Sennheiser e604 rack tom and snare mic....Thoughts?

[darkwater]

Anyone use these in the studio? Anyone heard 'em? Looking to clean up all the mucky mucky.




http://www.zzounds.com/item--SENE604

[NathanEldred]

I think the e604 rocks on snare, it's very condenser-like and the perfect frequency curve for snare (so much so that I keep a couple of hits on file every time I record a drummer for use as future samples in drumagog of the 604). For toms it's a little thin, it's clear in the mids, but needs a pretty good boost in the lows, I prefer a condenser on toms.

[darkwater]

Nathan,

Thanks for that! Ok, do you like these for snare top AND bottom? What do you like best for toms?

[NathanEldred]

Originally Posted by darkwater

Nathan,

Thanks for that! Ok, do you like these for snare top AND bottom? What do you like best for toms?

I find it completely unnecessary to mic the bottom of the snare (between overheads and top snare I'm getting what I need), so I'm not sure.

On toms I'm doing TLM103's, but I'm looking forward to trying some Charter Oak E700's (their FET triple pattern).

[WEAPON_X]

i use the e-series drum bag which incudes the 602 and 604 as my main mic setup for drums. i use a sm57 on the side of the snare aiming at the shell to get more afterring. on rack toms i use additionally a single 421 about 30-40 cm above the toms aimed to pick up both to get more bass resonance. this needs careful checking of phase issues, which can be sometimes a PITA. however, works very well and compliments the e-series hi-fi sound nice. floor tom gets a second 421 in addition. i mix the sound maybe 70% sennheiser, and fill out the lower mids with the 421s.
i put the 602 into the drum for a very modern rock style kick, and combine it with a cheap ribbon mic outside (the rb500).

the e-series sounds very nice in combination with ldc as overheads, lately i ve been using 4047. so far i like that, but as usual when it comes to sounds, that may change tomorrow, and i will revert back to sm57 on snare and 58 on toms...
IMHO the e-series tends to like api style preamps for really fast and "exciting" transient response that cut through dense mixes cluttered with many layered guitar tracks.

but i found that the whole e-series is not very good at taking eqing later in mixing, thus you need to carefull eq when positioning. i think this is due to the strong frequency curve the e-series has. the md421 for example takes eq much butter.

[Boby Stoica]

I'd say go with the Es if you don't have access to MD 421. These clips sound good on toms - my feel is that they are more suitable for live - I always like how do they sound on PAs.
I tried them on snare also - I felt there's not enough punch - maybe it was because we had to record some spanky stuff like Incubus - I ended up using same ol'57.

[mltamisin]

I've been using them for years now. They work fine on snare but I still prefer my SM57 or I5. It's a similar sound though. They're sufficient on rack toms but don't like them on floor toms. I like a D4 instead. The other day I ran out of mics and used the e604 on a guitar amp through a Portico & RNC. The amp was slightly overdriven but clean when played lightly. It surprised me b/c it sounded excellent.
Good luck - Matt

[macr0w]

Does any one use a figure 8 mic like a Beyer M130 in between 2 toms to catch both of them?

[valleysound]

Originally Posted by mltamisin

I've been using them for years now. They work fine on snare but I still prefer my SM57 or I5. It's a similar sound though. They're sufficient on rack toms but don't like them on floor toms. I like a D4 instead.
Good luck - Matt

I'll agree with Matt. I do the same and that is coming from my live sound experience(and gear). The 57 has more punch and meat, but sometimes I need more of the crack and sizzle that the 604 gives. The 604 works pretty well on some horns too. Trumpets may sound a bit harsh though.

[nathanvacha]

Originally Posted by macr0w

Does any one use a figure 8 mic like a Beyer M130 in between 2 toms to catch both of them?

Never heard of doing that... why, do you?