BEST MICS for 3-mic drum setup (kick + 2 "overheads")

[hanisch]

Hello!
another one : )

thanks for opening!

Well, the point is that I'm looking for overhead mics that will deliver a decent recording of a drumset, not only cymbals, either LDC or SDC (but not electret).

of course you can also tell me about your favourites for the kick-mic


what do you think

1. in the "money doesn't matter range" (cheaper ones as well )
2. in the < = around 1000$ (per pair) range

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your help and inputs
love
michael

[big country]

what kinda of sound do you want ?
whats your room like?
what type of stereo image are looking for?
quality of instruments?

do you want a sound that puts you in the thrown.
a sound that puts you back as a by standard.
or the sound of the drums.

[hanisch]

what I want:

a sound - straight in your face

mics that transfer well on different styles - i.e. aggressive, sensitive, standard

a mic that can pick up all kinds of different moods

a universal mic

my room:
is a 12 x 14 x 9 feet room with a multiply arched ceiling

THANKS again for your inputs

[soupking]

my fave out of what I've tried is:

OH : RCA 74b
snare: sm57
kick: md421 or bk-5 (with windscreen!!!) depending on budget

if you want a universal mic I'd get a AKG 414 or Neuman u87.

[big country]

damit just thought of new mic

[tINY]

For universal - I'd go with a pair of Earthworks cardioids overhead. Probably the SR25.

For the kick - I'm really liking the PR40 lately, so that might be the right answer.


Other overhead choices worth thinking of are:

Low budget: Kel HM1 - mellow on top with plenty of low-mid for toms - but they pick up a lot of the room due to a wide-cardioid pattern.

Mid budget: ATM450 - wow, I don't know how AT got so lucky with a relatively simple mic, but it works pretty well in the OH position.

High budget: Hell, I don't have the money to join this league, but I see C414 and other LDC get used - seems like the frequency dependant polar pattern might be tough to work with...

Crazy experiment: I've heard that some people have used PR40 for overheads - wo 3 PR40s... (the flip side of the Earthworks Drum mic sets).






-tINY

[529 Pro Audio]

I'm using the Pearlman TM-2 and TM-1 as overheads (using the recorderman technique) and an Audix D6 on kick. The drums sound incredible and it only eats up 3 channels.

I'll be posting some samples soon.

-Chris

[DrummerGuy09]

KSM32 (OH) & D6 (Kick)

These give me a real punchy sound. I love the KSM's because they capture that "air" above the source that really sounds great with drums.

[bigbone]

on a budget, the KEL HM-1 sound great, but make sure that your room sound
good, because the patern pick up lot's of room
On a mid budget ( 350$ around each ) the Blue Bluebird are doing great
as Over-head.
And on the pricey side the telefunken AK47 are great
If you are stinky ritch ( or you won the lottery) get some original
C12 telefunken, or some U47 or U67 neumann.....:P

As for the kick, any AKG D12, AKG D112, sure 52, audix D1 will do

P.S. don't rule out ribbon mic as overhed, .......

[rcm]

2 KSM32s and a Beta52

[themaidsroom]

got great drums today:

coles 4038 - kick
coles 4038 - oh
rca 77 snare



be well


- jack

[ThePhil]

my personal faves for drums:

OH 414's
Kick d112


nuff said

[seaneldon]

I find that when I use fewer microphones, the "conventional" placements of those microphones don't always give me the picture I'm looking for. I'm not going for the sound of overheads and a direct kick mic...I'm going for the sound of drums and I don't wanna spend any more than 10-20 minutes hanging and placing mics.

A lot can be done with M/S micing here. Put them out a few feet in front of the kit, with the Mid mic ALMOST higher than the kick drum. You get an immediate, real LCR picture of the drums that sounds as even as the player (the player being a very, very big deal when you're doing minimalist mic stuff). I like to spend a couple of minutes recording the kit with the M/S pair at different distances (two feet, three feet, four feet...) from the kit. It helps to have both mics on the same stand so you can move them together without screwing up the relationship of the mics.

M/S will also let you "get happy" with limiting. You can pound the tits off of the mid mic and let the side tracks bloom untouched. Creates the image of the drums exploding from the middle, outward.

This is also when a closer kick drum mic will come in handy, being that you may have just flattened your kick drum sound beyond recognition. Be very tasteful with the AMOUNT of direct mic you mix in. Think of it more as an accent mic rather than a "kick" mic. IBP's are your friend here for maintaining/retaining your low-end gusto, moreso than any equalizer.

What microphones, you ask? Whaddya got? We've got a Horch RM2j and a Brauner VM1KHE, which often take on mid and side duties respectively. That's also like...a $20,000 M/S pair(!!!) and we're recording in a 40-something x 40-something room.

Maybe try experimenting with M/S using what you've already got. If you like what it does for the image of the drums, but you're less than happy with the overall tone...THEN maybe start thinking about some microphones.

Have fun!

[drumzealot]

Recorderman OHs: Beyer M260 (smooth yet punchy), or Joly-mod Oktava MK319 (brighter and even more punch)
Front of Kit: Rode NT2

You could get all 5 of these mics for about $2000.

OH mic 1: pointing down directly at middle of the snare
OH mic 2: equidistant from the middle of the snare (relative to OH mic 1) but pointed at the bass drum (were the beater hits)
FOK: equidistant from the bass drum (relative to OH mic 2).
Make sure the OHs are phase coherent relative to the snare
Make sure OH mic 2 and FOK mic are phase coherent relative to the bass drum.
If the player gets more volume out the bass drum (relative to the snare) then point OH mic 2 at the snare.

As long as the drummer is able to control the volume of the cymbals relative to the drums it should sound great.

[big country]

mercannanry guy;
M/S will also let you "get happy" with limiting. You can pound the tits off of the mid mic and let the side tracks bloom untouched. Creates the image of the drums exploding from the middle, outward.

I like the sound of that

kinda what I was thinking but a in trinaural form

n-arrow field fig8 ribbon in the front of stealth technologically advanced PZM binaural

I will look for some pics
I know I have some where

[warhead]

I've yet to meet a drum kit that my pair of ATM450 (in a roughly ORTF setup above the drummer's head, fairly low facing into the kit) and E/V ND868 could not handle in a 3 mic setup. I would mic the snare, if anything to give you a track to control reverb levels needed in the mix, but you would likely use it in there as well.

In minimal setups I prefer the sound of what the drummer hears, facing into the kit with the OH mics but maybe that's just me.

War

[HudHudson]

Originally Posted by 529 Pro Audio

I'm using the Pearlman TM-2 and TM-1 as overheads (using the recorderman technique) and an Audix D6 on kick. The drums sound incredible and it only eats up 3 channels.

I'll be posting some samples soon.

-Chris

I bought a pair of TM-LEs (the hand-wired version with Neumann KK67 capsule) mainly for OHs, and matched with a Soundelux ifet7 on bass drum it's a fantastic combination. Very smooth midrange, nice and punchy. I have also used Josephson E22s's as the over/side mics, a little more top end than the Pearlmans, nice transient response.

[eric maltz]

Originally Posted by themaidsroom

got great drums today:

coles 4038 - kick
coles 4038 - oh
rca 77 snare



be well


- jack

i cant say enough about the 4038's!!!! they bascially are the most incredible things on drums. i also love them on vocals, guitars, pretty much everything. crazy expesnive though. i also have a pair of akg451's that sound great as overheads. i love those mikes also. but the coles. OMG

[deve]

royer 121 OH
at4047 kick

[Grumblefoot]

I like the Cascade Fathead II's for the overheads.
Shure Beta 52 on the kick.

[big country]

up I found it..