Conga drum micing and mixing

[greatgreatriver]

I'm using D112 down at the sound hole and LCD or 421 etc on skin. I often put it horisontell facing the rim/skin. I use pretty extreme EQ to. Also had good fortune luck with R84 a little futher away from the sound hole - between the floor and sound hole.

[teleharmonium]

Originally Posted by John Eppstein

The M101 is a fine mic - it's the omni version of the M201 I recommended, and probably a better choice if you only have one.

Yeah, I think they're really great for percussion, I recorded some shaker tracks miked close up with one of those, straight into a Duet, that sound perfect and expensive with no processing.

I've been putting one just behind the drummer's head as an extra mono source when miking kits. Sometimes I'll go with that track and skip the stereo overheads and close mics on the toms for the mix, using only the M101, 4047 out in front of the kit in line with the kick, and an ATM29HE or Revox 3500 or an EV dynamic (I forget the model) on the snare.

[big country]

Originally Posted by John Eppstein

I kind of doubt that the drummer would take kindly to modifying his drums..... And I'm not at all sure that a figure 8 ribbon would function correctly inside the drum, as ribbons are velocity devices, not pressure devices. And I suppose that you make ribbon motors all the time? (As it happens I do have some experience working on ribbon mics - while they are quite simple devices in principle it's not nearly as easy as you'd expect.)

Anyway, micing a conga from inside would miss a lot of the slap and other effects. I have had reasonably good results micing a djembe from inside with a high quality miniature lavalier condenser though (Sony ECM-50/ECM-55) Don't know if it would work on a conga. Also, placement was EXTREMELY critical and difficult to maintain.

My rig of preference would be crossed M201s. e609s might also work, and they're cheap!

I have built drums and yes I have built ribbon Mic's


well aware how ribbon Mic's work

not saying I know all about them but very comfortable with my knowledge on both subjects as for modifying some ones drum , comes down to how
serious they are about capturing a new tone

[greatgreatriver]

big country - i think you mics and the guitar looks awesome. you seem so creative. Nice stuff. I love the looks of your guitar.

[big country]

thanks hope everything is cool

[Yetti]

For the live tracking with an entire band, I went with a 421 top and a K2...sounded very good.
However, for some overdub tracks I layed down some wood under the congas, and simple SM81 X-Y...That's the ticket!
The SM81's through a Jim Williams mod Studio Technologies preamp, sounds great both solo and in the mix with no eq....happy client.

Thanks for the suggestions Brothas!