best mic for percussion

And the dynamic microphone, as you may know (or if you didn’t, now you’re about to learn) is far more resistant to damage from massive sound pressures than a condenser’s diaphragm. Besides the specs it offers, what makes the AKG C414 XLS drum mic so special is the versatility it offers. Like the Beta 52A, it has the frequency response that gives it preference to the low frequencies and high frequencies, while scooping out the middle to minimize that annoying boxy sound. But we’ll talk about overhead primarily because that’s what it’s mainly known for. This is primarily for condenser microphones. Within those you’ll find a description of use of each microphone for other drum applications (such as hats, cymbals, toms, percussion, and so on). Users also generally hate the plastic microphone clip. When it comes to miking the bass drum there are a lot of contenders but the D112 by AKG is widely considered to be one of the best-selling and widely popular mics out there. The design of the microphone itself makes it great at doing one thing very well: record the insides of an instrument. It was optimized specifically for close proximity miking. The Shure Beta 52A drum m is a dynamic microphone with a super cardioid polar pattern meant to be pointed directly at your drum, doing a very good job isolating all the other drum instrument sounds in the kit. The mic is ideal not only for snares but also for guitars, keyboards, toms, and congas. For that reason, it’s most popular application is on stage. If you want to mic your hi-hat individual, you can use a good small diaphragm condenser microphone to get the job done. This is thanks to the low-noise amplifier circuitry within the microphone. As a studio microphone, it is also sufficient, especially if you are going for its particular sound. If you want to learn more about our affiliate partners, click here. Best Use: Drum Overheads, Cymbals, & Percussion. The signal noise is also fairly low, making it one of the more quieter microphones for the price. It works best on toms, but you can also use it on electric guitar and bass guitar amps, as well as an overhead drum mic. As they already receive good coverage from the overhead/room mics. Let’s take a look…. The slower mics will soften the transients and make these peaky sounds fit the mix better. But maybe what makes this also super attractive, particularly for a drum recording engineer, is how easy it is to set up, and pull down, thanks to it sturdy pivoting clips. With the -20 dB pad, you can get up to 135 dB SPL, meaning it can withstand the dynamic range onslaught of a studio drummer. Which is why in this article, I reveal the most popular (and ideally most affordable) mic options for recording drums at home. Bottom-line, the Shure Shure SM-81 drum mic is a great little microphone if you’re on a budget and want to get some great sounding overheads. This microphone gets a lot of awesome reviews from those who have bought it and used it. Overheads. It has an exceptionally neutral frequency response that remains smooth all the way through 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Quick answer: the It’s a great kick mic for the money, and will certainly make you happy. ( 635a, RE10, E609, ATM-25, M260) I love PZMs for giving a percussion track its own space in a busy mix. Being a kick drum mic, the frequency response gives preference to the sound of your kicks… and it has one of the lowest bass extensions you can find on any dynamic microphone for kick drum. When coupled with the Quad Eight mp227 mic preamp, they respond incredibly well and make for a really versatile setup.” If you were just reading out of curiosity, thanks for stopping by! The reason why you’d choose either a pair of large diaphragm or small diaphragm condensers is simple. Anyway, those who have used the microphone found that it works best as stage mic, with excellent results when used as a budget drum microphone for home studio recording. Thanks to them, you can switch the mic settings to fit your toms. Ribbon mics are usually pretty expensive – most of the mics … The presence peak at 8 kHz has a way of accentuating the super-fast transient responses that really brings out every bit of detail in a drum recording, with a low self-noise that makes it very applicable in more ideal drum recording environments. Also considered were product reviews, and buyer reviews from pro audio owners. In fact, this microphone is often the go-to snare drum (or tom) microphone in a producer or sound engineer’s kit. Playing Live and in the Studio, they can be quite versatile especially if they are miked properly. It has a black anodized finish with the name lasered into the side of the unity. This helps to protect the capsule from damaging sound pressure levels. You can drop it, slam it, smack it, and the thing still works. When you purchase it, you get a shock-mount and metal storage case. One of the main reasons why you’d want a good overhead or drum room microphone is to capture, not just the full sound of the kit, but also the hi hats and the cymbals. What you get with the SM-81 is a condenser mic that is almost universally preferred for overhead miking of cymbals. There’s lots of punch in the lows, a crispy top end, and a bit of scooping out in the mids. Some producers have even found that, besides a little gate and compression, there was practically no need to EQ the drum sounds this microphone was able to record. The microphone itself is also quite small. These are very high frequency sound sources. The 5 Best Microphones for Recording Drums. Bottom-line, when it comes to a budget drum microphone for snare, toms, and percussion, the ideal choice is going to be the Sennheiser e604 drum mic. Check out these studio mics instead). The general feedback is that they sound great on practically anything. Learn how your comment data is processed. You can even use it on kick drum and guitar amps, as well as acoustics, making the AKG P420 drum mic a really great all-rounder. Bottom-line, the Sennheiser MD 421 II drum mic cannot be recommended enough. In terms of sound, it’s difficult to match the Sennheiser MD 421 II drum mic with any other microphone. You may be familiar with the fact that the closer you hold a microphone to its audio source, the more “bass” it will pick up. Which is why, if there’s one cymbal that deserves its own mic, it’s this one. Second reason, the Shure Beta 91A drum mic has a super-flat frequency response all the way up to 20,000 Hz, where it begins to increase and give more presence. A … These are the best budget overhead drum mics. The best large diaphragm mics you can choose for OH would be the AKG C414 XLS if you’re will to spend on quality, or the AKG P420 if you’re on a budget. