Good floor tom mic?

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Whoopysnorp

Whoopysnorp

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I've been using an SM57 to mic my floor tom for a while now, but I want to get a deeper floor tom sound on my recordings. Are there any particular mics you guys like for floor toms, and how do you position them?
 
For a very deep floortom sound I would use a mic that is usually used on a kick, like D12/112, a Beyer M88, but an MD421/441 will do the job also.
 
I've been using AKG C418s on toms lately and they've been excellent!
 
Try micing the top and bottom.

. . . provided, of course, you have the extra channels.

Or try using Waves' maxx bass plugin. :D Pitch-shifting can also be pretty fun as long as you don't get too crazy.

As far as mics go, I've gotten some really thick, meaty-sounding toms using a CAD M179.
 
the m88 seems to very quickly give you a deep sounding floor tom by positioning it in the pointing at center, 3 inch up off the edge of the rim position. standard position really.

i really like the oktava 319 on floor tom, as with the CAD condensers in the e or m series (i have tried both the e300 and m179 with success, perhaps the m179 is a little better because of that dial in pickup pattern). most LDCs will give you a pretty good picture.

also, i like using an earthworks omni right up on the shell, like 1/2 off it. sounds really cool, but be prepared for a bit of quiet bleed.

frankly the 57 makes good floor tom mic too, with a little eq.

oh and a 441 sounds great as well.

geez, so many ways of dealing with a floor tom... if you have a cool omni, try that shell mic trick though.. it sounds pretty cool...
 
A lot depends on your budget. In the same price range as a SM57 would be an AT pro25. Nice little mic. I used to keep one permently mounted in my kick that I use live. Now it sits on the floor tom. Also a Studio Projects B1 will do very nicely.
 
zbert said:
Also a Studio Projects B1 will do very nicely.
Click to expand...


I used a SPB1 on this recording although it might be slightly over compressed 15x12 room...fairly bright
the song is TWISTER top of the page. Hope it helps. Great all round mic, had some great vocal takes from it too, also bongos, guitar amp....it's a good all rounder
 
Hmm--I actually have a CAD m series condensor (the m37). I should give that a try. I probably need to play with positioning a little more, too. Thanks guys!
 
I did my first remote last weekend and used 421's on the toms. I'll post a clip if you like. I was very impressed with them. The drum tracks came out great.
 
421 exhibits the ability to grab the tom without a lot of the natural reverb, better than most dynamics anyway
 
Try a Studio Projects B1 or B3. I also like the BLUE Ball on floor tom.
 
Where do you put the darn things?

I tried putting one underneath, but that was a nightmare because the skin just resonated when you hit anything, so there was this awful *nyoing* noise through a whole test track. Tried re-tuning the bottom skin but it just made a different kind of nyoing noise :p. So I just got a Senn BF201 (i think?) tom mic and stuck it on the rim pointed at the center and it sounded alright... but I'm sure theres a better way to do it.

I'm quite interested in this shell trick, i might try it out :D
 
Place the stand behind the kit and put the mic over the side of the top skin away from the cymbals and where the drummer hits. Make sure you dont have stand legs crossing drum stands or you will get resonance.
 
I'm with Eeldip. I've gotten good results with Oktava MK319 and AKGC414B-ULS. This is where my favorite no-respect mic comes in. AKG C2000B can be stellar on floor tom. If it's a big one, a condenser on top and any good kick drum mic on the bottom can be good. Reverse the phase on the bottom mic.-Richie
 
It is ALL about the soundelux u195. Then again it's $1200. I don't have that kind of budget either. A producer I work with a lot always uses his (he's got 2----rack and floor) and they are amazing.

It's also great on vox and kick drum.
 
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