mic pres for drum kit?

[swsmusic]

I have enough mics to mic up a drum kit, but I was wondering what pre or pre's would be the best investment for the long run. I am planning on using a d112 for the kick, at 4041's for overheads, and 57's on the snare, high hat, and toms. I have a dbx 386 which has 2 pres, a joe meek vc6q which has one pre, and my digi 001 has 2 pres. should I invest in a unit that i can run all of the drum mics through...or should I buy a mixer? I don't have a console at this point. All of the recording we have done up until this point have gone straight into the cpu. I have used the pres which I stated above, and we just add effects/compression to each individual track through pro tools as needed. I was thinking that it might be easier to have one rack unit that we can plug all the drum mics into...am i crazy? any suggestions?

I do have a 12 or 16 channel snake out on permanent loan from a buddy who is re-building his studio, and he wont need it for awhile. I could run the mics into the snake and then through the digi straight into the cpu...or should i run the snake into another rack piece with compression ect, as many channels needed for the drums?

thanks!
daniel

 

[swsmusic]

ok..sorry for the novela. My question is: how are you guys/gals running your mics from the kit? snake or mic pre or what?

thanks!
daniel

 

[darnold]

Actually the snake is just a big cable extender and patchbay sort of thing. You will still need to use a preamp to preamp the mics. Looks like you got quite a bit of new stuff. I would recommend buying a mixer but it all depends on what you need. What could work pretty good is something like a Mackie 8 channel mixer (make sure it has direct outs on all the channels) or actually even a 4 channel ( i think they make one). Just depends on what you need. I would definately get a mixer with good mic pre's in it which the Mackie has. Then i would your dbx 386 for the overhead mics, the joe meek vc6q on the snare, or kick, whatever you like it better on. Then use the 4 channels from the mixer on the kick (or snare if you used the vc6q on the kick), and the 3 toms. Then use your digi 001 pres on something like room mics or something. Of course you could try other combinations with this but that would be a practical one.

If you just want to use mainly what you got and dont want to buy a 4 or 8 track mixer, then you will just need to buy another 2 channel preamp. Then you could do something like this...the dbx 386 on the overheads, the joe meek on the floor tom, the new 2 channel preamp on the kick and the snare, then the digi 001 pres on the hi and mid tom.

So whichever you would like to do should work pretty good. But you might wonna switch the pres you use around to your personal tastes. I would use the best pres on the overheads (but sure it is from a two channel preamp) and a good one on the snare or kick (preferably both). Then the toms should be good but most of the sound should come through the overheads. But there are alot of sound differences and colors with the different preamps, so you might have to try different combinations to get the right sound for each drum sound.

Darnold

 

[swsmusic]

thank you so much for the response! I have been collecting that gear for about the past two years. I have only been recording for a few years, but i have never tried to track drums. We have always used a drum machine or some sampled kits that a friend of mine made a few years back. Anyway, I was just wondering if anone on this bbs preffered a single unit that has like 6 or 8 pre's on it for drums, or would i be better off buying a mackie 1404 or a 1604. Too many choices. We just purchased our first home back in late January, and my wife and I are in the process of building out the basement into a project studio. (she sings and she's awesome...I can't wait to start tracking her vocals!) Thanks again for any suggestions! They are VERY much appreciated!

-daniel

 

[Markd102]

Depending on you budget, a Presonus Digimax could be the way to go. It gives you 8 very useable pre's with adat litepipe out so you can take advantage of the digital input on your 001 card. This way with your current setup, you can suddenly record 13 mics simaltaneously.

Mark

 

[TexRoadkill]

You would get the most mileage out of a good mixer. You can also use it for the mixdown so you can use your outboard compressors and fx if you want to.

I would recomend a Mackie, Spirit or Allen & Heath with as many pres as you think you'll need. You could get something that will work for around a grand or less.

 

[Markd102]

In most cases Tex, I would agree with you.
However, in this case a mixer would be doubling up on what he already owns...... ie. 3 outboard preamps and 2 internal.
I don't know if you're familliar with the Digi001.... If not, the internal mixer is very good (IMHO) and you can take advantage of outbord processors via the ins and outs on the breakout box.

