how to mic percussion instraments

[trigoblin]

friends and i are building various percussion instraments which we want to be able to mic-up for performance. we'll be using such things as 50-gallon oil drums, sheet metal, metal pipes, bicycle wheels, regular drum kits, etc.
where can i learn learn (preferably in laymans terms) about building or purchasing mics for such things? i've heard that there are ways of using speakers as mics, as well as ways to better utilize guitar pick-ups for production, and any help you could give me would be truly appreciated!

 

[TexRoadkill]

Your getting into some weird territory here. Recording that stuff in the studio is easy but for live micing you will have a lot of feedback problems with too many cheap mics.

A lot of the noise groups actually cheat when they play live and have a recording in the background. Even Riverdance uses a 'Tap' track instead of micing their feet.

You might be able to put some small lav condensors into some of the stuff. The venerable sm57 will sound good on a lot of things.

I would just mic it like a drum set unless you are going to be running around with the stuff. Search for drum mic threads and what works for them will probably work for you.