improve b1 bleed?

R

rcarden2

New member
I've bought two b1s to use as close tom mics. I haven't gotten to use them yet so I don't even know if it will be an issue, but I was wondering if anyone had ever tried to cover the rear grill of the mic (with tape most likely?) to reduce bleed?
 
I'm not to sure that would help. In fact, it might actually cause some reflections that could harm the sound. Preventing bleed isn't so much about preventing sound from reaching the back of the mic. Really that might do the opposite and turn the mic more towards omni mode.

Harvey? You have any advice here?
 
i think he should wait until he has a problem before he tries to solve it. if it is a problem, the only thing he can do is position the mic where most of the kit is in the null, which is pretty much impossible with a drum kit. he can get it close and hope the bleed is low enough to gate, or place the mic in such a way that the bleed is somewhat pleasing and adds to the tone of the mix.
i did a couple of songs recently using an at4040 on snare and oktava sdc's on toms, and the amount of bleed on the tracks didn't amount to much considering the sensitivity of both mics. it seems that people have good luck with b1's on toms, so i imagine that you won't have any major problems.
philgood, i believe you are right about the omni effect... same thing that happens when a wannabe hard-ass singer cups the ball of a mic and wonders why a venue's "p.o.s." sound system is feeding back so terribly.
 
Are we talking about the Studio Projects B1, or the Behringer B1? Those are two totaly different mics

What other mics do you have and what size of kit is it?
 
rcarden2 said:
I've bought two b1s to use as close tom mics. I haven't gotten to use them yet so I don't even know if it will be an issue, but I was wondering if anyone had ever tried to cover the rear grill of the mic (with tape most likely?) to reduce bleed?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that just sounds like a bad idea. As said before, it will screw with the polar pattern, and just make it sound worse. The microphone was designed a certain way, and if you mess with that design, the results are hardly ever good.

Bleed is not always a bad thing, especially when you are recording a drum set by itself. The bleed between the different mics is what brings the sound of the set together; it is a "glue" for the drum sound. It lends a certain cohesiveness to the sound that really helps out. Don't worry about the bleed.

$0.02
 
Yeh I was kind of expecting the same thing as far as changing the sound of the mic but it was just an idea, and I might still give it a try just to see what it sounds like if no one has ever tried it. I've got both a berhinger and SP b1s but I'm going to use the SPs for the toms. I'm using a 70s Pearl kit. The I'm not exactly sure what the shells are made of, they're definately synthetic (and definately not acrylic, the material is opaque unlike the see thru acrylic vista lite shells) but that sound great. Normally I wouldn't be worried so much about bleed but the b1s are definately going to be my mic weak link as far as tonal qualities go. I've got a d112 for the kick, r121 for mono overhead, an old d1000e for the top of the snare, a mk012 for the bottom, a u87 for an outside kick mic, and a blue baby bottle for an ambient room mic. Thats why I was worried about the b1s bleed.


Ryan.
 
try a reshuffle and put the 2 SP B1's up as overheads, keep the D112 on kick, next best mic on the snare and see what you need to patch in from there.

I've had great results with a 4 mic setup using 2 SP B1's as the overheads, a 57 on snare and an EV RE20 on the kick. Placement is the key to get a good balance betweem cymbals and toms. After that you can start patching the gaps in the toms, if there is any with the spare mics
 
Hehe stereo overheads are waaayyy out of fashion this season ;) . You must have never used a royer 121 either if your telling me to replace it with stereo b1 OHs. The d1000e is a cool late 70s early 80s akg copy of a sm57 with its own unique tone.


Ryan.
 
The Berhringer B1 is not even in the same league as those microphones. The Studio Projects B-1 will hold its own, however.
 
yeh there loaners from the studio I intern at. They don't have anything else to spare :( for toms. I'm just happy to get my mits on those two!


Ryan
 
I definately agree with you on the bleed, but every time I've tried dynamics on toms I always end up liking the way the LDCs sound better. I've never tried 57s only d770s and they sound pretty similar, I've only got 1 57 anyways. It may be the way I tune my toms. I guess I'm old fashioned in the way i tune because I like lots of resonance and I hardly ever use any damping on them. To my ears the LDCs pick up some of the higher overtones much better than a dynamic.
 
By the way I love Glasgow! I've got a ton of friends that live in a village near Ayr (Mauchlin, where the Robert Burns monument is). I really need to get over there soon!
 
I love me some large diaphragm condensors on overheads. My hands down favorite was my Rode NT2...it's a bit of a "warmer" mic with a slight presence spike, but overall it's somewhat flat. It's so damn flattering and makes all the drums just sound huge. I'd absolutely LOVE a set of B1's for overheads. They're LDC's so they'd have great bass response, but they are more transparent and flat.

I'm using a pair of C4's and close-miking right now because I'm doing basically metal. BUT, if I were to do a rock thing, I'd pick up B1's in a heartbeat. I think they'd be perfect plus inexpensive.

With condensers on the toms, I'd be careful about the room. The bleed in a good room is musical; the bleed in a bad room causes crappy phase problems. I used to use C418's on toms. Great "presence" but tons of bleed because I recorded in an untreated basement.

I'm using e604's for close miking now. They're good. Wish I had MD421's, as those sound KILLER, but I'm kinda broke.

I also find (for me, because I'm not the best) that I either need to have lots of overhead and tone down the close mics or vice versa. Anthing else gets weird phase problems or something doesn't sound right. But, it's probably because my room is way too small.
 
yeah, the SP B1s definately catch the low end of the toms when used as overheads. Maybe that mixed with a bit of close miced 57 for some punch and throw the behri B1 on the floor tom if you need it#?
 
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