Drum Mic Advice Please

Melodeath

Melodeath

Moonbow
Feb 6, 2004
3,045
2
38
Northern VA
I am looking to get some mics to mic up my drum kit. Ive got a crash, ride, hats, bass drum, snare, and 4 toms.

I've already got an SM57 I can use, but I need to get some more mics to mic the whole kit.

I know it is probably best to get individual mics rather than drum mic packages, but I don't have an endless budget, and I think a drum mic package might suit me fine. After all, I wont be recording drums nearly as often as guitar or vocals, and I may use drum replacement software. However, I'd still like to be able to get a good acoustic sound.

I've been looking at the Audix Fusion 7 package, Red5 RVK7 package, Samson 8kit package, and the CAD-Premium 7 package (although this is so cheap I doubt its quality).

Any advice on which is best out of these? Ignore price, as they are all within my budget. Is there some other package that is better than these?

What is the difference between using small diaphragms and large diaphragms for overheads? One reason I like the Samson 8kit because it has 2 large diaphragms and a small diaphragm. But I don't know if these mics are quality or not. What can you tell me about the Samson kit?

Is there any individual mic buying plan that wouldn't cost too much more than getting a mic package?

Any advice in general?

Don't worry about finding condensers that use batteries either, because my audio interface can provide phantom power.

I am quite interested in the Red5 kick mic, as I have only heard one so-so review compared to 4 other great reviews. I have even heard people say it is better than the D112. Considering this Red5 kick mic is $155, it seems like I might as well pay $45 more and get 4 snare/tom mics in the RVD5 package, and then buy two separate overheads. Or I could spend $100 more and get the full on RDV7 package, as I found it for $300. The only reason to not get the RVD7 package is I have heard mixed reveiws about the 2 overhead mics. I have heard the large condensers they put in the RVD7 superior package are better, but that is starting to get pricey. So, I could get the RVD5 package, then buy separate condensers. Or is there some other, better plan?

Has anyone heard the Samson package, or the Red5 package?

Thanks for your input.
 
Audix drum pack for sure! You have four toms, the 57 plus the three drum mics that come with the pack are awesome. The D6 has a good reputation, especially on this forum.

Plus you'll have the Audix i5 along with your 57 for guitars :)
 
id say save up and get a d112, md 421s, and maybe some shure ksm 27s for overheads? unless you dont see yourself wanting to upgrade for a while.
 
my advice would be don't buy a package. You only save a little money and it really limits what you have to choose from. My ideal mic setup for your kit would be:

-4 sm57's for toms and snare (maybe get an audix i5 for snare, they sound great)
-audix d6 for kick (pretty much standard for digital recording)
- then try out some small diaphram condensers (mxl isn't too bad, rode's are nice, etc.)
 
Get a D6, two D4s, two i5s, and some SCX's. Audix all the way baby, there's a reason I endorse their stuff, because it gets the sounds!!
 
Has anyone heard of Equation mics?

According to Equation, people have told them their mics are at least as good as the Audix D-series mics, and are far cheaper. Plus, Poison and Snoop Dogg use them hahaha

The only reason I'm dubious is because their website doesn't give frequency response for the mics, and when I called they said they didn't have that info.
 
I have a Samson C03 condenser and for the money I love it. the songs on our Myspace are all C03 for OH's and all vocal tracks

I also have a CAD 4 piece drum mic set...This one:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/CAD-4Piece-Drum-Microphone-Pack?sku=270777

They have a couple different levels of drum mics it seems. I think these are the "nice" ones, lol.

Again, for the money I like them pretty well. I actually really like the mounts. Not for everyone, but they work well for me and are solid. The mics surprised me. I bought them with a gift cert. with no real idea they'd be worth much. But, they sound pretty decent for what I paid. Actually, we are trying to track drums for our upcoming CD with them, so we'll see how it goes...Here's a REALLY short clip I made trying these things out on our drummer's set. There is no special stuff done here, just straght into the Firepod, no editing of any kind, no samples. I do have the toms panned. The room was untreated and there is a LPF on the OH's at 800Hz but you can hear some room echo, but the drum tone is still intact. Granted this was a test, but I don't think the mics sound that bad...
http://geetarguy.tripod.com/gregtest2.mp3
 
No, CAD for drums and 2 Samson C03's for OH's.

The C03's were great for vox as well.

Granted, I've never owned expensive mics, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

However, I have recorded in a studio that was easily a $10 million studio and used a selection of mics that cost more than my yearly salary and it sounded like complete and utter dogshit (crapass engineer - it was a free project for his uni degree).

So, along with price/performance comes dedication to getting good tones. take the time to do that and I *think* you can get decent to great results with mediocre gear.
 
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