Snare mic (s)

[Energie]

Hey there

I am recording my drum kit in a few days and have been messing around recording it thus far. I am happy with everything really except the snare. I havn't mixed it or anything, but I know I can get a better sound. It sounds pretty decent in the room and I will continue experimenting with placement, but I was curious what is your favorite snare mic, or mics.......?

[warhead]

Audix i5
sE Electronics SE3
KM84

The condensors do a better job of capturing the entire crack and body of the shell and I never need a second mic. The i5 is an excellent dynamic though and is way more open and full versus an SM57.

War

[indie]

TOTALLY agree with War -- i5 rules. I got to use it at a friends studio. Crazy isolation.

[Energie]

Nice

Right now I am experiementing with a Beyerdynamic M-422, and an AKG 451, as well as tried a Senheiser 906. I like the 422 though its not quite as full, Trying a combination of these 2 but having issues with some oddities when used together, the 451 by itself is nice as well

do you think the i5 would work better then the ol beyerdynamic? So far i am liking the 451 I think

I am using earthworks omni overheads.

[johnbohn]

SM57, D224e, i5, Beta 57

I like all those. D224e most of all, but the 57 almost always works.

[octatonic]

Beyer 201, EV RE20 or a good old 57 (esp the telefunken transformer version)

I don't like the Beyer 906 or 609 on snare, at all.

[vaka]

I get great results with a Shure SM98 in combo with a Beyer M201/Revox 3500.

[Chris Parsons]

Lately it's been a 57 on top with a 414 on the shell, as close as I can get it without touching. Never use a bottom anymore.

[samwinston123]

The Oktava MK012 is my favorite out of my own mic collection. When I'm in the studio I usually use a Beyer 201. Unless the drummer knows how to hit the snare with conviction (i.e. hard and in the center) then I don't usually like a 57. It's too boxy.

[espen askelad]

My usual starting points are the Audix I5 and Shure KSM141. Those two sound good on about any drum. Usually I'll go with the Audix if it's a more modern drum sound overall and the KSM if I'm going for something a little mellower/darker in tone (overall drum sound, not the just snare specifically.)

Sometimes I'll go with an SM7b on the shell - I've got two old (wood) Slingerland 14x5s that sound basically polar opposite to one another yet each sound great with that configuration when I want a deeper crack vs the pop of the top head.

when I do mic the bottom, it's usually an M179 in hypercard (if they're not all on tom duty) or an EV 642. Really though, for how little of the bottom mic I typically mix in, I could probably use any functional mic of appropriate polar pattern and be ok with it.

[donsimpson]

DPA 4011-TL is awfully good.

[Energie]

Yeah, I don't use a 57 anymore on snare, just didn't work for me.


So I am seeing the Beyer 201 and Audix i5 being repeated alot. I may have to pick up the i5 tommorow for fun, its cheap.

no one every try the 451??

[espen askelad]

Originally Posted by Energie

no one every try the 451??

If I still had any 57s, I'd try the 451/57 taped together trick, makes sense in my head at least that the two would work well together; each delivering what the other lacked.


I'd maybe try it with the sm7 sometime but I always put the 7 on the sideshell... not sure if the 451 would be giving me what I want there, and on the top... well. Seems like asking for a phase nightmare. Whenever I wire things back up though may give it a try.

[mixman499]

57 always works...i have had lots of luck with the audix i5.

my personal favorite is the beyer m201.

it has a cool "hi-fi" sound that i dig....but, it still has some nice mid range to it.

if you have a cool sounding snare...pretty much any mic will get you there...if you can make the drummer play his hats high...back the mic off a bit...you'd be suprised what you get...my top snare mic is usually about 4-6 inches back from the snare...works for me.

good luck.

jchristopherhughes

[Energie]

Originally Posted by mixman499

57 always works...i have had lots of luck with the audix i5.
.if you can make the drummer play his hats high...back the mic off a bit...you'd be suprised what you get...my top snare mic is usually about 4-6 inches back from the snare...works for me.

good luck.

jchristopherhughes

Nice,

Yes I raised my mic a bit and it sounded so much more like it did in the room versus close micing, just picking up tons of hi-hat, but I am not the drummer so perhaps....

