opinions needed on budget tom mics

[theTentacled1]

Hi, I'm in need of some cheap dynamics for toms and for mic'ing beater-side kick. Now when I say cheap I'm talking less than a 57, but not piss-poor cheap! I'm currently using plastic toy mics on my toms just to boost their levels, which it does, just with no bass or treble or attack or detail. I do have two MSH-Cs, but to be honest I prefer my toy mics over them. Besides the MSHs being too hot for drums, it's actually quite baffling how craptacular they sound. Compared to the MSH-Os the Cs sound like they were dunked down the toilet. I must have a defective pair.

To give you an idea of my current sound I've comped together some clips, so you can hear what £5 plastic mics sound like. I also think a mic for the kick beater would probably help give my kick some definition, wutcha think?

I've got a shortlist of mics I'd like to try, but I'm writing this thread to hear about others success with cheap dynamics on drums. My shortlist is thus:

Red5 rvd30 (or I might see if Red5 could send me a couple of their drum mics. I already use their kick mic and an RV6 on snare)

EV cobalt co4: heard some good and some bad about these. ??

Behry xm8500: surely they have to be better than my toy mics? Some say they're a good as 57s. Are these people hard of hearing or are they right? I could get three of these plus 3 stands plus three cables for £60, so it's the obvious economists choice.

Sennheiser e825s are supposed to be alright, but I've never recorded drums with one.

In summary; I'd like to know how low I can go while still being a marked improvement over ^^^ that example mp3.

cheers folks!

 

[Paj]

I can vouch for these on a budget, especially for toms (the kick mic is decent and the condensers are hot). I can tell you that they're way better than the Behri 8500 for toms. You might also want to check out the GLS-57 mics.

http://www.karmamics.com/clearance.html

Paj
8^)

 

[scrubs]

How about the GLS ES-57? http://www.speakerrepair.com/Mercha...ct_Code=37-206x3&Category_Code=AG+Accessories

I haven't used them, but folks seem to like them at least as well as the SM57. I actually find the MSH-1C/1K pretty usable for rack toms, although the bass response is not very good for floor tom. I wouldn't call them "good" sounding, as they're not, but the add just enough attack to fill out the overhead tracks, imo.

 

[tom18222]

How about the GLS ES-57? http://www.speakerrepair.com/Mercha...ct_Code=37-206x3&Category_Code=AG+Accessories

I haven't used them, but folks seem to like them at least as well as the SM57. I actually find the MSH-1C/1K pretty usable for rack toms, although the bass response is not very good for floor tom. I wouldn't call them "good" sounding, as they're not, but the add just enough attack to fill out the overhead tracks, imo.

beat me to it


i have 3, theyre great.

 

[theTentacled1]

The problem with my MSHs is they have a really hot signal but I don't have a pad to put them thru. Sonicly speaking they're just really garbled with no hi-end and the harshest mids I've ever heard. The omnis on the other hand are simply beautiful.

I would be interested in those ES-57s if they shipped to the Uk but they don't as far as I know.

As for the Karma mics, I wouldn't need all those mics but that's still a very tempting offer. Not sure how they differ from the Red5 drum mics apart from being cheaper. The "used by Dave Lombardo" bit perked my ears right up!

Cheers for the links chaps!

 

[Ironklad Audio]

are you sure the msh's aren't overloading and clipping?

you never know, a 20db inline pad might be all you need...and they're much cheaper than getting more mics

 

[theTentacled1]

They do clip, that's part of the problem, but they sound funny on everything I've tried. I'll check out an inline pad on them anyway.

I'd definitely rather go the dynamic route at this point, I mean I don't have any general purpose mics so it'd be nice to get something I could use for whatever.

Are those ES-57 mics really not available in the uk then? I wanna try em!

 

[NRS]

Superlux

These might be worth a look and you should be able to get em in the UK. I've only ever tried thier FK-2 kick mic for live work but thought it was great mic for only $35.00 new and wouldnt hesitate to try thier tom mics if I needed them. Got mine off Ebay. Just the tom sets were available too.

Superlux Mics

Review

 

[LDT2]

1st let me say that I have a pair of MSH-O's and an MSH4 and they're excellent mic's. Highly recommended.

That said, I had a couple MSH-Cs and had to send them back. I'd tried them on drums and had no clipping problems, they're actually very clean. I really, really wanted them to work, but the mid hump curve on them make them pretty unusable, at least for me. All the lows and all the highs are gradually rolled off and all you have is the honk frequencies. I tried every way I could think to EQ them to get a usable tom sound.

A 57 sounds incredibly full and smooth in comparison and I've been trying to find a replacement for them because I thought THEY were too midrangy. Not compared to these.

If you don't have much budget, get a matched pair of MSH-O's and use them as overheads. Excellent!!! They'll pick up the whole kit and give you a pretty full sound. But not as tom mics, they'll overload. Then for a kick mic really anything's gonna be better than what you have.

I also have some Superlux mics and they sound really good for the money, which shouldn't break the bank. Otherwise, keep saving.

Lucio

 

[guttapercha]

These might be worth a look and you should be able to get em in the UK. I've only ever tried thier FK-2 kick mic for live work but thought it was great mic for only $35.00 new and wouldnt hesitate to try thier tom mics if I needed them. Got mine off Ebay. Just the tom sets were available too.

Superlux Mics

Review

I picked up a used FK2 for $12 on Philgood's recommendation. It works just fine on kick.

 

[battleminnow]

Try to find some of the Beta 56 mics from GC. I know, $170 each, but they just had a buyback and clearanced 'em all for $50 each. I know, I bought 2 and sold them for $110 each on ebay. My guy at GC said there weren't any left on the West Coast, but it never hurts to call.

Pete

 

[vicenzajay]

+1

I can vouch for these on a budget, especially for toms (the kick mic is decent and the condensers are hot). I can tell you that they're way better than the Behri 8500 for toms. You might also want to check out the GLS-57 mics.

http://www.karmamics.com/clearance.html

Paj
8^)

On the GLS-57 microphones - they actually sound quite nice for about 30 bucks a microphone. I own 3 of them, and we use them for all types of percussion (as well as not doing a bad job of mic'ing guitar cabinets, etc. as well) to include congas, djembes, toms, and snare drum.

Jay

edit - saw the bit about shipping...any chance of calling them on the number on their site and seeing if they'll do a single order overseas (obviously the shipping will cost more)?

 

[Supercreep]

I think the biggest problem with using the MSH mics as tom mics is the unacceptably weak clip. It will not take a stick strike.