sm58, with or without top?

  • Thread starter Thread starter shackrock
  • Start date Start date
S

shackrock

New member
i use my sm58 (only 1) for overhead drum recording. should i keep the top of the 58 on or off when doing that recording?

thanks
 
BrettB said:
an SM 58 as overhead?
Click to expand...
A SMack 58 is multi-purpose mic that can be used for clean-repro
of overheads,live vocals,amp-mic'ing and spoken word!
1 of the best all-around mic's ever made!
 
TAKE THE BALL OFF...PLEEZE!.......

btw, if put in the right spot a single sm57/58 can record a whole drum kit...not the first mic id reach for but lets face it, sometimes we dont have a choice......

this is HOMErecording.com ..........
 
absolutely

i use the 58 as my only overhead.
a 57 on the snare.
and some EV mic on the bass drum - that works not bad at all.

and lucky for me my mic chord just died on me last night - and brand new from radioshack, its a shame. lol
 
ahhhh, radio crack- please dont buy xlr cables from them.....
 
Re: absolutely

shackrock said:
i use the 58 as my only overhead.
a 57 on the snare.
and some EV mic on the bass drum - that works not bad at all.

and lucky for me my mic chord just died on me last night - and brand new from radioshack, its a shame. lol
Click to expand...

I would try using the 58 (with ball off), and the 57 as overheads. With proper positioning you'll get good balance of the drums.
 
and what about the snare?

what about the snare though, you think it will get picked up ok without anything extra on it?
 
Yes. The thing to do is try it, see if it works for you. I've miced many kits with only three mics (sometimes only two) and got great results. You really have to play with your mic placement though.
 
if i can jump back in, the best way to go about placement is to have someone play the kit and walk around until you hear the spot(s) where you get the best balance and sound of the whole kit and stick the mic where your ears are at that point...this could be infront of the kit, behind it, practically anywhere.....but dont confine yourself to the classic overhead position.....
 
tried it

well i tried some different mic placements.
the one that the pictures are of sounds the best out of the new arrangements. but I also like my original set up, because of the nice snare sound it gives.

I think that the cymbals sound better with the new set up, but the snare definately sounds better the old way. i guess my question left to ask is, which would you value more? the overall cymbal sound? or the snare sound? should i leave it up to whoever i'm recording? thanks.
 
puttin in my worthless two cents!!

When I first started recording drums all I had was 3 sm57's,so I'd put two in a xy configuration above the drummers head and one on the kick.It yielded suprising results, a little thin but better than nothing.So use them if that's all you've got to work with. As far as how many mics are necessary I believe in the philosophy less is more.If you can record with 2 to 3 mics and get the sound your looking for then do it.I personally use two for overheads,1 for kick, 1 for hi hat, 1 for snare.If you can use less mics you will have less phase cancellation, and the less mics you have to mix down the easier it is to keep it natural sounding.The only issue with the 57's for overheads as far as I know they do not have the ability to accurately follow the high transient response given off by cymbals.This would probably be best answered by Harvey.
 
Id sell a couple of pints of blood and get a pair of Behringer ECM8000's for overheads ($70/pair).....

if not, since you get better results the new way for cymbals but better the old way for snare, do both.....mic the cymbals with one sm57 overhead....mic the snare with the sm58 ball off...mic the kick with the EV.....

or do the 57 and 58 as overheads and put the EV mic somewhere that it will pick up a decent balance of the kick and snare.....

which EV mic do you have...do you have any other mics laying around......
 
mics mics mics...

The EV is a N/D 357B (dynamic supercardioid) - i can't find information about it anywhere...i picked it up at a garage sale a while ago because i needed a mic for shows.....

Then i have an AKG D 60 S - i dont use that one now....it sounded terrible with cymbals - insanly large amounts of high end on it made the cymbals squeel...and EQ couldnt fix it. if you wanna hear it...try around 1:03-1:07 on the song at http://www.mp3.com/the_labjackets - it drives me nuts (so i recorded that song over again...lol).


That's all the mics i got right now, but i am looking into some new ones i guess. i dont have money right now though. lol

I go in through a 4-track, so technically i could use all the 4 mics if you think its fit. let me know. i'd love to hear what anyone thinks.

to hear 2 of my current drum sounds...click here:
http://www.angelfire.com/emo/shackrockinc/links.html
the 2nd song is definately a better micing of the set, and the 1st one is terrible...but i still need some ideas.
 
Last edited:
Shack,

Try swapping the 58 and 57. Put the 57 as an overhead and place it more to the non-snare side of the kit. Not directly in the middle. Now, put the 58 (with the top off) on the snare. Where are you sticking the ev as far as the kick is concerned? Put it in the damn kick drum. Another few notes. Dont use any gates or anything else. With this kind of setup you really need to focus on capturing the live airy feel of the kit...because that is what you have to work with.

And have fun.
 
neither

first off...no less than 3 mics for a drumset....and i would only take off the top if its used for micing a snare of kick or tom....e-mail for more

blacktop_rec@hotmail.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top