Need a better snare mic. Not happy with sm57

  • Thread starter Thread starter In Tune Audio
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No, I'm going to have to save up a few bones before I get it.
 
I think gating may be an answer for flabby drum sounds .... certainly I'll be looking to by my first one before the end of the year to experiment with tightening up. I don't want to open up the Shure 57/58 debate again but I have the 545D which shares its capsule with the 57 and despite its continued horrible hi-hat sound it is, to my ears, a generally better sound on snare.
 
Mark7 said:
and that the universe had been created in 6 days.


THEY were wrong.
Click to expand...

Many people still believe that the world was created in 6 days.

War
 
Mark7 said:
Many people used to believe the World was flat, and that the universe had been created in 6 days.


THEY were wrong.
Click to expand...

Wrong on the World is flat. Watch it with your creation statement though.
 
Oh yes, let's make this into a religious argument. Come on kiddies, let's all go play in the cave!

Might add this Beyer to my rather long wanted list now ;)
 
In Tune Audio said:
I find this forum very handy sometimes, but every once in a while, you get a comment from an individual, who thinks everyone else is an idiot, using all radio shack equipment.
Click to expand...
Well, when you get a blanket statement like: "I don't like the 57 on ______", without ANY description of your chain or your set up, the first thing I would have asked too is; What pre are you using with it.
It wasn't until several posts later that you give some indication of your signal chain, particularly your pres.

I like to try an coax everything I possibly can out of a mike before I give up on it. Sometimes that means EQ, sometimes gating, sometimes it means position changes of as little of an inch.
But it sounds like you've tried all that - ad nauseam.

What other mikes do you currently have that you could throw at it before you run out and buy a new one?
 
dont understand why so much bitching about the 57? they key to a great snare sound is in the room, the snare drum itself, then the overheads, then the room mics, AND THEN the close mic of the snare (which is only intended to get the thwack! the overs and room mics dont get) and not to mention the pre, and so on!

with at least 4 vital steps prior to the snare mic itself, solve those problems first and I garuantee the 57 will be just fine on it!...you are not gonna get that coveted snare drum sound with any mic if all your trying to do is get it from close mic'ing!
 
Thanks for the point babalou, I totally agree with what you said. Bottom line is if your not recording a high quality instrument, in a good sounding room, it doesn't matter what mic your using. But I've been very happy with the sound from the overheads, which are going to be affected by the room more than the close mic. But the sound I've been getting from the close mic, just hasn't added the reinforement I wanted.

I didn't intend for this thread to be about bashing the 57. Lots of people have loved it, and its used all the time. I just wanted some suggestions for a different mic that I could use. There is always more than one way to do something, and I just wanted some ideas on how to do it differently, but I've only been given one mic suggestion. If that all there is in peoples opinion, that so be it.

But I do honestly appreciate all the help, and checking that I have covered all my other bases.
 
no problam

I don't know. I dont have an issue with a 57. Most of the best studios in the world have about 20 of 'em. If you read Mix mag you will note most engineers use it for snare and gtr. Yes, they also may use another mic under the snare but in most cases it is a 57 on top. Course, it all depends on position of placement, room, snare,the drummer hitting it and tunning being the most important I think. Do you compress it? I do. Overhead mic placement has a factor also. Hve you tried the 57 with a bunch of different drummers? Each player will strike the snare differently. Different attack,different sound. Just my thoughts
 
My daughter's band played the Warped Tour in San Francisco on 7/3, and I mic'ed up the snare with an ATM23HE. This mic really sounds great on snare. Then again, that is what it is designed to do.

The hypercarioid pattern is very good at controlling hat bleed. This is the first time out for my ATM23HE in a large venue, and it sounded great.
 
hey jmorris, I appreciate the reply, but you only repeated eveything I said I did. I've used different snares, I didn't mention it, but it has been a number of different drummers, I know everyone uses the 57, and it has been tuned very well, and I 've used a lot of different placements All I want are some ideas on how I could do it a little different.

If everyone recorded the same way, there would be no variety, I don't want to do want everyone else is doing, (even though it works for them), I'm trying to develop my own sound and style, not copy everyone elses. It seems that people look at the fact that I've on posted 20 some odd messages on this forum, and they think I've never recorded before. I've been recording for a long while, and recorded a wide variety of styles, with various equipment, and environments. I'm just new to this forum.
 
I got you

Sorry, may have been some repeated remarks. I just was looking to make sure the basics were covered. Being different is always great. I you are looking for a diffeent sound, of course experiment. You may discover something new! :)
 
try tapeing a sd condensor to the sm57 (line up the capsules as best you can). That will open up a lot of different possibilities:)
 
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