I'm actually in a very simillar position. I own a 001 and a couple of outboard pre's and am able to borrow a mixer most times that I need one. I am currently saving up for a Digimax which I believe is more valuable to me than a my own mixer first.

It really, as with most of us, comes down to dollars. If you need something imediately and can't afford a Digimax, then go for a mixer. Or if the mixer is valuable to you as a double up for live use, then also go for the mixer. These are the only two reasons I would go for a mixer over the Digimax. Unless of course the mixer is digital...... but that is another story.... and another price range.

my 2c

Mark

 

[Cave Dweller]

i have an allen & heath mixer that i use just for the pres... i think it works great. i have a different setup, but the concept of using the mixer just for the pres is the same. with a mixer you can feed multiple monitor mixes if you are doing live off the floor, or you can run effects sends. there are also channel inserts and EQ..... and you can use it for live use

 

[postalblue]

did you say you were going to use an sm57 on hi hat?
please don't do that.
use a condenser mike, cardioid too, preferably small diaphragm, but not necessarily. or don't mike the hi hat at all, if you're getting a good sound from the overheads.
just a suggestion.

 

[Krystof01]

Soundcraft M series

The Allen & Heath mixers are nice but a bit more expensive than the Soundcraft mixers. I f you can find a Soundcraft M4/8/ or 12 then be sure to try it out.

I just got my M12 last this week and have been using it a great deal already. It has the Soundcrafts ghost preamps which are such a step up from my KORG D16's horrible preamps (when boosted). I t also has a digital out which was one of the deciding factors over the Allen & Heath.

Buy a mixer and use it for everything or everything apart from the vocals; not cus it's bad at that just as it will make the vocal track more unique (I can't afford a seperate preamp yet just for vocals but I would if I could).

 

[darnold]

What happened to my automatic email me when someone replies!

Sorry about the delay in reply. You could get much more use out of a mixer, but definately is not necessary. Also if you get a preamp with 8 pres or so, it will probably sound better then any mixer pres, but will most likely cost more. Also you need to decide how versatile you want to be. A Mackie mixer has very versatile pres. You really need to watch out for the coloration of some pres which can sometimes make things sound worse on certain instruments. Im out of time so hopefully i can get back to you later.

Darnold

 

[swsmusic]

I am really looking into the other stuff in the same catagory as the digimax. A friend of mine downloaded the digimax pro and lt version manuals...just to compare the two units. We both think that the LT version would accomplish what i need without having to use an external mixer.

Does anyone know of any other units llike the digimax that would accomplish the same result?

Thanks again to all of you for your time and input. I am a bassist by trade, but am looking forward to tracking drums in my home setup.

-daniel

 

[crawdad]

If you have a way to get the 5 pre's into your computer, why even bother with a mixer? If you have a digital audio program that has a mixer, just use that! I only use my mixers these days to listen back to playback and I could almost do without them, except for monitoring without latency.

 

[swsmusic]

Is there a huge difference in the Digimax and the Digimax LT? Is it worth the $$

btw....i will be using it with the digi 001.


-daniel

 

[Markd102]

Daniel.
The DigimaxLT doesn't have the limiters, the eq section or the analogue outputs (although you can use the insert points as a direct out if you need to). It's simply a Digimax without the bells and whistles. It will deffinatly do what you want it to do.

Another unit that has just come out here in Australia is the Focusrite Octopre. I think it's a bit cheaper than the Digimax too.

The other advantage of these units over a mixer is that you are bypassing the Digi001's AD converters, which are generally regarded to be a bit on the sub-standard side. I know, I use one too.

Mark

 

[swsmusic]

This past thursday, i went to my local Guitar Center for their Pro Tools clinic, and the digidesign rep told me that he thought the Focusrite Octopre was going to be available soon, in the USA, but he wasn't sure when. Does anyone have a price or know when it will be available in the US? I wanted to test this machine out with the Presonus Digimax unit....to compare the two.

thanks!
daniel