Which drum microphones?

[HOGEPH]

I need to mike up the bass and snare drums for live work. Pub music pop and rock generally.

Convential wisdom appears to be a Shure Beta 52a for the bass and an SM57 for the snare.

Any other suggestions from personal experience?

[Z06George]

Agree with the snare but I usually have a AKG D112 in the bass drum.

[davepoth]

It'll work fine with a 57 in the kick, but do you really need it for a pub? A drum kit is pretty loud all on its own...

[HOGEPH]

I have a guitarist who doesn't understand the lower value numbers on the volume control.

[V8A*ndy]

If it's a small pub and you are really fussy invest in a drum screen (not very rock and roll I know). Stops the cymbals and drums bleeding over everything else and into other mics. Everyone else can hear better.

However even on the biggest of touring shows I have done I have always used the following.

Beta 57 top and bottom of snare

D112 kick drum placed near the beater

Gate and compress the feck right out of both (the rest of the drums, I use rather expensive tat but that's another story).

So a standard 57 looking across the snare and a D112 just inside the drum on a stand is fine for a pub. Even 57s on stands for toms is perfect especially when used with gates. CS1000 on H/Hs and overheads.

Cheap Behringer gate and compressors plugged into the channel insert on the desk really tightens the sound up and gives you a lot more control.

[V8A*ndy]

HOGEPH said:

I have a guitarist who doesn't understand the lower value numbers on the volume control.

Raise his cab up to his ear height. He will soon turn down.

Hope he hasn't one of those terrible scooped out sounds with a billion effects.

[Bullett]

The loudness war, never goes well for anyone, least of all the band or the punters.
I'd try and avoid mic'ing a kit if at all possible.

That said, Red Five have a pretty reasonable drum mic kit for a good price. http://www.red5audio.com/acatalog/Drum_Kit_Mics.ht...

Certainly good enough for a basic pub gig.

Other than that D112 and a 57 or 58 works as well.

[davepoth]

V8A*ndy said:

HOGEPH said:

I have a guitarist who doesn't understand the lower value numbers on the volume control.

Raise his cab up to his ear height. He will soon turn down.

Hope he hasn't one of those terrible scooped out sounds with a billion effects.

Even lean the amp back a bit so it's pointing at where his head should be.

That is of course dependent on whether he's got an appropriate amp for the job. I'm going to make a guess on...Marshall DSL 50 half stack?

[chevy-stu]

Audix D6 is so much better than the Shure 52 or AKG D112... I have owned and used all three..

(Shure SM91 plate mic inside with D112 on the hole is actually the best live combo I've used though)

SM57 on snare is the norm.... however Sennheiser E604 is quicker set up, and nearly as good, which makes it the rugged industry standard clip-on drum mic nowadays.

[gazza285]

I used to have a couple of D10s for kick, much nicer than a D110, or Sennheiser 421s for rock gigs.
SM85 on Snare, Neumann KM84 on hats and overheads, and Sennheiser E604 on toms.
Kick drum and toms gated with Drawmer gates usually.
Cheapish set up, apart from the Neumanns, and sounded great, although 30k of EV MT4 helped as well.

[Jazzy Jefferson]

chevy-stu said:

Audix D6 is so much better than the Shure 52 or AKG D112...

This is correct. Audix D6. The only dynamic Bass drum mic to consider.

I prefer to use condenser mics on a snare. Snares sound lifeless through dynamic mics such as the SM57.