First go at drum mics

Rich210

Hey guys,

My band decided last night to take the step into micing the drums up. I was wondering if anyone had any experience and knowledge in drum mic sets, I dont want to spend more than 300 quid basically, and I'm hoping that sort of price will get some fairly decent mics for doing demos and playing live and scratch recordings with.

Cheers

Rich

Danny1969

For live use a decent kick mic and a few 57 type mic will do fine. For £300 you could get something like an AKG D112 and a bunch of second hand SM57's or similar. How many you need depends on how many toms there are on the kit

For recording and playing live in large venues a couple of overheads would be necessary. These are generally condensor mics and can be anywhere between £50 each and £700 each. Something like the Rhode M5 set of 2 for £120 ish would be ok.

To be honest the success on mic'ing drums is 60% how good the drummer is, 30% how well the kit is tuned and 10% what mics were used. 

I recommend putting the kick drum mic inside the kick drum. The closer you get to the batter head the more attack and presence it will have. Mic'ing outside produce's a mellower sound but will also pick up more spill from the rest of the kit and guitars etc. 

Aim the snare and tom mic's across the drum parallel to the skin rather than pointing the mic towards the middle. It will sound less boxy and more like a drum

If you use overheads then it's important to get the mic's an equal distance from the kick and snare, so there are in phase. I normally use a mic cable to measure from center of snare to each mic so I know the distance is the same. Where you put the mics depends on the kit, what cymbals are being used and how the drummer plays etc but where ever you put them make sure they are always roughly the same distance from the kick and snare to stay in phase. If you don't preserve the phase then bringing up the overheads will weaken the sound of the kick and snare. When recording the overheads alone should sound pretty good in capturing the whole kit before you add in the close mic's. 

kennedydream1980

I’ve used the stagg variant of the SM57 on my drummers kit (Toms and snare) and they sound great. 

https://www.rattleanddrum.com/stagg-sdm70-dynamic-instrument-microphone-xlr-xlr-included.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAg9rxBRADEiwAxKDTunHdMT7sPVz2N3Dhal_wp_GESPyxj3-QgiUWyYsU-9HF9V6Hg-e3AhoCXboQAvD_BwE

Danny1969

kennedydream1980 said:

I’ve used the stagg variant of the SM57 on my drummers kit (Toms and snare) and they sound great. 

https://www.rattleanddrum.com/stagg-sdm70-dynamic-instrument-microphone-xlr-xlr-included.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAg9rxBRADEiwAxKDTunHdMT7sPVz2N3Dhal_wp_GESPyxj3-QgiUWyYsU-9HF9V6Hg-e3AhoCXboQAvD_BwE

Comes with a mic lead as well, crazy cheap really 

kennedydream1980

Danny1969 said:

kennedydream1980 said:

I’ve used the stagg variant of the SM57 on my drummers kit (Toms and snare) and they sound great. 

https://www.rattleanddrum.com/stagg-sdm70-dynamic-instrument-microphone-xlr-xlr-included.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAg9rxBRADEiwAxKDTunHdMT7sPVz2N3Dhal_wp_GESPyxj3-QgiUWyYsU-9HF9V6Hg-e3AhoCXboQAvD_BwE

Comes with a mic lead as well, crazy cheap really 

Plus I’m not that bothered if he whacks one with his stick, which he does regularly!!

maltingsaudio

Just do kick snare hat and an overhead so 4 mics. Red5 bass drum mic highly recommended (unfortunately looks like they’ve stopped doing their Tom mics which were great) share PG81 for hat the stag mic looks good for snare but I would recommend going for a tom mic clip on for snare it saves an extra mic stand and room https://cpc.farnell.com/pulse/d-606/microphone-snare-tom-dynamic/dp/MP33857?  mckv=sEXVG6fth_dc%7Cpcrid%7C224680541983%7Ckword%7C%7Cmatch%7C%7Cplid%7C%7Cslid%7C%7Cproduct%7CMP33857%7Cpgrid%7C47726778220%7Cptaid%7Cpla-583401994556%7C&CMP=KNC-GUK-CPC-SHOPPING&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0vOEhYqz5wIVibPtCh3nlgS1EAQYCyABEgIjqfD_BwE. 

For overhead any cheap large format condenser 

Nb drum mics don’t have to be subtle and detailed at beginners level so don’t believe you have to spend a fortune. As you get more familiar with the sound of the kit and mics then you will see the gaps in your set up and fill them accordingly. For my money the kick is there to provide the beat and timing the groove is in the high hat so they are what needs the help, the snare and the cymbals in most environments will cut through acoustically without any need for amplification

Rich210

Wow just amazing all of the responses I really appreciate it guys! 

I was looking the AKG set for about 230 quid but now I might just go for something less. In saying that any of the mics we don't use on the drums might be handy to have for the guitars and bass if we're lacking. We do run through a 16 channel desk and have it in mind for demo recording so will probably need a condensor mic picking up the symbols and high hat. We might even get away with it picking up the Tom's. Sounds like the key mic is for the kick. I've got a pretty strong right foot so it'll need to be able to take the high SPL

Musicwolf

Is this for recording (since it’s I the Studio & Recording section) or live?  If the former then google the Glyn Johns method.

Rich210

It's mainly for recording for now, but will also be used for live. I'll check it out

Rich210

Also, just a note it's quite a small room, is there any considerations for feedback other than just making sure the eqs are set up well and the room has some good acoustic qualities?

