Mic kit or individual

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axo151

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Hey. My friends and I are going to record some music and mkae a CD. We aren't looking to have perfect quality, we just don't want to sound like dung either. We have an SM57 and SM58 mics right now, and are going to buy stuff to mic the drums soon. I heard from one person that getting a set of drum mics (6 of them, the Audix fiusion mics) is the way to go. They are cheap, around 300 dollras, and all of the mics are low end. The kick drum mic sucks I think. I heard from another guy that if we bought one condensor, a good kick drum mic, and used the SM57 or 58 on the snare we would get better sound. By good kick drum mic and condensor I am talking no more than 350 dollars combined. Which way should we go? Will the toms (especially teh floor tom) get picked up even though we aren't micing them directly? It doesn't need to be perfect, jsut has to work. Thanks.
 
try a pair of Marshall MXL603's for overheads ($150)

at atm25 pro on kick ($100)

the sm57 on snare

if you wanna mic toms, the sm58 between the rack toms and maybe another sm57 or pro25 for floor tom......



drum mic kits suck.....
 
oops, to answer the question, if mic'd correctly the overheads will pick up the toms....but it never hurts to have them mic'd - more options at mixdown.....
 
i heard that.........

if you search through the microphone forum you will find loads and loads of info on budget microphones that perform well. Gidge gave you some good starting points.
Don't be afraid to shop used on ebay, you can get a set of usable mics well within your budget.
 
Actually as kits go.... the Audix Fusion kit is pretty darned good. The mic that they provide for kick is I believe the F12 which is a great mic, I have one that I sometimes use when I'm close mic'ing my 16" floor tom and I use a AT Pro 25 on my 18" floor tom.
The Audix D6 is a STELLAR kick mic than has several equals but few superiors. It'll cost you another $190 but it is worth it and you don't have to be a sound engineer to position it correctly like with other kick mics.
I built my own mic cabinet and I have a lot to choose from. I never bought a drum mic kit cause most of them suck, but the Audix one really doesn't.
 
I would like to add my 2 cents worth also.
The FEWER mics you can use to get the sound you need the better. Particularly in your beginning stages of recording. Adding a lot of tracks of individual drums sounds like a great idea for versatility, but introduces a whole lot of issues like phase cacellations , strange tonalities and such that then have to be dealt with.

I record every weekend, and often during the week. I record drums quite a lot being a drummer myself. If I am doing a lot of basic kick /snare (not much toms) kind of work I only use 2 mics. One on the kick (Beta 52) and one on the snare (SM57 for Rock / Country or a condensor if Jazz). There is always a perfectly acceptable amount of cymbal bleed without direct micing. If you drummer is any good at self balancing his playing loudness, you wont need 12 mics.
 
Thanks

Alright thanks guys. I think (i've got to talk to the others) that we won't buy that kit. We are going to get an SM58 and 57 for vocals and guitars anyways, so all we really need to buy is the kick mic and a condenser. Should we go with one condenser or two? And which ones? I was thinkg a Marshall 630s or cheap Octava, but we aren't looking to spend more than 100 bucks on a condenser. Thanks.
 
well, for a condensor for overheads, you've got a couple options.

you can pick up a pair of 603's or mc/mk-012's for a little over a hundred dollars, but it's closer to $125 than $100. there are (were?) a couple sets of 603's for sale around here a little while back. they'll also be good on acoustic guitar, should you need that. the "advantage" to using a pair is you get a stereo image of the kit, should you want that. which one is better? that depends entirely on your ears, drums, room and drummer.

another option would be a single (mono) studio projects B1. you won't get a stereo image of the toms with it, but some folks around here get pretty good results with one on smaller kits where the stereo image isn't really necessary. the B1 also a good "general use" condensor, much like an SM57 is for dynamics, and i find the B1 to be particularly tasty on amps, too.


decisions, decisions :D


wade
 
MXL-603 overheads ($199.95, w/shock mounts & case)
AKG D112 Kick drum (~$145.00 on ebay) or Audix D6 (~$200)
SM57 on snare (No charge....you have)

This set up will support a nice sounding kit providing the placement on the mics are correct, the room is decent, and lets not forget that the kit has to sound good by itself.

Now if your room sucks than you may want to close mic the drums. SM57 will do a decent job but they will not give you that thunderous sound. For that, I’d use Sennheiser MD421s. unfortuantely, the 421s are out of your budget (~$299 ea). However, I you have a pro sound company local, you may be able to rent by the day (depends on how long you would need them).
 
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