hello everyone, i've had descant success recording drums with just the one mic, i'm not too interested in miking every part of the kit for now. i only have an sm-57 & a sm-57 beta for the moment. although i'm skint i'm looking for a new microphone for an overall picture of the kit. i was thinking about getting a ribbon or condenser mic but i can only stretch to £150. please don't suggest second hand mics, it's the only thing i wouldn't buy second hand. i would quite like the mic to be pretty flat with no real colouration because i will have to use it for recording other sources as well. bear in mind it's a small project studio i've got, the drums aren't world class, i'm just wanting to expand my mic collection and mabye get a better recording. i don't know why i'm attracted to ribbon mics but if any of you have experiance with the newer cheaper models please load me up with what ever information you're willing to part with, they may be worthless at this price range. mic selection aint my forté.
Get a matched pair from naiant (search that name in the forum or your fav search engine) for OH'ds & and use the recorderman process. Spend the rst of your cash on the necessary mic stand and preamp & whammo.
I've sometimes used a modded T-Bone 500 from Thomann for exactly this (I swapped out the stock transformer for a cinemag, total cost about £150). I've also been on sessions where a single Cascade Fathead has been used on the kit with fantastic results. You can order a stereo pair with blumlein bar for about £150 or a little more so these guys are a bargain.
These mics are both ribbons and, as such have little coloration up till about 10-12k where the response starts to roll off. As such you may want to boost some in the high frequencies but the ribbons I've mentioned take eq pretty well.
In my experience, the least amount of mics you use, the better the microphone should be. I've recorded a drum kit with only one mic but a good one (a Neumann U47 FET), and the quality of the room is crucial as well. I would recommend spending the 300 Euro (pretty much the same as 150 pounds these days right?) on a couple of good OH mics and a couple of mics suited for snare and kick.
You might want to check out Naiant for OH's, SM 57 on snare and PG 52 on kick. That should cost close to 150 UK pesos
the room the kit is in sounds really great - (surprisingly) i'm really not too keen on going for the stereo pair, i want to add mics at different locations on the kit to emphasise certain parts for projects, but i'm wanting to start with a good mono image. (it just sounds good for what i'm working on at the moment). i was just wanting a good mic - ribbon or condenser so that i can get a more flat response and higher gain, (i have to boost the gain on my existing mics to breaking point for this). as a bonus the mic would be able to be used for other applications as i'm a poor little man
carlosguardia, i see what you're getting at but i can't afford a super duper mic and i'm not bold enough to nick one . i'm not a lover of breaking the kit up in that way the mix always sounds fragmented and unnatural to me.
northern cowboy, i'm not too techy and the thought of ripping out and replacing a transformer from a new mic makes me want to crap my pants.
this is just confusing, audio technica, cad - haven't even heard of the manufacturors never mind the models. and i'm in no position to try before i buy
