OHs... ive got some final choices...

[lbcstudios]

these mics will be used for OHs only... which would be best u think? price isnt too much of an issue when it comes to picking them.. but nothing more than 350

NT 5s? Sp C4 ? MXl 603s ?

i want SDs... i tried a LD once.. nice on toms.. didnt like how the cymbals were..

 

[cominginsecond]

Oktava MC012s are my favorite overheads, and you can get them from GC for around $100-$150 a pair. I do not like MXL 603s on overhead so much. They're a little harsh on the cymbals to my ears. Behringer ECM8000s are decent on overhead, but a little noisy, and you may hear hiss if the drums will ever be playing by themselves.

 

[CMEZ]

I disagree on the 603's as overheads; I have a pair and I think they sound fine. Mine are not harsh at all; could be that both drummers I work with have 'darkish' cymbals, but I'm detecting no harshness whatsoever.

Or it could be that I'm working in analog with an allen & heath System 8 board (which is pretty forward in the low-mids).

At any rate, they sound very good, and were $200 for a matched pair.

The oktava's seem to be fav's, but you MUST try several to find a pair that are similar as they're all wildly different from each other.

I had a set of the NT5's, and I liked them a lot, but they were pretty dark sounding. They did take eq fairly well.

Chris

 

[cominginsecond]

The oktava's seem to be fav's, but you MUST try several to find a pair that are similar as they're all wildly different from each other.

This is a myth, in my experience. I've pseudo matched several pairs of these mics for friends.

 

[CanopuS]

Richie Monroe loves the SP C4's, and Warrens clip of them is amazing. I've just got some, so I'll be able to tell you how they sound in a week or so if you can hold on.

 

[mrface2112]

i've got a pair of 603s that i use as OHs. they work fine. they're a little sizzly in my room, due i suppose to the high end hype they've got. of course, it's also largely due to my room and the fact that a couple of my cymbals are practically trash can lids (i've got a couple Scimitar Bronze ones in addition to a smattering of A's and K's).

The A's and K's sound pretty nice, so i guess that pretty much settles it. the 603s DO give me a nice image of the kit and do sound good on the toms (and especially the snare--again, likely due to that high end hype). i've been thinking about picking up a pair of mc012's for a different flavor, but i've got no GC locally (gotsta go to richmond for that) and i'm lazy. that, and the 603s DO work. they're not c42s, 451s, km84s or u89s, but they work.


wade

 

[lbcstudios]

alright canopus.. thanks.. a sample would be greatly appreciated... PM me with info.. and wats the link of warrens clip? thx.

 

[chessrock]

The 603's are really outstanding overheads when using darker cymbals . . . or when positioned away (or off-axis) from the cymbals and closer to the toms.

The Oktavas are a little better in normal situations with more typical-sounding slightly brighter cymbals. Same with the Rode NT-5. Both are solid choices for most overhead chores. One that gets looked over an awful lot and deserves more recognition is the Crown CM-700. Very nice overhead mics, and probably the best at handling bright/harsh cymbals out of any of the budget ones mentioned -- very smooth in the highs.

The Behringer ECM-8000s are just a bad idea altogether. I wouldn't even go there. It's not so much the hiss (which is pretty bad, by the way) as it is the piss-poor SPL handling. You really have to be careful with placement or they might crap out on you. It's really the only mic I can think of that is in serious danger of being clipped by it's own noise floor. And that's not that much of an exaggeration.

If you like the idea of having ruler flat, highly accurate omni-directional mics, you should be looking at the Audix TR-40 instead. This will give you the most natural, accurate representation of your kit -- moreso than with any other mic in your price range.

 

[fldrummer]

Has anybody tried the MC012 on Hi-Hats? How did that work out?

 

[CanopuS]

I'll PM you once I've got a recording. Here's warrens clips:

MP3:

or

STREAM: http://artists.iuma.com/site-bin/streammp3.m3u?470192

Those are without any extra mics, just the two C4's in XY, I think they sound amazing but no one else here seems to recognise em