overheads...ldc or sdc

S

starsxandxslits

New member
i understand there is no right or wrong...

here's my siuation: 4 piece drum kit, aaxplosion crashes-pretty harsh. i have the kick and the snare covered mic-wise...what would be a good overhead chioce to pick up my toms and cymbals without my cymbal wash drowning out everything else.
 
im usin SDC's-akg c430's. there ok, im also looking for something the next step up.

so my answer is, i dont know. i was thinking of starting this same thread, but you did it for us both!
 
starsxandxslits said:
i understand there is no right or wrong...

here's my siuation: 4 piece drum kit, aaxplosion crashes-pretty harsh. i have the kick and the snare covered mic-wise...what would be a good overhead chioce to pick up my toms and cymbals without my cymbal wash drowning out everything else.
Click to expand...

I'm partial to Oktava MK012s; good sound + modularity. If you can spend more money, the sky's the limit.

As far as something to "pick up ... toms and cymbals without my cymbal wash drowning out everything else," that's more a function of good playing technique and good mic placement than what mics you're using.
 
What AGCurry said.

Use cymbals with quicker decay / less wash if that's what you need. And try placing the mics out of the direct line of the cymbal and closer to the toms if that helps.
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well, it's not really anything to do with my playing, but it's my faul i suppose for not being more specific so...

what would be a good mic choice that would provide a good initial balance of color between warm drums and bright cymbals...it's not that they are so much harsh...they just aren't mellow (so contradictory, i'm sorry!), but then again, i'm not recording a jazz quintet.
 
In all the tests TLS has done over the last four years with 200+ mics - including 50+ pairs of SDC's - we've found that if you're going for budget mics [ under $500/pr ] that LDC's tend to sound better as OH mics on drum kits than SDC's.

Some budget-priced LDC's we'd recommend for OH's are:

Red5 Audio RV8
Studio Projects B1
Audio Technica AT4040
Oktava MK319
 
I am a fan of LDC OHs myself as I have found SDCs too "brittle" for my purposes. The LDCs aren't as "accurate" in a way, but I find the LDCs I have (Rode NT1000, AT4050) sit better in the mix for me than the SDCs I have tried. However, I am doing a pop/rock project at the moment. I could see bringing out some SDCs for a more jazz like project (traditional jazz as opposed to Medeski, Martin and Wood jazz) as that accuracy and sizzle is more of what I want to hear in a jazz mix. In a pop mix where I already have tambourines, shakers, electronic doo dads, etc. I want more nuts from the drums than sizzle as all those other things already add sizzle. At the end of the day, as always, it comes down to what the tune and genre is and what you want for a sound. My 2¢.
 
Perhaps your solution is to close mic the toms and use a SINGLE LDC as an overhead. More of a color on the cybals and a bit of 'roominess' as far as 'air' and not such a focused sound as you find with an SDC. The 430's will work well on toms ...padded down.
 
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