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts on drum mics by leaving a comment below. The Neumann KM 184 drum mic are also very small microphones, but they have a solid build to them that makes them feel like quality. So for home studios, it’s the only mic I recommend. If you were looking for what is probably the best snare and toms microphone, you should definitely consider the Sennheiser MD 421 II drum mic. Especially so for the Sennheiser, which you can see wired up to many professional stage and studio drum recordings. The cheapest condenser microphone in this list. The typical choice is a dynamic microphone. The design also makes it great at preventing phase interference between the sound coming directly at it, or reflections within the space. To see which ones I recommend, check out this article: The other “most-important-element” of the kit is obviously the snare. There are a vast number of happy users online who can attest to the sound quality and definition that this provides for kick drum sounds. Regardless of how prominent the kick will be to the overall feel of the music you want to make or mix, it’s better to have a kick drum sound you can control, than leave it up to chance. Hence the typical drum microphone setup requires a variety of different microphones. As you add microphones, you have to really make sure that you are getting a great sound while recording, as you may not be able to fix the phase in the mix if there are phase issues. Design-wise, the microphone is actually quite small. And they are also found quite often in project home studios by the discerning buyer. It also makes it useful for capturing sounds from expansive drum kits or percussion groups. We definitely recommend this, for both kick drum, and as well as floor tom. In either case, I will make mention, in the microphone descriptions, how each microphone responds across the frequency range. Despite that, it is still a very sturdy and dependable microphone, and also very famously used all over the place by serious engineers and producers. In forums everywhere, these have constantly been referred to over and over as one of the best drums mics for overhead that money can buy, period. Condenser mic with multiple polar patterns best for drum overheads and room recording. Some don’t like the fact that it looks, and feels, like plastic. The drum set is a collection of several instruments played by a single person. Next time you go to a concert that is properly engineered, chances are you’ll see a few of these all over a drum set. Quick answer: the AKG C414 XLS condenser microphone and the Sennheiser MD 421 II dynamic microphones may be all that you need for general drum recording. One popular choice is the SM57, as most studios already have several-on-hand. The microphone utilizes a special Royer-designed toroidal transformer that delivers a faster transient response then traditional ribbons, making it a first call ribbon mic for drum overheads, percussion and all acoustic instruments. One of those choices is the Shure Beta 52A drum mic. And besides being one of the best drum mics around the place, it’s super flexible enough for all your other sound sources. This can be challenging when you want to do “close miking” on a percussion instrument, but you don’t like how “boomy” it might sound. Those are primarily the main specifications you want to look out for when finding the best drum mics for recording studio or stage. With this microphone, you find that minimal to no EQing is required for achieve the ideal kick sound for your music. The Shure SM57 is one of the most universally known, and used, microphones in the world. So for us average guys on a working-class budget, this article offers some great alternatives: The biggest problem with using only two room mics is…, The kick drum, which is arguably the most important element of the kit…. Shape the setup to your sound. There are 2 things to consider. The AKG P420 drum mic may not technically be classified as a “drum mic,” since it is a general purpose “go-to” microphone that you can use to record … anything. Best Use: Toms, Snare, Percussion, Cymbals. Most notably, we used them as the primary overhead drum mic as part of a Glyn Johns 3-mic setup, which includes 2 mics, one above the snare and rack tom, 2nd one to the side of the floor tom as well as a kick mic, (you can add a few mics for room and snare colors) . You can also use it for hi hats, percussion, and even snare. It was also designed for use on a Leslie bottom, as this low frequency microphone was specifically designed to record any instrument with a powerful bass. In addition to that, the diaphragm is robust, it can withstand an SPL of up to 149 dB, making it great for close miking your drums. Published Oct 03, 2018 by Reverb. On African percussion drums, they have a nice solid punch to them. It’s designed to be positioned right outside the sound-hole, with the cardioid pattern making it very good at minimizing the sound coming from the other instruments. But they certainly sound great when recording drums overhead or drum room. It’s interesting that it has “MD” in the name, you could probably consider it the “MD of snare and tom mics” because that’s where it gets its best reputation. “I wouldn’t worry about buying a mic pack,” Schlett says, referring to sets sold with multiple mics designed for use on different drums and cymbals. And any home studio or sound engineer will have a kit with at least a few of these. And it’s also one of the best microphones you can use for snare drum. Many people prefer the fuller, rounder sound of other classic dynamic mics such as: The problem with these mics for home studios is: Which is why this third alternative, the Sennheiser e604 – (Amazon/B&H/GuitarC/MusiciansF/Thomann), is great because it mounts to the rim of the tom, rather than using up more stands. