Budget Drum Mic Kits

[Just Mike]

I'm in the market for some small clip on drum mics for live sound only and I'm looking for suggestions.

In the past, I've used 57's and a D112 with good results but I'm looking for something that won't require stands all over the place and frankly, SM-57's don't take drumsticks very well.

Also, are there any sleeper budget kick drum mics out there?

Thanks

[guitarguy19]

I posted a thread like this a while back...and we were looking for a very budget kit at the time.

 

We have a Beta 57 on the kick because that's (IMHO) the place to not skimp if ever possible, but for the snare and toms we used a 4-piece CAD kit that only cost like $75, which was the (sad) top of our drummer's budget. The snare/tom mics come with clips that are really easy to adjust and the mics themselves are quite small. Are they great or studio quality? No. But they've done us just fine for bar/club applications and do a reasonable job without any feedback problems. I'd recommend them if you're on a (very) tight budget like we were.

 

Most guys out there will probably recommend going with better mics and just buying piece by piece and getting by with your 57s in the mean time. Can't you get some kind of clips for those so you don't need stands? That's what we would've done if we had 57s at our disposal...but unfortunately we did not and we needed something that if nothing else, will get us by until we can get something better.

[Flogger59]

I have a Samson 7 kit. The mics sound fine, but the snare and tom mounts are extremely fragile.

[Just Mike]

I just don't want to use SM-57's on drums anymore because they WILL get whacked and I'm willing to spend a few hundred bucks on some dedicated drum mics. I mostly need some clip on tom mics and a kik mic. I've got a Beta 57 I'll use on snare.

[Rezrover]

How big of places are you playing that you're gonna mic everything? I went ahead and got drum mics for each tom, snare & kick but most of the places we played, it was overkill not to mention it cluttered up the mix. Just went with the kick mic and simplified everything and I'm glad I did, made set-up so much easier because we didn't have to spend so much time getting everything dialed in. Another thing too is that after you get a good balance on the drums, sometimes you'll have to throw it out the window till you get a complete sound check.

[Coaster]

senn 604

[stangconv]

Wharfedale makes a decent enough 7 piece drum kit with clip on stands.

[Just Mike]

 

How big of places are you playing that you're gonna mic everything? I went ahead and got drum mics for each tom, snare & kick but most of the places we played, it was overkill not to mention it cluttered up the mix. Just went with the kick mic and simplified everything and I'm glad I did, made set-up so much easier because we didn't have to spend so much time getting everything dialed in. Another thing too is that after you get a good balance on the drums, sometimes you'll have to throw it out the window till you get a complete sound check.

 

 

Couple of the rooms I do are pretty loud rock rooms and I'll definitely have to mic the toms. I've been playing/doing sound in one of them for over 20 years.

[Crownman]

 

senn 604

 

 

 

These, or the Audix D series. Personally I prefer the Audix mics.

[kmart]

 

I just don't want to use SM-57's on drums anymore because they WILL get whacked .

 

 

I personally see this as a total and complete logic fail:

 

1) For starters, if you're placing the SM57s with thought and common sense in the first place, NO drummer should be hitting them. Certainly not enough to consider it even a semi-regular occurrence, much less an inevitability like you're making it out to be.

 

2) Second...what good is replacing the mics with 'specifically made for drums' ones going to do? If your drummer is hitting 57s, he'll hit other mics too.

 

3) Third...aside from an SM58, which is even larger at the business end, there's probably NOT a mic I'd want in place for a drummer who couldn't stop hitting mics. At least the 57 is made solidly. You think a tiny little drum capsule is going to stand up to a drummer who abuses 57s?

 

 

As a drummer, my suggestion is to buy a handful of LP Mic Claws or similar dum rim-attached clamps to elimnate the clutter of stands and spend the $$$ you save on getting your drummer some lessons on stick control; you'll both be happier in the longrun.

[Shaster]

 

Couple of the rooms I do are pretty loud rock rooms and I'll definitely have to mic the toms. I've been playing/doing sound in one of them for over 20 years.

 

 

So it sounds like there's a large expensive PA involved but little money to be made. That's a shame.

 

Ideally, by the time you need to mic the whole kit there should be enough payment to warrant decent mics.

