the bashing you'll hear it about 451's, 184's and any other mic without a seriously hefty price tag. I think some people just blame their equipment for mediocre tracking, which usually has to do more with placement, instrument quality, room, and performance than the mic. Of course, there are better and more expensive mics out there, but these are good.

In your budget is also the Apex 205 ribbon mics which can be modded easily to make fantastic overheads and work well with electric guitar amps, horns and other apps. Actually for about $400 you could have two 604's and two 205's and have yourself covered for a pretty wide range of instruments and applications. While the 604's have the Apex beat for acoustic instrument mic'ing the Apex will be great on electric guitar and for some singers too (with pop screen because the ribbons are fragile). There are lots of high end guys raving about the 205's now days. The only thing is you'll need a decent preamp because ribbons require a lot of gain and a dirty or cheap preamp will add noise and such. My Mackie Onyx sounds amazing with my Fathead ribbon mics because it's pretty clean.

 

[Mongoo]

Overheads

Shop around for a pair of Peluso CEMC6's on Ebay or where ever or I'd say to go with the Studio Projects C4 to be able to adjust the capsules and roll off/pad. Either way if your on a budget you should defiantly be comparing prices around and checking online forums like this and Ebay to see whats being offered at any given time. You might be surprised what you find.

 

[xmortumx]

dude i understand ur pain (college life) not easy to come up with big amounts of cash, but what I did to get a good pair of OH mics i Craiglist some Oktavas and luckily after like 1 week i found them.... I bought a pair for 130$$$

So maybe look there. dont bother with ebay there expensive there.

 

[Sen]

If you're capturing the cymbal sound mainly with o/heads, I think you should be looking at putting SDCs up there.If capturing the majority of the kit sound as well as cymbals with the o'heads,and just filling the sound out with spot mics (snare,toms,ride,hh....) go LDCs.
cheers