Miking Toms

[ExecutiveRob]

Or is it mic'ing?!?!?!? Argh!

Anyway... for metal production how many of you double mic toms for pro recordings (i.e. when a client's paying you enough to go all out on production)?

I've done it on smaller kits, and I've done it for a folk record I did at the beginning of the year and it sounds great - loads of extra depth and it actually sounds like a tom without having to try!

But how many of you can great tom sounds with just a top mic?

Tom mic of choice for me is sennheiser e904's, really like 'em, and then sm57 beta's if I start running out of mic's. Never tried md 421's on toms but I don't have the budget to buy a few at the moment...

cheers!

 

[GeertSamuel]

I'm using the MD421's on top of the toms, probally about 1 - 2 cm above the head, with the front of the mic close to the rim of the drum..... They make the tom sound really fat and big...whenever you have a properly tuned tom, you won't go wrong with that mic.
I guess micing the bottom of a tom is far in the past, there might be some guys who still do it.

I'm actually really interested in what that MAY system sounds like, they have mics mounted inside the toms. I know that it's mostly used for live kits, but how would it sound in the studio?

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

MD421 mics are the shit.

That said I never use 2 mics on toms because I don't have the input chanells. But even if I did I think I would opt for triggers and not additional mics. The more mics you use the more you have to worry about phase (not saying this is a bad thing just kind of an annoyance).

I wish I had MD421 mics, I used them at school and have a huge boner for some now.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I'm actually really interested in what that MAY system sounds like, they have mics mounted inside the toms. I know that it's mostly used for live kits, but how would it sound in the studio?

I read a review of that system. Looks cool and seemed like an awsome live solution but the reviewer had to do alot of tweaking to get a usable sound out of them and to me micing toms should be mic-->preamp-->daw without anything added to that chain (except maybe an awsome outboard EQ if you have one )

 

[gyr_saturated]

actually, one of the best results i got was recently when i had 421's placed about 10cm above the head, it gave them a much more natural sound (i mean, i know "natural" isn't something that equals "better" when you're dealing with metal, but in this case it really sounds good to me) than the usual close-miking approach. on the other hand, it was a quite good set of drums and the drummer was fairly good and kept the cymbals a bit higher then drummers usually do

i guess it would probably cause bleed trouble with some more lousy players who don't beat the shit out of the toms (although, as i said, this drummer was fairly good, not a really good one not that consistent in beating them hard), but since i always manually edit out the tom hits it's somewhat manageable to keep the bleed under control. might post some samples when the record gets to the mixing stage if you're interested

 

[ExecutiveRob]

might post some samples when the record gets to the mixing stage if you're interested

yeah, that'd be ace if you have time mate - cheers!

so, the 421's are as good as everyone says then... damn - gonna have to start playing the lottery again.



on another related question, do you always ask (or politely tell) the drummer to downtune their toms for a bigger sound? a few people have mentioned that to me before and it makes perfect sense but I've always gone with what the drummer has brought along (as long as it's in tune).

 

[Aaron Smith]

421s are GREAT for toms. Good tuning + new heads + 421 = awesome. When it comes to mic placement, I tend to keep it pretty close to the edge of the tom so that there's less chance that the drummer will murder it with his sticks, but I've found that I like the sound best when it's actually aiming towards the very center of the tom, where the drummer will actually be striking it. So, on my silly American scale of measurement, I would estimate the the end of the mic could be as much as four inches from that "striking point". I think if the 421 is aimed more towards the edge of the tom, some of the fatness goes away...but for some genres of metal, that could be a good thing I suppose. Just play around with it!

 

[Seizure.]

But I've found that I like the sound best when it's actually aiming towards the very center of the tom, where the drummer will actually be striking it.

+1!!

I also learned to give my toms a smileyface after taking out crappy resonances and making them sound good with eachother, makes them stick out well!

 

[LSD-Studio]

just one D2.....done

 

[Metaltastic]

Between the two rack toms Lasse?

 

[Glenn Fricker]

421's for me here as well. Just plain awesome. Make sure they're placed so the drummer can't hit them & you should be good to go. The trick is, getting the drum tuned right in the first place.

-0z-

 

[broken81]

Drumstick hitting a 421 is fighing words!

Wish i had one to fight about.....

 

[LSD-Studio]

Between the two rack toms Lasse?

no, sorry, misunderstanding.....one per tom

 

[evolutions_end]

+1!!

I also learned to give my toms a smileyface after taking out crappy resonances and making them sound good with eachother, makes them stick out well!

smileyface eq right?

 

[Student]

I've used some small cap condensers on top and dynamics on bottom, sounds nice, but not worth the effort. Get a great sound with the Audix D-series as is, tried 421s on the bottom with D-series on top, drummer had coated heads on bottom and it sounded rubbish, so we didn't use the bottom mics to tape, fiddlesticks!

Tune them right, mic them correct on top, you will be fine...too many phase relationships to fret over when double miking even after gated/stripped.