 

Personally I've found that I would rather have a few good mics than a bunch of poor ones. If you're going from sm57's to the cheapest CAD set, you might not be very happy. I tried that route for a few days, and decided to go with snare and overheads most of the time - YMMV.

[Just Mike]

 

I personally see this as a total and complete logic fail: 1) For starters, if you're placing the SM57s with thought and common sense in the first place, NO drummer should be hitting them. Certainly not enough to consider it even a semi-regular occurrence, much less an inevitability like you're making it out to be. 2) Second...what good is replacing the mics with 'specifically made for drums' ones going to do? If your drummer is hitting 57s, he'll hit other mics too. 3) Third...aside from an SM58, which is even larger at the business end, there's probably NOT a mic I'd want in place for a drummer who couldn't stop hitting mics. At least the 57 is made solidly. You think a tiny little drum capsule is going to stand up to a drummer who abuses 57s? As a drummer, my suggestion is to buy a handful of LP Mic Claws or similar dum rim-attached clamps to elimnate the clutter of stands and spend the $$$ you save on getting your drummer some lessons on stick control; you'll both be happier in the longrun.

 

 

 

Well, it's not logic, it's experience.

 

1) I've been doing sound long enough that I've had more than a couple of SM57's destroyed by drummers. I used to be the house engineer at a big rock club in town and when we hosted Battles of the bands I'd have to deal with the worst.

 

2) They're smaller both to the drummer and to the rest of the stage. A 57 with a regular xlr plugged into it is about 8" long. I want to minimize the chance for anything getting snagged by a spazzing singer as well.

 

3) Again, a smaller target and I'm going to continue using a BETA 57 on snare. Much more durable than a plastic SM-57.

[twostone]

Make the drummer buy the mics after a breaking a few from whacking the crap out of them might help teach how to aim better.

[Musicman717]

I have the audix fusion 4 mics , and i couldn't be any happier , have had them a long time and only had to replace the bass drum mic once last year. but i have had the mic for a long long time. the other mics in the set are still going strong. If i had to buy drum mics again , it would be with these , they are small and give the drummer ample room on the head of the drum. but you have to get the clips. but other than that they are great little mics.

[kmart]

 

Well, it's not logic, it's experience. 1) I've been doing sound long enough that I've had more than a couple of SM57's destroyed by drummers. I used to be the house engineer at a big rock club in town and when we hosted Battles of the bands I'd have to deal with the worst. 2) They're smaller both to the drummer and to the rest of the stage. A 57 with a regular xlr plugged into it is about 8" long. I want to minimize the chance for anything getting snagged by a spazzing singer as well. 3) Again, a smaller target and I'm going to continue using a BETA 57 on snare. Much more durable than a plastic SM-57.

 

 

Well all I can say to that, is using logic AND experience, if you're providing sound to renters who are prone to hitting mics so direct as to break them, and don't already have a 'you break it from abuse, you buy it' clause in your contract, THAT's the problem.

 

If you're instead providing sound to your/a single band and you can't get the obviously problem drummer(s) to rein in their issue in order to ensure your gear is relatively safe, THAT's the problem.

 

If it's a combo situation...both apply.

 

No matter how you slice it, though, cheap mics wouldn't be the way to solve things, IMO; smaller target or no, someone who can't avoid hitting a 57 is still going to hit your cheapo mics too.

[Just Mike]

 

Well all I can say to that, is using logic AND experience, if you're providing sound to renters who are prone to hitting mics so direct as to break them, and don't already have a 'you break it from abuse, you buy it' clause in your contract, THAT's the problem. If you're instead providing sound to your/a single band and you can't get the obviously problem drummer(s) to rein in their issue in order to ensure your gear is relatively safe, THAT's the problem. If it's a combo situation...both apply. No matter how you slice it, though, cheap mics wouldn't be the way to solve things, IMO; smaller target or no, someone who can't avoid hitting a 57 is still going to hit your cheapo mics too.

 

 

 

Geez, sounds like I'm in a conversation with my ex wife. Thanks for your suggestions.

