Low budget, or no-budget (DIY) drum mic rim clips?

[vonrichter]

Anyone know of a good source for dirt cheap drum mic clips?

How about not-too-tacky DIY solutions?

[rty5150]

All of your 'drum clip' products at 'American Musical Supply'


rich

[Gandy]

If you're recording pick up some cheap mic stands, they really do make a difference, from recent personal experience.

If not, try get ahold of some of the Shure PG ones, they're good.

[vonrichter]

Originally Posted by Gandy

If you're recording pick up some cheap mic stands, they really do make a difference, from recent personal experience.

I've got 3 mic stands. I'm just flat-out broke and trying to get some tom mics rigged for ultra-cheap. ;-)

RTY, thanks for the link. Those are the cheapest clips I've seen yet. But not cheap enough! By the time I bought 3, I could just get two more (granted ghetto, but they work for my light-duty use) boom stands for $10 less at ye olde musicians friend. :-(

Any good ideas for hardware stores solutions involving spring clamps?

[SANDS]

did a quick ebay search

"mic clips" and found quite a few free shipping and cheap

here is one of a few I found

dig it

6 Microphone Mic Stand Clips Holders - Free Shipping! - eBay (item 200348734471 end time Jul-02-09 13:13:52 PDT)

[staticwhitesound]

Originally Posted by Gandy

If you're recording pick up some cheap mic stands, they really do make a difference, from recent personal experience.

If not, try get ahold of some of the Shure PG ones, they're good.

+1 on the mic stands thing. i know they're more expensive, but seriously, if you're recording and are at all concerned about the tone of the toms, using stands instead of cheap clips helps SO MUCH more than you'd think. and you could probably post on craigslist to find some cheap ones in someone's basement they're trying to get rid of for dirt cheap...

[vonrichter]

Originally Posted by staticwhitesound

+1 on the mic stands thing. i know they're more expensive, but seriously, if you're recording and are at all concerned about the tone of the toms, using stands instead of cheap clips helps SO MUCH more than you'd think.

Clearly, nobody in the history of recording has ever miced toms at close range and gotten good results.

Like I said, I've got 3 stands. They are already serving duty on overheads and snare.

Anyway, looks like it's back to duct tape and drum sticks!

SANDS,
Wrong kind of clips mate! ;-)

[staticwhitesound]

Originally Posted by vonrichter

Clearly, nobody in the history of recording has ever miced toms at close range and gotten good results.
...
Anyway, looks like it's back to duct tape and drum sticks!

uh, i certainly was not saying that. i was just agreeing with the other gentleman and saying that when i tried using clips and then switched to stands it made a world of a difference. but i DO hate when people respond to threads not answering the original question and instead suggesting something out of left field. if that's what you're feeling from my reply, sorry about that. where to find the cheapest mic clips? yes, duct tape and drumsticks for sure!

[vonrichter]

This is the low-end forum, right? :-P

Just to be clear to the purists on this thread: I use about 80% overheads and just barely sneak in highly gated/Eq'd toms for slight balance correction. If you're worried about what I'm using to mount the mics, you would have a heart attack if you saw the $5 karaoke mics I'm using. ;-) But the key components (overheads, snare, kick) all have good mics on them so it's not a completely compromised setup.


Check this out. I found something cheaper, more along the lines of what I was thinking:

Wind Tech / Olsen Audio Group Drum Mic Clamp Microphone Holders & Mounts at Markertek.com

$7.99 each.

That's $23 for 3, pre-S&H.

But they are "available soon" (whatever that means) and it's hard to check the shipping on that site... they want all of your info first, what a hassle.

[Bouldy]

Originally Posted by vonrichter

Check this out. I found something cheaper, more along the lines of what I was thinking:

Wind Tech / Olsen Audio Group Drum Mic Clamp Microphone Holders & Mounts at Markertek.com

$7.99 each.

That's $23 for 3, pre-S&H.

But they are "available soon" (whatever that means) and it's hard to check the shipping on that site... they want all of your info first, what a hassle.

I have used similar clips on drums for live before, they are pretty nasty and if you don't attach the actual mic clip to them properly, they tend to undo themselves, leaving the mic pointing anywhere but where you want it! Lol!
Dave

[vonrichter]

Originally Posted by Bouldy

I have used similar clips on drums for live before, they are pretty nasty and if you don't attach the actual mic clip to them properly, they tend to undo themselves, leaving the mic pointing anywhere but where you want it! Lol!
Dave

How about just popping a small strip of tape on the threads?

I've never had trouble just taping mics to sticks/straws/coat hangers/dildos/whatever, perhaps I should just grab a roll of tape at the dollar store after all... I think I'm more after the psychological factor of having a clean-looking setup for this project. It's my dream album and I anticipate doing hundreds of drum takes.

[Bouldy]

Really, if your looking for low tech, what about taping the mics to brooms? You could then attach some string/twine to the broom in a couple of places and secure the other end to a wall or something else to ensure the broom stays in place. Man, can't believe I suggested this.... but I did it for about 6months as a cymbal stand for my first kit when I was beginning. Every now and then it would fall over and make a hell of a racket! Lol!
Dave

[vonrichter]

Originally Posted by Bouldy

Really, if your looking for low tech, what about taping the mics to brooms? You could then attach some string/twine to the broom in a couple of places and secure the other end to a wall or something else to ensure the broom stays in place. Man, can't believe I suggested this.... but I did it for about 6months as a cymbal stand for my first kit when I was beginning. Every now and then it would fall over and make a hell of a racket! Lol!
Dave

Hey, gotta do what you gotta do!

I just found a rusty broken cymbal stand (no boom) in the closet... if I tape a broom at just the right angle, I can probably get a couple mics on it somehow. Considering the cheeseball mics I'm using on toms, I have no qualms about taping them to hell and back.

Some 10 years ago, I had these little $5 radio shack electret mics, that had their own cord permanently attached. I would literally tape them to the rim of toms. It actually worked and did not pick up any rumble or vibrations. The only problem is that they would overload, so I had to layer cloth over the business end of the mics until they chilled out. It really should have sounded awful, but it worked fine as a subtle tom boost in the context of a mix.

[Bouldy]

What about a guitar stand? You could probably get it close enough to either the floor tom or the snare. I don't think it would extend high enough to reach the rack toms or hats.
Dave

[vonrichter]

Originally Posted by Bouldy

What about a guitar stand?

I had to pawn it, my amp and some other stuff to make it through the month.

[Markotaing]

All of these solutions are clever and some are cheap. Here is what I do:
Recording-Use overheads for the rough track. Use stands for the final take. Since the only person recording when the drums record is the drummer, steal all of the mic stands that the guitar players were using.
It also works to suspend the mic cord from the acoustical ceiling grid directly over the kit. This looks funny but it is very functional in a recording situation.
For live-I got fed up with clips coming loose from the rim so I made mic clips from some 1 1/2" steel banding that comes on shipping crates. Cut the banding to 6", drill holes for a bolt to hold the mic adapter/holder, drill a hole to mount the clip under the tension lug of the rim, bend the banding 90 degrees and then mount the clip. It works best to use a piece of rubber between the banding and the lug to eliminate any rattle. Tape the mic into the holder and bend the banding to where you want the mic. It will stay where you want it and I just leave everything taped up so it's ready to go next time.