Musicwolf

An acoustically good space is far more important than which mics you use in my, relatively little, experience.

As has already been said, quality of the drummer is number one, then I'd say room, then tuning / set up and finally mics.  If the room isn't great (and small rooms seldom are) then close mic'ing may help.

Rich210

Cheers musicwolf, well I'm a relatively inexperienced drummer so it's probably worth just getting some cheap stuff for now. Thanks for the tips

PolarityMan

I wouldnt go for a set of mics, you'll get better choices buying seprately and if you factor in 2nd hand you'll def end up with better choices.

Theres an AKG D112 and RodeMT5's on the classified now that will be good for kick and overheads.

I also love this guy..its like a poor man's Shure beta 91A: https://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_e100.htm?sid=c8490297c2bbddac278adf83054a8bf8

You stick that guy inside the drum then the AKGD112 in the bass drum port pointed at the batter head.

Obv and decent dynamic on the snare..re-puprose an SM57 or a clone. 

I'd also pick up a couple of cheap LDCs for rooms as well, they dont have to be great.

Tom mics I have 2 cheap sets and they're both balls. Theyre ok if you jsut want to retrigger tom samples but tbh I tend to prefer getting tom sounds from the overheads / rooms at the moment 

If anyone has reccomendations for low cost tom mics as an aside to this thread Im all ears

Rich210

@PolarityMan ;

Cheers for the updates fella, funnily enough I've just messaged James about the Rode's so they're on their way. Interesting shout on superlus_e100 and a AKGD112! I'll look into that when the times right. I might start off with the cheap one and try a SB57 version in front of the batter head, cheap and cheerful and might be pretty effective.  

On the Tom mics I heard the Thomann SB57 knock off is pretty good on some youtube videos, at £27 plus a 5m cable that's gotta be good value? I think I'll need some close mics since the recording studio is small and a bit square. I've set the drums up in the corner which fits the room really well. 

I'll look into the LDC mics. 

It's really early days yet and the guys are already rolling their eyes at my enthusiasm for buying the right mics already... :-)

PolarityMan

Rich210 said:

@PolarityMan ;

  

On the Tom mics I heard the Thomann SB57 knock off is pretty good on some youtube videos, at £27 plus a 5m cable that's gotta be good value? I think I'll need some close mics since the recording studio is small and a bit square. I've set the drums up in the corner which fits the room really well. 

The SM57 clones (not SB?) I have thought about using larger format dynamics, tbh my problem might actually be in the clips which are pretty cheap and dont really allow me to position easily in a way that captures a good tone yet doesn't get in the way of the drummer. 

Rich210

PolarityMan said:

The SM57 clones (not SB?) I have thought about using larger format dynamics, tbh my problem might actually be in the clips which are pretty cheap and dont really allow me to position easily in a way that captures a good tone yet doesn't get in the way of the drummer. 

Yes the SM57, I got muddled up the Thomann ones are MB75's.

Possibly yeah, as @Danny1969 said, it could be useful to try them running parallel to the skin? I've not tried it but sounds like a good suggestion. 

And as you suggested I'm just gonna build it up bit by bit. First off is just getting used to the room and seeing what sound we can get from the mics we've got. But I bought those Rode's cos they're decent and we can use them in a variety of ways in room. We're looking for something to capture quality drum segments a build tunes up from that.

PolarityMan

We used those same rodes as overheads on our last demo too..drummer has a set, I have some t-bone ones in my collection which work ok but arent quite as nice

We wrote and recorded this in a 4hour rehearsal then mixed it down the nextnight

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VMmYQagmeZ9Nju3Y5thwW3TNw7Np4RbV/view?usp=sharing

Rich210

@PolarityMan ;

Awesome I'll check it out later!

Branshen

PolarityMan said:

We used those same rodes as overheads on our last demo too..drummer has a set, I have some t-bone ones in my collection which work ok but arent quite as nice

We wrote and recorded this in a 4hour rehearsal then mixed it down the nextnight

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VMmYQagmeZ9Nju3Y5thwW3TNw7Np4RbV/view?usp=sharing

are you gonna give TFB another chance to butcher, I mean mix, your band? haha

absolutpepper

I’ll echo quite a lot of what others have said. A minimal mic setup (a la Glynn Johns) with kick, snare and oh’s is a great start. I’d recommend also buying some ‘industry standard’ mics for these rather than a drum mic kit. The reason being that individually you’ll get arguably better or at least more classic sounding mics than you would in a kit. Sure you might get less for your cash but you can always add in the future. Another bonus is if you go with a decent kick mic (I use a Beta 52a or a a D112) these also work well for micing bass cabs and likewise SM57s are a standard for guitar cab micing - so straight away you’ve got versatility you can spread across the rest of the recording. Likewise using LDCs (a pair of used AT2020s shouldnt bust the bank) can then mean the LDCs can be used for vocals, acoustics, etc. If I was then adding to the setup I’d look at an SM7b - which can be used as an effective floor Tom mic as well as a vocal mic and for other things like brass, etc which has high spl

octatonic

IMHO if you have good overhead mics then you can get around the deficiencies of the close mics but if you have a bad overhead image then it is pretty much impossible to sort out.

The problem with this is you hear more room through the overheads and if the room sounds bad then you are SOOL.