Rick K. Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Hello Drum Gurus! Could you help me choose a good set of mics for our new drummer's kit? Pretty much standard Yamaha Stage with three toms, snare, kick, high hat and 3-4 various cymbals. I have easily 8 inputs and lots of compressors available (4 dbx 266xl, or Presonus ACP88's). We've ordered a plexishield which should arrive within a day or so. He'll have a Crown headset mic, and Sennheiser In ear Monitors. We're a country/western dance band with a pretty versitile sound system. Love lots of punch from the kick and lots of drive from the snare. ---What Brand and Model would you recommend for each piece? ---Placement suggestions? (kick has hole in it.) ---Compression ideas? (I was just planning on a small amount on the kick.) Thanks guys!! Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Are you talking about for live gigs, or for recording? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernest828 Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 I`ll assume you`re talking studio recording. These are the mics, pres, placement of mics and compression and eq settings I use on a consistant basis with a very expressive drummer. NOTE: Even though I have a nice variety of pres, I use the Mackie d8b mic pres for drums. I own Avalon pres and APHEX pres as well. I prefer the sound of the Mackie d8b pres for drums because they sound more rock n roll to me (more bright basically). Also, I only use four mics compared to some people who mic every drum. The truth is a drumset is heard as one instrument not individual pieces so when I record I am going for the most natural sounding set I can get. The setup below gives me incredible results that every drummer I have worked with has loved. A big part of the drum sound is the room you record in. I record in a room with straight walls but when I record drums I set up stands with moving blankets all around the room to absord and diffuse any standing waves and get a great sound so you too can achieve great results. One of the best investments I made was to buy some moving blankets. KICK AKG D112 -> Mackie Mic Pre I throw a box in front of the kick that is 19" long and it literally hugs around the front of the kick. I do this for two reasons: One: I am creating a little tunnel for the bass drum to push some air and therefore gives me more waves to capture by concentrating the sound within that frame, Two: After th box is up I place the mic 6" inches from the kick drum and then place moving blankets over and around the box to completeley isolate the kick drum from the OHs and snare and to get as much bass signal as possible into that mic. Compression: -20 db Attack is set aroun 20ms and release around 20ms. The gate is where I get the boominess out of there and get just the attack. I allow the gate to open when hit but close down very quickly after initial attack. I compress the hell out of everything (hehe). EQ is usually boasting 5-7 dbs around the 110hz region and somewhere in the 4-5k region you `ll get a nice attack so I`ll boast here as well another 5-7 dbs. I set the EQ to a narrow band. Snare SM57 -> Mackie Mic Pre Snare is usally compressed like the bass (aggressively). I use the gate to give me more or less snare after the attack depending on the song. EQ: Depends on the size of snare and effect I want in the song, you`ll have to experimment. OHs AT 4050s -> Mackie Mic Pres I set the pad to -10 on the 4050s and the bass roll off as well. The mics are placed app. 2 feet above the highest cymbals and are placed app. a foot and a half from the center of the kick drum. This usually puts the two mics a good 42" apart. Peace, Ernest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick K. Posted January 21, 2003 Author Share Posted January 21, 2003 It's for live sound. Sorry to omit that.... Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
where02190 Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 Kick-Shure Beta 52 or SM-91. Snare-SM-57 Hat-Shure SM-81 Toms-Shure SM-98's or 57's OH-Shure SM-81's All tried and true, and used by top touring professionals worldwide. If you go the 91/98 route, this lessens your stands requirement, as the 98's have an optional mount for the mics, and the 91 is a hemispherical patter that sits in the bass drum, no stand required. Personally I hate mic stands and always try to use a few as possible. You can spend more money on mics, but for live your audience will never notice the difference. Regarding preamps and dynamics, Your engineer should be familiar with what is best, (as he/she should on mic choices). If they are not, it's time for a new engineer. Hope this is helpful. Hope this is helpful. NP Recording Studios Analog approach to digital recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick K. Posted January 30, 2003 Author Share Posted January 30, 2003 My drummer is sold on the Beta 91 kick mic. I'm not sure what we'll use for toms, snare, etc. I think he's going to pick it up today. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick K. Posted February 2, 2003 Author Share Posted February 2, 2003 Well, he ended up getting the Beta 91. We ran it this past weekend. Man, was it nice! Hardly any eq, punchy, clear clean, and way mean! Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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