Prefered tom mics?

[Heb]

So what mics do you guys use on the toms?
Currently using sennheiser 604's myself.
I have two 609's one black and one silver that I'm going to try out also.

 

[2dark]

Sennheiser MD421 and MD441.
Also Shure SM75 are worth trying and I heard some decent toms
recorded with AKG's C1000. Never tried them by myself.

 

[Liferdrums]

Hello there,

As far as toms are concerned, if you are looking for a nice beefy tom sound then Senn. MD 421 is great but don't be afraid to process these mics. The 604s' work well also, but are a bit muddy sounding. Once again you have to do some good eqing to these. I personally use Shure Beta 98s on 8", 10", 12", and 421's on 14", 16", and 18" toms. Different mics for different color of course. You just have to walk a fine line when mixing different mics on toms.

Hope this helps a little.

Rock on,

Eric

 

[Plec]

Agree with Liferdrums here. What mics you use is pretty much up to how the toms sound acoustically. Small toms usually have a softer tone than the larger so the SM57 or similar character usually works great while the larger toms that generally generate a more harsh harmonic blend works better with something like the 421.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Hello,

I use SM57 on all toms, not that I'm very happy with these mics for this use but they are much cheaper than the MD421 (never tried this in a studio), and after severely eq and compressing it can sound really good...

Hope this helps )

Brett

 

[The ORIGINAL South Of Heaven]

Audix i5, those things kick ass! Some of the best tom sounds I've ever heard I got with those on my Yamaha Stage Customs, that had year old beat to shit heads that were out of tune. I'll post a clip later if any of you would like to hear them.

 

[Frank'nfurter]

AKG hypercardioid C419 or Sennheiser cardioid e604 on each tom. Depends on the sound of the toms, the hitforce of the drummer at fast tombreaks and how near he hangs the cymbals to the toms.

@TOSOH: yeah, would be interesting. Never heard the Audix before. How expensive they are?
Everytime seaching for alternativ ideas and material.

Franky

 

[Plec]

One of the best kick mics I've ever tried is the Audix D6, so I'd really like to hear a clip of the i5 on toms.

 

[SPLASTiK]

Some of the best toms I've heard were actually recorded with SM57 top, SM58 bottom.

Personally I'm not a big fan of 604's, they're decent mics, but not really all that adjustable. Like Sennheiser decided that was the perfect placement...
The kit itself is a big factor as well.

 

[Disconnekt]

421s always work; they're a good standby for toms. Also, the e604 sounds pretty good. But my personal fave so far is the Neumann TLM 103. If you have access to that, you might want to try it out... high SPL handling and a really nice clear, crisp tone without being too brittle, bright, or harsh.

 

[Hopkins-WitchfinderGeneral]

Hello,

I use SM57 on all toms, not that I'm very happy with these mics for this use but they are much cheaper than the MD421 (never tried this in a studio), and after severely eq and compressing it can sound really good...

Hope this helps )

Brett

The sample you posted before the most recent ones had a GREAT tom sound on it, I really liked the mix on that sample. It was really powerful and full.

 

[ThomasT]

Personally I'm not a big fan of 604's, they're decent mics, but not really all that adjustable. Like Sennheiser decided that was the perfect placement...
The kit itself is a big factor as well.

You can remove thier clip mounting and use a normal mic stand.
You need not to use sennheiser's placement.

Btw. I prefer SM57 over the 604.

 

[SPLASTiK]

You can remove thier clip mounting and use a normal mic stand.
You need not to use sennheiser's placement.

Btw. I prefer SM57 over the 604.

Never really looked at them much to know that. But all the times I tried them, when I placed a SM57 at the same angles, it always sounded better to me. So it seems we agree anyways.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

The sample you posted before the most recent ones had a GREAT tom sound on it, I really liked the mix on that sample. It was really powerful and full.

Thank you Obviously, toms are easier to get right than snares

 

[The ORIGINAL South Of Heaven]

http://www.athiumsatanus.net/newdrums.mp3

There you go. This was my first time trying to properly mic a drumset, so if something sounds off, be nice. I'm but a n00b. I think it sounds pretty good, but it's always nice to have educated opinions also! The tom mics are all Audix i5's, the kick is an Audix D6, overheads are Oktava Mk-012's, and the snare is an SM57, but the only available stand I had was barely tall enough, so the mic was almost parallel to the snare, aiming down about 1/4 to the edge from the center.

The i5's are pretty cheap, Guitar Center stickers them for $99, but my dude there sold me 3 of them and 3 Proline boom stands for $300 even.

 

[Soundscaper]

has anyone tried the Audix D6 on toms?
just curious, could give interesting results.

 

[The ORIGINAL South Of Heaven]

I just recorded my toms tonight with the D6, I thought it sounded like ass on toms, they sounded really thin and trebly, with little to no mids or low end. Again, I could post the clip if you'd like to hear it.

 

[vile_ator]

Who cares what mics you use? Just Sound-replace.

haha. Just kidding.

I will have to try the mic type/model mixing that was discussed here. But I have to wonder if its a good idea to mix a dynamic like a 421 with a condenser. I guess its depends on a lot of factors.

Ive been thinking about getting my tom samples from the overhead mics repositioned for a prime sample and then using 421's or whatever on the toms during recording. Then mix with mostly sample. I havent tried this yet but will soon.

Colin