Options for drum mics

ZV Yoda

Hi folks... this is a continuation from the “Advice for newbie building a drum recording studio” thread.

I’ve taken all of the advice given on the other thread & have ordered the below from Dolphin Music (great deal with the current exchange rate).

• M-Audio Project Mix I/O & ProTools M-Powered 7.4
• Headphones Sennheiser HD25
• M-Audio Studiophile BX8A Monitors
• Apple iMac, 20-inch, 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

As others on this site have said, Thomann are not necessarily the cheapest, so shop around... this order cost €500 less with Dolphin than exactly the same gear quoted by Thomann.

I'm also looking to finalise the mic order too…
My current mic set up (how we currently record in my mate’s home studio) is:

• 3 x SM57s (2 x SM57s as overheads & the other on the snare top)
• A very cheap Thomann drum mic set (I think it was €80 for the set) for the toms, kick & snare bottom

To get me started in my own studio, I’m taking the mic set up (including mic clips/boom stands) off his hands for the price of the SM57s (in effect).

I got some good advice on the other thread about mics, but given that I now have some mics to get started, I’m wondering what would be the best way to upgrade this set up with a limit of about €400?

On the other thread, Alan.com suggested the Shure PGDMK6 drum mic package & this seems like a great fit if added to the 3 xSM57s. Also, it's only about €360 with the current exchange rate. The PGDMK6 contains:

1 x PG52 (for kick)
3 x PG56 for snare/toms (I’d use these for the 3 toms)
2 x PG81 OH condensers (for overheads)
I’d then use 2 of my SM57s for snare top & bottom (leaving me with a free SM57 to use as I please). I’d have no use for the Thomann set.

What are your thoughts on this mic set up (note the budget is limited to €400)

teamdresch

Pair of Kel HM-1s for overheads, a second hand D112/MD421/whatever for kick drum. 57s for snare top and toms. Forget about the bottom snare mic.

studiorat

KIK Mics of note for me are: Sennheiser MD412, Peavy PVM520, Akg D-12, Beyer Dynamic M-88. And if pushed an AKG D-112 egg thing. Beyer M-88's best though!

There's a few Sennheiser clip on tom mics 105??? floating around on the ebay at the moment too...

SE Electronic SE 2200's are not bad for overheads, I've been nicely surprised by how nice they sound on cymbals and acoustics, I guess the room was part of that too though. If you'd like you can borrow mine for a day or two and see what they like...

teamdresch

Yeah, 2200s are nice for a bit of bright.

ZV Yoda

Thanks for the advice folks... I'll have to research costs on these - at first pass, some of these indivdual mics would eat up my budget in one go - bearing in mind I just want to get a decent basic set up to cover the whole kit, and then over time, I could upgrade individual mics as required (e.g. kick, snare & overheads). Sounds like some of those mentioned are industry standard equipment, which is likely to be out my range for now. Also, I'm not experienced enough to get the best from this type of equipment.

On the Beyer Dynamic M-88... Dolphin have one called the M88TG @ €250... is has a "reinforced basket" (casing?). Aside from this, is it the same mic?

On the MD mics... there are both 421s and 412s mentioned... both are actual mics... is one preferable over the other (or maybe a typo on one of the posts?)

Studiorat - that's a very generous offer to test out the SE 2200s - much appreciated... given that I'm a complete newbie, I'd be nervous in case I blew them up/damaged them, so I'll repsectfully decline for now (although I may well take you up on the offer in the future!)

Thanks

teamdresch

Yeah, that's the same M88. Great mic.
Now grab a pair of these - http://kelaudio.com/hm1.html

PaulBrewer

ZV Yoda wrote: »

Thanks for the advice folks... I'll have to research costs on these - at first pass, some of these indivdual mics would eat up my budget in one go - bearing in mind I just want to get a decent basic set up to cover the whole kit, and then over time, I could upgrade individual mics as required (e.g. kick, snare & overheads). Sounds like some of those mentioned are industry standard equipment, which is likely to be out my range for now. Also, I'm not experienced enough to get the best from this type of equipment.

On the Beyer Dynamic M-88... Dolphin have one called the M88TG @ €250... is has a "reinforced basket" (casing?). Aside from this, is it the same mic?

On the MD mics... there are both 421s and 412s mentioned... both are actual mics... is one preferable over the other (or maybe a typo on one of the posts?)

Studiorat - that's a very generous offer to test out the SE 2200s - much appreciated... given that I'm a complete newbie, I'd be nervous in case I blew them up/damaged them, so I'll repsectfully decline for now (although I may well take you up on the offer in the future!)

Thanks

We're the sE distributor here so I can offer you a pair to try too. They're pretty robust so there won't be any problems with regular use.

Cheers Paul.