Good Quality Drum Mics?? Help Please

[DrumminDave]

Hello everyone! I have recently been looking into purchasing some mics for my drums. After doing some research, I still dont know what brand or series mics to go with. There are so many different ones to chose from, and really dont know what would be the very best quality for the price. Any help would greatly be appreciated!! I know that the Shure sm57 would be a good for the snare drum, but what about the toms, floor toms, etc. Thanks alot!! Dave

[BBDrums]

 

Originally posted by DrumminDave Hello everyone! I have recently been looking into purchasing some mics for my drums. After doing some research, I still dont know what brand or series mics to go with. There are so many different ones to chose from, and really dont know what would be the very best quality for the price. Any help would greatly be appreciated!! I know that the Shure sm57 would be a good for the snare drum, but what about the toms, floor toms, etc. Thanks alot!! Dave

 

 

I just went through this same thing, I chose Audix D series. I think they are great,

 

You might want to check out some past threads about mics,

hope this helps, good luck.

[DrumminDave]

Thank you very much for the info!

[swilder]

Almost every drummer in the pro world uses shure sm-57s on the snare drums. many of those same drummers also use 57s for toms. Senheiser 421s are also very popular for toms. Audix D6 is the new sexy mic for the Kick. Shure Btea 52 is another popular kick mic. Overheads are typically a pair of large diphragm condensers if you wanna capture the whole kit. Or small diaphragm condensers if you just wanna go after the high freqs of the cymbals.

[ermghoti]

Keep it simple. A 57 on snare, take your pick of the major kick mics, and get a couple of condensors for overheads. I use a pair of AT4050's which are great on lots of sources other than drums too. You could get any number of other mics, depending on budget and taste.

 

A well-placed pair of condensors (small or large) will catch the entire kit, the kick and snare mics are only there for a more focused sound, and effects sends.

 

You will need a good sounding room, or find out about treating the room you're working in if you can't choose your location. The sound of the drums and the room is far more important than mic selection.

[PD Good]

The AKG D112 is the old standard for kick drum mics although it is a difficult shape to get inside the drum.

I've discovered that it is a wonderful mic for other uses as well - under the snare or over the toms. It just has a fullness to it that is unique and mixes well with other mic combinations.

I've recorded a lot of snares and I generally use three mics. A Shure SM57 about 10-12" above the snare head but outside the rim pointing in. I put the AKG beneath the snare very close and a large diaphragm condensor about 2' away pointing in towards the center of the head for room sound. This works really well, but obviously would not be ideal for live.

Despite the fact that it is a standard - I'm still not that thrilled with the SM57 on the snare - I just haven't found anything better (that I can afford). It does sound wonderful on the toms though.

[JoeBlast]

I'm also a fan of the D112, a buddy of mine had one and I dug using it.

[the DW]

A lot of the sound guys I work with like to use the Shure Beta 98s clip on condensers for toms, with an SM57 for snare and Beta 52 on the bass drum. But at $200 a pop for Beta 98s, it's a little on the pricey side.

 

Another favorite on toms seems to be the Sennheiser e604 dynamic mic. $130 per mic is a little more affordable.

 

I myself can't afford those kinds of mics, so I bought a cheapie CAD mic kit. Seems to work ok for live sound. $160 for the kit is more in my price range!

[Black Frog]

 

There are so many different ones to chose from, and really dont know what would be the very best quality for the price.

Live or studio? That can make a difference.

 

I like Senn 421's on toms in the studio, but they are too bulky, expensive, and finicky mic clips to use live. In the studio we use some higher-quality overhead large diaphram mics, but I wouldn't use them live.

 

"Very best quality" is a subjective term. For some time I used Shure 98's on toms which are wonderful mics, but they can be rather fragile with their small connectors. If you have helping stage hands (who mean well...) that aren't too careful with your equipment- those 98's can be damaged. Because of their fragility, I switched to dynamic mics for snare/toms. They are inherently much more robust and better for live use where you may not be the only one handling your equipment. And dynamic mics have a much better chance of surviving a accidental stick whack. If YOU are the only one that ever sets them up or tears them down and you're fairly accurate with your drum hits, then the 98's (or similar small condensers) are great.

 

I went with the Audix mic pack (D1 or I5, 2-D2's, and a D4). There's another pack that also includes the D6 kick mic. I think it is a great deal for the money when you look at how much you would pay if you bought each mic individually.

 

There's also a Sennheiser drum mic pack that includes multiple 604's and a 602 kick mic. I've used them live also with great results.

 

57's have been used with incredible drum sounds on snare. And toms at times.

 

If you have a good relationship with your music store, see if they will let you audition some mics. I borrowed several kick mics from my store for a night to take home and decided on the D6. The Beta-52 is a very close second for me. I retired my D112 to Ebay. I've heard nothing but glowing things about EV's ND 868 but I haven't tried it yet.

[Majoria]

 

Originally posted by Black Frog Live or studio? That can make a difference.

 

 

Excellent point. My background is in live sound reinforcement and have been getting into recording during the last year. It should come as no surprise that live mics are more forgiving and can be sacrificed a little more than a studio mic. Don't expect to duplicate a high quality recording when playing live as it won't happen, toomany other factors. Unless you're playing with some grammy award level band, just get some solid mics for live use like most of the ones mentioned (kick: Audix D6, Shure 52, etc, snare: Shure SM57, toms: Shure SM98A, SM57, overheads: any instrument condenser mic, not a vocal condenser).