[badhabit]

Okay, I'm not even going to suggest these would come close to sounding or being as good as your Shure's, or any other quality drum mics. That said, I picked up this set yrs ago because our bands cheap butt drummer would not get his own. And I wanted to be able to mic the drums on occasion. I got these from some ebay seller for $119.00 and was not expecting much. Just that they would work and make sound. So, I was pleasantly surprised when they did work a bit better than expected. I wouldn't use these for top notch shows, but when I need a few drum mics at some little gig that really don't matter much, just to get some sound out there, these have worked for that. They are not noisy, they sound pretty clear, they are durable ( metal, not plastic ), low profile, have clips that mount the mics to the drums, and the best part, if they die or get stolen, I'm not out much. To this day, every mic continues to work every time. No problems. I've even dropped them and have had them get knocked around, and they still work. Perhaps I got lucky. At any rate, I'm not recommending the OP get these instead of using his superior Shures, just that there are alternatives to using the Shures when micing a sloppy metal drummer with a penchant for demolishing microphones.

 

http://www.chinese-microphone.com/Drum-Microphones-SAC-7S.html

[Never_Grew_Up]

Some of these:

http://www.audiopile.net/products/Microphones/DRUM%20CLIP/DRUM_MIC_CLIP.shtml

 

And this:

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Reference-DRDK4-4-Piece-Drum/dp/B0040X5I2S/ref=pd_sim_sbs_MI_4

 

Or this:

http://www.amazon.com/Microphone-Microphones-microphone-Mounts-Carrying/dp/B003PLNFYE

[boomerweps]

I'm also a drummer that owned many SM57s for every tom and snare on a large drumset and clipped a few of MY OWN over the years. All it takes is a little inattention and there goes a cap ;>(

Kept my couple newest ones and sold the rest off and replaced them with Audix i5s used, bought for about $60 each. The i5s, being Audix's SM57 copy, have a similar sound to a SM57 BUT has a hard "grill" (more like a laser cutaway casting) over the capsule that can take a LOT of abuse. I'll not use a SM57 on drums ever again in a non-studio environment.

 

However, unless playing outdoors or at a LARGE venue or micing others, I rarely mic all my drums anymore. I just mic the kick with an Audix D6 mounted internally on a Kelly SHU composite and 1 or 2 overhead condensers (EWIs from www.audiopile.net). It works fine with fewer decent mics.

 

Boomerweps

[badhabit]

+1 on the Audix i5 and D6. I use these on a regular basis at better gigs with good drummers and even for recording. I like them.

[Just Mike]

Well, I picked up a 3 pack of e604's for the toms and I'm going to use a BETA 57 for the snare. So now, I'm looking for a kick mic...

[Coaster]

 

Well, I picked up a 3 pack of e604's for the toms and I'm going to use a BETA 57 for the snare. So now, I'm looking for a kick mic...

 

 

toldya

 

look at at250 if ya like the 604's

[kmart]

 

Geez, sounds like I'm in a conversation with my ex wife. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

 

If by 'sounds like a conversation with your ex wife' you mean to say that my suggestion solves the PROBLEM, not the symptoms, then sure, I guess.

 

Again, as a drummer who had to learn how to hit the round noisy thing in the center and not all over the place like everyone else should, I just feel the solution lies in getting the poor technique/bad behavior fixed, not in figuring out a work-around for it.

Or at the very least making those responsible for the poor technique...responsible for it.

[Vito Corleone]

We use the Audix Fusion mic kit. Except for needing a better mic for the kick, they sound just fine, IMO.

[Just Mike]

The reality of doing sound for kids is that stuff will get abused and they can't usually afford to pay $100 bucks for a bad hit. This part of my sound gig is a non profit venture to give young bands an opportunity to play on a decent stage with decent sound. For some, it's their first time on stage and they get a little over amped. I remember those days myself. I don't know most of them and don't know what I'm getting into before they start to play. I always tell them to be careful but to have fun. They always respect me because they know I used to be a big fish in this little pond (actually, it's kind of pathetic that I'm still working in the clubs I was 20+ years ago, but anyway...) The kids and their parents respect what I'm doing for them. I try to teach them a little without preaching, but accidents happen and I'm just trying to minimize the collateral damage.