Best cheap mics for toms

[Wackner]

Can someone give me a good alternative for 421´s on toms. I need 5 and it’s a bit to expensive. Should I go for the E604 or what can be a cheaper alternative that come close to the nice 421 sound? Also some good cheap suggestions on extra ones the floor toms. Maybe the D112.

Think around a 100$ maybe more per mice, or less

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

How about Drumagog + triggers? Could sound better and it's less expensive.

 

[Trevoire520]

604's or 904's are good for toms in my experience, hell 57's and 58's work fine too though obviously you need stands for them. Dont know how they compare to 421's as i've never had the pleasure of using em

red 5 audio do a good value drum mic pack if you need something uber cheap, $205. they compared very well to the sennhieser e904's i used im my last recording. wasnt so much that one mic was "better" than the other, they were just different tbh...

 

[Sinister Mephisto]

57s are pretty nice on racktoms with a little EQ. You're gonna need something else for the floor tom(s) though. Maybe you should just invest in one or two 421s and cover the rest with 57s? That way you can gradually replace them with the toms mics you really want and the end result is, extra 57s! Which is always fun.

 

[Wackner]

Samples are great on toms, no doubt on that. And I will always go 100% on the kick. But getting the drummers dynamics when beating them different brutal and soft can be a challenge, also on the snare. I would like to have the natural sound and most of it so that the samples don’t have to be louder than the recorded sound. Or maybe I should practice more on it.
Have lots of 57’s to use but still think they dont come close to the 421’s.

 

[Keessi]

Actually 57's are friggin' great on rack toms! and they're easier to place than 421's. 421's rock on toms though quite a lot.

 

[JeffTD]

57's on the rack toms, or see if you can score some used D2/D4's on eBay. Should be in your price range, and I've had some tell me they prefer them to 421's.

 

[tgs]

I have used 57's on almost all of my productions and the few times I've worked with something else, it has always been something that annoyed me about the sound. A bit part of this might of course be that I'm so used to them by now, but I really find them much easier to get a good sound out of, in general!

I'd also like to say that I use them very often on floor tom as well, with good result! It's just now and then that it doesn't work for me and I'll try some other things.

 

[KeithRT99]

i love 604s, they're easy to place, and you don't need to buy stands for them.

 

[RKelly]

MD504's are awesome on toms, Beyerdynamics get used a lot here for toms, but 421's are definately the go to mic for 95%

The Shure SM98's I think (they look like little 52's) are pretty awesome too.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

57's on the rack toms, or see if you can score some used D2/D4's on eBay. Should be in your price range, and I've had some tell me they prefer them to 421's.

Gonna second this I just did a session on a 6 piece with all 57 mics and it sounded pretty okay. I liked the D2/D4 sample a while ago as well.

 

[AudioPhile777]

just to chime in here... i've used my beta 52 on a floor tom since getting my D6... OH. MAN. is it sweetness... sounds like a fuggin 808 when that thing gets hit...

but yeah. if you can afford one or two beta 52s, i'd suggest those on the floor tom(s)... and 57s on the racks... awesometastic.

 

[LSD-Studio]

whenever it says "Tom Mics" in the title it's me chiming in an saying

!!!!! Audix D2 !!!!!

 

[Polpotkin]

e604 is good, Audix D2 is better. Beta56 also works fine for me.

 

[PhilR]

CAD M179's.

Seriously, they're the shit. Easily as good as 421's (if not better) but a lot easier to position you could buy 2 of them for the price of one 421.

There's an audio sample comparison here: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-m...c-shootout-m179-re20-421-57-sm7-sm81-bbb.html You can really feel the depth of the tom sound with the M179 compared to the others used.

 

[greyskull]

57's on the cheap. you can never have enough.
421s if you gotta bit more dough, and its all about bass drum mics on floor toms

 

[462studio]

I use 57s for all my toms and replace the hits with Drumagog using samples of my toms I recorded with my single 421 previously.

 

[006]

e604's all the way baby. I love those little bastards. Plus, no stands!

~e.a

 

[Wackner]

Well that was good info from all, thanks. Think i will look more at the D2 and D4

 

[benversluis]

i've never used Audix, however i may purchase the audix kickdrum mic...the samples ive heard have been really nice.

as for toms, e604s on racks and 421 on floor. otherwise, use 604s on everything. or 421s. 604s are easier because you dont need any stands (as stated above).