
Whoopysnorp
New member
Until recently, my typical drum mic setup would be 1 SM57 each on the snare and the rack toms, 2 MXL603s overhead, a CAD M37 on the floor tom, and a Sennheiser e602 on the kick. Last month I traded a pair of my SM57s for a pair of Beta 56As, and I was quite happy with that deal. They're slick little mics, and I'd say they're somewhat better on both toms and snare than the 57s. It's not a huge difference, but I like that extra bit of treble. Since I have two of them and a five-piece kit, I'll probably want to stick them on the rack toms and keep using a 57 on the snare for now. Should I decide to get a new snare mic, what should I choose? The 56A sounds good, but there may be something better out there.
As far as the floor tom goes, I don't like the sound of the SM57 on it at all. Using the M37 (a large diaphragm condensor) on my floor tom when it's tuned right really makes the low end of the drum cut through the mix and lets me get a nice rumble on sections where the drummer is riding on the floor tom. However, it's kind of awkward to position a condensor mic by the floor tom, since it's in danger of taking a stick impact over in that area of the kit, and it's tricky to keep the ride cymbal from bleeding through too much. Does anybody know of a dynamic mic that sounds good on the floor tom, or perhaps a more directional condensor?
As far as the floor tom goes, I don't like the sound of the SM57 on it at all. Using the M37 (a large diaphragm condensor) on my floor tom when it's tuned right really makes the low end of the drum cut through the mix and lets me get a nice rumble on sections where the drummer is riding on the floor tom. However, it's kind of awkward to position a condensor mic by the floor tom, since it's in danger of taking a stick impact over in that area of the kit, and it's tricky to keep the ride cymbal from bleeding through too much. Does anybody know of a dynamic mic that sounds good on the floor tom, or perhaps a more directional condensor?