will I kill my condensor?

[Chris Tondreau]

Hey there;

I have a band coming in in a couple of weeks to record. I've never done a live drum kit when I've actually had any range of options for mics before. Last time, I had an SM58, and two unidentified dynamic mics that worked.

Anyway... I have an SM58, a TOA mic (which by sound and appearance seems for all purposes to be a 58-knock-off, 2 Behringer ECM8000's, and a Rode NT1. I can run four mics into my Delta 44 with appropriate preamps for any.

My first impulse was to put one 58 on the kick, the other on the snare, and the ECM8000's as overheads.

Then I got to thinking.... would the NT1 be a better choice for kick or snare... I'm thinking probably kick if anything, but I'm not sure. My main concern beyond sound is whether I'll kill my NT1. He's a pretty heavy hitting drummer. I know older LD condensors were more delicate, but I don't know about the newer ones.

Or, should I just forget the NT1 all together and go with my original impulse?

Chris

Oh yeah... just to verify.... on most modern mics, as long as the cables are in good repair, running phantom power won't hurt a dynamic mic, will it?

 

[fishtop_records]

Modern non-ribbon professional mics will ignore phantom
power. Do not put phantom on a ribbon mic.

Shures on the kick and drums and the ECM8000's
as overhead/room mics is a good place to start.

Your NT1 should work fine as a bass mic, you
are unlikely to hurt it, but it will distort badly
when you drive it too hard. Since
it does not have a pad, you may have
move it away from the kick to get the level down.
A good trick is to build a tunnel out of sofa cushions,
about the same diameter as the drum, put the mic
in the tunnel, farther from the beater than you
would with a normal kick mic like a Beta52 or D112.

Check out Fletcher's article on three mic techniqes
for drumkits, on the mercenary.com site. I don't have
the high end mics and room that Fletcher has, so
I end up using six to 10 mics per kit.

Listen to the channel with your nT1 on it.
If it distorts, change something.

 

[DJL]

My main concern beyond sound is whether I'll kill my NT1.

No, a kick drum will not kill your Rode NT1... so, give it a try too.

 

[Track Rat]

Phantom power won't hurt dynamics or ribbon mics. Try putting one of the 58's inside the kick and the condensorout in front of the kick about 3'.

 

[Chris Tondreau]

Great!! Thanks, fishtop, DJL, and Track!

Chris

 

[Fletcher]

Modern non-ribbon professional mics will ignore phantom
power. Do not put phantom on a ribbon mic.

A common misconception based in myth... if your phantom is wired correctly, and the transformer on the ribbon mic is wired correctly... you won't have a problem with phantom power and a ribbon mic. If you have a wiring problem, you'll have a wiring problem no matter what kind of mic you use... if there is a problem with the wiring to the center tap on the transformer in a ribbon mic, it'll be corrected when you pony up the $125- to get the thing reribboned.

On some of my favorite desks [like the Trident A-Range, Neve 8068's, 8078's, etc.] you can't turn the phantom power off on an individual line basis... it's on every mic line, all the time.

Check out Fletcher's article on three mic techniqes
for drumkits, on the mercenary.com site. I don't have
the high end mics and room that Fletcher has, so
I end up using six to 10 mics per kit.

Ahhh gee... (kicks dirt) shucks... glad you liked it. One small clarification... I don't have a room, I'm a 'migrant worker'. The room will definitely add a signature to the tone, which could be a good or a bad thing depending on the sound you're trying to achieve... but most of the time you can get away with a 'minimal' drum mic'ing kind of thing damn near anywhere if you have a good drummer with a well tuned kit.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

you can get away with a 'minimal' drum mic'ing kind of thing damn near anywhere if you have a good drummer with a well tuned kit.

Once upon a time, a recording engineer got lost in the forest after eating some wild mushrooms, when he came to a 4 way intersection on the path, and discovered a small band jamming; a drummer with perfect time and a good kit, a fretless bass player who hit every note perfectly, and a lead singer, who just sat there complaining about her mic volume, the key the song was in, and how it sucked to hafta sing at that hour of the morning.

The engineer explained that he was lost and which road should he take to get back to town? The drummer said left, the bass player said right, and the lead singer said straight ahead. The engineer thought about this for a moment, thanked everybody for their help, and continued walking straight ahead. Why?

He realized that the mushrooms must be causing him to hallucinate, since there is no such thing as a drummer with perfect time and a good kit, or a fretless bass player who hit every note perfectly. Only the singer must have been real.

 

[DJL]

Once upon a time, a recording engineer got lost in the forest after eating some wild mushrooms, when he came to a 4 way intersection on the path, and discovered a small band jamming; a drummer with perfect time and a good kit, a fretless bass player who hit every note perfectly, and a lead singer, who just sat there complaining about her mic volume, the key the song was in, and how it sucked to hafta sing at that hour of the morning.

The engineer explained that he was lost and which road should he take to get back to town? The drummer said left, the bass player said right, and the lead singer said straight ahead. The engineer thought about this for a moment, thanked everybody for their help, and continued walking straight ahead. Why?

He realized that the mushrooms must be causing him to hallucinate, since there is no such thing as a drummer with perfect time and a good kit, or a fretless bass player who hit every note perfectly. Only the singer must have been real.

LOL I enjoyed that... thanks.

 

[muttley]

The old RCA ribbons are fried with Phantom power!! !!



da MUTT

 

[Fletcher]

The old RCA ribbons are fried with Phantom power!!

I don't know what planet you're from... but with shitty information like that, I suggest you return there immediately.

 

[Track Rat]

I don't know what planet you're from... but with shitty information like that, I suggest you return there immediately.

A voice of wisdom in the wilderness.