[Musiclab]

I use either a pair of 201's or a AKG 460 on top and an earthworks SR77 for the side, thru Daking 52270's, no eq or compression to the recorder

[Brad McGowan]

Haters of 57: try the new TAB-Funkenwerk T58 transformer upgrade and give the mic another shot on snare. That transformer has restored my faith in the SM57 as a snare mic of choice. The thwack is still there, but the boxiness is attenuated.

Also the Heil PR30 sounds great on snare.

I second the suggestion to mic the snare from at least 4 inches away.

Brad

[LeeStoker]

Audix D-1 top, SM57 bottom, Audio Technica 4033 side pointed at top head and tape foam around it to help with hihat bleed. top and bottom go into UA 2-610 pre eq. Side usually into a channel of my ATB console and eq to taste. Bussed and then into an 1176.

[Energie]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I originally moved my kit into my living room, bigger open and tall ceiling, though it has tile floor, I thought it would sound huge in there , and that it did, however way too much roominess that I couldn't control right away properly. So I moved it back into my sound booth and funny enough, everything just sounded better in there, snare included.

I have a 451 a few inches up and the beyer on the bottom. It still needs work but once the drummer comes, he should be able to tune my kit to where it should be, I am a hack drummer myself. I still may pick up the i5 since its so cheap.

a modded 57 aint really a 57 in my book. Though I am weird about 57's, just don't like em much.

Interesting about taping foam for hi-hat bleed. That is an issue I always run into.

[Brad McGowan]

Did you say moved the snare mic "up"? Don't move it up. Move it away from. Try placing at rim height, but about 2-6" back away from the edge of the drum. Then report back.

Brad

[Energie]

I moved it back and up a bit, but I will try moving it farther away rather then up and over? intersting, I will give that a try.

[Podgorny]

Yamaha MZ-205 here.
Every time I've tried something else, I end up switching back to the Yamaha, or wishing I had.

[jonaknt]

Originally Posted by Energie

Trying a combination of these 2 but having issues with some oddities when used together

phase phase phase...
move your mics around 'till they sound right.

[Energie]

Yup, its a bit hard now cause I run into the room, play a bit, come back and listen. will be much easier when Z drummer comes , and he's reall good too.

[picksail]

One SM57 on top.

One 604 clipped to the bottom.

[Bang]

Audix i5 top, Audix D2 or another i5 bottom

[bobx]

overheads (atm450's or at4047's) and room mics (royer r121 or sm7). i usually get all the snap from the overheads and the body from compressed room mic(s). and i use a good ol' sm57 to get everything else. and put that through the dbx 160a if i want some extra smack.

[Energie]

I jsut wanted to follow up that I purchased and used the Audix I5 on the top of the snare and I thought it sounded just fine and great. I liked it better then the beyer, not overly bright. Thanks once again for the suggestions!!!

[travisbrown]

Here's my favourite setup. Not necessarily any better than others, but mostly out of habit cause I know it works...

When I have access to an AKG 414, I put it about two to three inches above the snare skin with the face exactly parallel to the snare head, pulled back so the screen extends over the head and the body of the mic is behind the rim. To my ear it sounds even better on wood-rimmed snares. Then sometimes I'll add a 57 on the bottom to get some more resonance.

Since I don't own a 414, I usually either use a Sennheiser 509 or 609 in the same config as the 414, but tilted back slightly, or a 57. Hard to beat a 57.

I generally like dynamic mics better on snares, but make an exception for a 414.

I also have a Peavey 45i, which is like a 57 knockoff, but still a really good sounding mic. When I've used up my 57s, it's the pinch hitter.

[uncle duncan]

Sticking a mic out in front of the kit helps immensely. Put on isolation headphones and move it around - 3 or 4 feet in front, 3 or 4 feet high. There's a sweet spot that really makes the snare speak.