I am in the market for a set of Drum mics

Lowberg

Lowberg

Member
Aug 26, 2004
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Rochester, NY
Hey guys, Ive been wanting to get into recording real drums for quite some time, and I'm looking to buy a set of decent drum mics.

I was looking at either the shure pack with 3 57's and a beta 52, (I already have a 57 so I could mic a whole 5 piece kit, minus the overheads which I would have to buy)

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Shure-Drum-Mic-Package?sku=270263


Or the Audix Fusion 7 set, which would also give me overheads and a floor tom mic.

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Audix-Fusion-7-7-PieceDrum-Mic-Kit?sku=270694


I was just wondering your opinions on which set would be the better bang for the buck, the two sets being the same price. Obviously you get more mics with the Audix for the same price but I don't know if these Audix mics compare well to their famous more expensive upper level mics that everyone loves, such as the D6 i5 ect..
 
I've done some research on this myself recently and the most high quality set i could come up with for cheap was this. Three SM-57 clones that supposedly sound very close to the orginal, $80. http://www.speakerrepair.com/Mercha...oduct_Code=37-206x3&Category_Code=microphones . I figure it wouldn't be good to cheap out on the kick drum mic so I am going to go with a D6. Then for overheads you can try to pick up a pair of MXL 603s's for cheap or maybe you could try these Karma k10's, I've heard good things about them. http://www.karmaaudio.com/products.html . So for about 350 or maybe a little more that would get you a pretty decent start. I plan on buying all these mics except for the Karma's soon so I will let you know the quality of them.
 
Definitely get the D6 for the kick, obvious choice for the snare would be 2 57's, but I tried the i5 and 57 combo and it worked pretty good, so keep a look out for the i5 as well. For the toms you can use more 57's although for floor toms I would recommend a large diaphragm.
 
Definately Shure mics over Audix Fusion. If you buy Audix, you want D4, D6, i5 and similar. The Shure micpack is a safe bet for the money. If you can, buy a D6 as an alternative mic for the bassdrum in addition to the Shure kit. Then you're free to use the Beta52 on the floortom, if needed.

You'll also need some mics for overheads. I've got Shure SM81, but I think KSM 109 might do the trick as well (better than PG81 or SM94). Also check out AKG C451B, Oktava, and/or maybe Audio Technica for overheads. Large diaphragm such as CAD M179 is a great mic for overhead, with multiple mic-patterns and a nice sound. Also good for toms, acoustic guitars, vocals etc. (which can be a good thing)

There's lots of stuff out there, but these are the ones I've tried.
 
What's your budget dude? That's really the most important question! BUT, here's my picks:

DDrum Pro Trigger pack - $200 (useful for keying gates, quantization, and oh yeah, sample replacement ;))
Audix DP4 Drum Mic set (i5, 2x D2's, + D4) - $500 (Snare, toms)
SM57 - $100 (Snare bottom)
Studio Projects C4's - $350 (OH's, and later spot cymbal mic'ing when you get better OH mics)

You'll notice I didn't mention a kick mic - because I don't ever think mic'ing a kick is worth it with all the samples out there! Triggers maintain dynamics, so you can still have 'em if you want (though personally I think metal should never have dynamics in the kick except in dramatic Opeth-style part-shifts, and that's as simple as automation)
 
Even if you're intending 100% sample replacement on the kick I'd still recommend running a mic on it (even if it's a crap mic) - It's always nice to be able to feed the drummer some kick in his headphones while he's tracking.
 
matt - good point.
I'd still consider buying a decent kick mic, just in case you'd like to record your own sample or if you had to record some other stuff than metal.
Personally, now I own just Audix d6, SM57, e606 and a pair of Oktava's MK319, but for the time being I can't record. When I started buying stuff I didn't calculate the costs of some small but crucial things as mics stands or cables :D I'm screwed...
 
What I record with at the moment is actually those 2 sets put together, I use the audix tom mics,57's on snare, beta 52 for kick mic and the audix overheads.


if you can pick up a decent set of overheads for the shure set I'd go with that- its always handy to have 57's around anyways and the kick mic is alot better than the audix one.
 
Sennheiser mics are great on drums. I forget which is what with their ridiculous naming system, but if take a look you can find a great dedicated mic set for kick, snare and toms. Though you can always use the trusty SM57 on snare too.

For overheads, a pair of NT5s is a good, cost-effective option.
 
matt youwin said:
Even if you're intending 100% sample replacement on the kick I'd still recommend running a mic on it (even if it's a crap mic) - It's always nice to be able to feed the drummer some kick in his headphones while he's tracking.
Click to expand...

That's fair, but I think the active ingredient is a $50 PG58 will do this pretty much as well as a $200 dedicated kick mic (as you said). And el-biczel, why would you ever wanna pay that extra to make your own kick sample, when there are so many people here who make awesome samples with awesome gear for free? o_O I'm not saying I would never want a kick mic, but I AM saying it's a pretty low priority for me.
 
i don't know what sort of budget you have, but an audix DP-5A set and a pair of NT5's, oktavas, or some other decent SDC would have you set for a bit
 
I heard the Beta52 is kind of muddy sounding and not well suited for metal. I probably would end up using samples for the kick anyways. I really like the fact that the audix fusion set comes with overheads. What I don't like about the Audix set is that it does not come with the mic clamps.

I do have a 57 so If I bought the audix set I would use the 57 for the snare top and the audix snare mic for the bottom.
Adding the kick replacement into consideration, the most important mics to me from the audix set would be the toms and the overheads.

Unfortunately I cant spend a ton of money because im a poor college student :(

So I'm looking in the 400-600 range for all my mics
Plus i have to buy some decent stands and cables.

I'm ordering a new interface too that's $350 too

And you guys know how all that "extra" stuff adds up fast :(
 
And i just noticed, now untill march the Audix Fusion 7 set has a $100 dollar rebate on musiciansfriend

So the audix fusion 7 is now $299

That is pretty persuasive..
 
The thing is, I think you will be wanting to replace the Audix Fusion mics for something better in the future, so If you have the money, buy Shure or something else, like Sennheiser e604 for toms. These will keep you going for years and years. SM57 on toms also works very well.

But of course, $299 for a starter mic-kit is a good bet.
 
Right now I've got these....

SM57s - Toms and Snare
Sennheiser 421 - Kick
AT3035 - Overheads

Working really well for me. The 421 gets blended with about 60% sample on the kick, and the same with the toms. You can usually find 57's used for less than the retail $100 price, which is what I've done.

The AT3035s work well for the overheads, but I'd certainly recommend going with SDC's instead of LDC's for metal type work.
 
I really like the Sennheiser E904s for toms. I use them with the clips live, but for recording just put them on stands instead.
 
I'd go for the shure set over the Audix, as you'll end up replacing them down the line.

Or, you could go for a set of I5's (I prefer these to 57's on toms as they have more lows, 57's low end rolls off pretty sharply) and a E602/E902/E901/D6 for kick, and as you say, get overheads later.
 
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