Drum mics

Pearl Drummer

Hey guys. Im gonna be giging out very soon with my band and really need drum mics. and i just cant decide what i want to get!! ive looked at audix shure and the akgs but im really not sure. i really dont wanna spend over 600$
Maybe you have mics that ive never heard of that you like!! I just want to heard some suggestions/opinions

Thanks ahead of time!

mccreadyisgod

A few questions:

1. What kind of music do you play?

2. How hard do you hit?

3. How good is the engineer running the soundboard?

4. How many mics do you need (will you mic the toms? how many toms? one overhead, or two? hi-hat mic?) Typical setup for a decent band is Kick, Snare, Hats, Toms (x?), and left and right Overheads. That's usually 7 or 8 mics. Add a mic for the bottom of the snare, that's one more. If all you need is Kick, Snare, and Overheads, that's easier to do with your budget.

I've used pretty much every drum mic out there, so answer those questions and I'll let you know.

RedMosquito22

For your budget I think this is the best set for you to mic your whole kit.

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Audix-FP7-Drum-Mic-Pack?sku=H06485

I don't think Shure has a 7 piece set in your range.

Pearl Drummer

mccreadyisgod wrote:

A few questions:

1. What kind of music do you play?

2. How hard do you hit?

3. How good is the engineer running the soundboard?

4. How many mics do you need (will you mic the toms? how many toms? one overhead, or two? hi-hat mic?) Typical setup for a decent band is Kick, Snare, Hats, Toms (x?), and left and right Overheads. That's usually 7 or 8 mics. Add a mic for the bottom of the snare, that's one more. If all you need is Kick, Snare, and Overheads, that's easier to do with your budget.

I've used pretty much every drum mic out there, so answer those questions and I'll let you know.

1. I play pop and rock
2. Im a hard hitter
3. Engineer running the sound board is
4. its a 4 piece kit, snare, high tom, low tom and kick,

RedMosquito22

Pearl Drummer wrote:

mccreadyisgod wrote:

A few questions:

1. What kind of music do you play?

2. How hard do you hit?

3. How good is the engineer running the soundboard?

4. How many mics do you need (will you mic the toms? how many toms? one overhead, or two? hi-hat mic?) Typical setup for a decent band is Kick, Snare, Hats, Toms (x?), and left and right Overheads. That's usually 7 or 8 mics. Add a mic for the bottom of the snare, that's one more. If all you need is Kick, Snare, and Overheads, that's easier to do with your budget.

I've used pretty much every drum mic out there, so answer those questions and I'll let you know.

1. I play pop and rock
2. Im a hard hitter
3. Engineer running the sound board is
4. its a 4 piece kit, snare, high tom, low tom and kick,

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Shure-PG-6Piece-Drum-Microphone-Package?sku=270298

this gives you some extra money for mic stands for the mics.

Pearl Drummer

Thats not to bad for the price at all!!!

mccreadyisgod

If I had to spend the money for myself, I would get-

Kick: Shure Beta 52, $190
Snare: Shure SM 57, $100
High Tom: Audix D2, $130
Low Tom: Audix D4, $170
Total: $590.

Unfortunately, that doesn't include overheads. You can get a cheap pair of CAD condensers for $60, and that will get you by. That pushes the total to $650. If you were able to find some deals on eBay, you might squeak just under $600.

Alternates:

For Kick, I've always preferred the Shure Beta 52, but for around the same money you can also get the Audix D6 or the Sennheiser e902. The Beta 52 has a balanced tone, where the D6 has a bit brighter sound and the e902 is biased toward the lows.

For Snare, the 57 is the most common mic. The Shure Beta 57 ($140) is a bit brighter, but has a good sound for poppier stuff. The Audix i5 is a great mic, but to me, it sounds just like a 57, and it's the same price; the 57 is just a tough workhorse mic.

On Toms, I've always loved the Sennheiser e604 for their convenience (they have an integrated rim clip). They have a good, round sound that works great on toms, and I've used them for Snare with good (if not great) results. You can get a 3-pack for $350, or singles run $140. The D2/D4 combo is still my favorite.

Overheads are a bit harder here. The mic you see a lot is the Shure SM81, which runs $350 apiece. I've had a lot of luck using cheaper mics for overheads, since you really need to capture just the cymbals. Then again, I also really like large-diaphram condensers for their lush, thick sound; a personal fav is the Rode NT1A at $230 per mic.

Pearl Drummer

Wow that you so much for your help!!

RedMosquito22

mccreadyisgod wrote:

If I had to spend the money for myself, I would get-

Kick: Shure Beta 52, $190
Snare: Shure SM 57, $100
High Tom: Audix D2, $130
Low Tom: Audix D4, $170
Total: $590.

Unfortunately, that doesn't include overheads. You can get a cheap pair of CAD condensers for $60, and that will get you by. That pushes the total to $650. If you were able to find some deals on eBay, you might squeak just under $600.

Alternates:

For Kick, I've always preferred the Shure Beta 52, but for around the same money you can also get the Audix D6 or the Sennheiser e902. The Beta 52 has a balanced tone, where the D6 has a bit brighter sound and the e902 is biased toward the lows.

For Snare, the 57 is the most common mic. The Shure Beta 57 ($140) is a bit brighter, but has a good sound for poppier stuff. The Audix i5 is a great mic, but to me, it sounds just like a 57, and it's the same price; the 57 is just a tough workhorse mic.

On Toms, I've always loved the Sennheiser e604 for their convenience (they have an integrated rim clip). They have a good, round sound that works great on toms, and I've used them for Snare with good (if not great) results. You can get a 3-pack for $350, or singles run $140. The D2/D4 combo is still my favorite.

Overheads are a bit harder here. The mic you see a lot is the Shure SM81, which runs $350 apiece. I've had a lot of luck using cheaper mics for overheads, since you really need to capture just the cymbals. Then again, I also really like large-diaphram condensers for their lush, thick sound; a personal fav is the Rode NT1A at $230 per mic.

I would go that route as well but he has a $600 budget and $590 without mic stands becomes close to $700 if not more(with top notch ones) with stands.

I think the shure set I put up previously is the way to go with your budget factoring in mic stands.

mccreadyisgod

RedMosquito22 wrote:

I would go that route as well but he has a $600 budget and $590 without mic stands becomes close to $700 if not more(with top notch ones) with stands.

I think the shure set I put up previously is the way to go with your budget factoring in mic stands.

I'd just hate to see anyone spend good money to buy shitty mics. Compared to the PG-series, you're much better off getting the $100 set of Nady mics and saving until you can buy the real deal. With mics, it's go big or go home. Otherwise, you're just wasting money. Buy the mics I recommended (any of them, really), and you'll have mics that will last AT LEAST 10 years. The PG mics are so underwhelming, you'll want to replace them within a year. If you also need mic stands (and while we're at it, why not mic cables, and an 8-channel drop-snake?) then get a crappy $100 set of mics (Nady, CAD, Digital Reference) and then get decent stands (Latin Percussion makes some great, sturdy claws for rim-mount on the snare and toms) and, if needed, mic cables and a drop-snake. That way, you can upgrade the shitty mics one at a time, and not feel bad about throwing the shitty ones away once you replace them. The PG81's are okay, the PG52 and PG56 I was not at all impressed with.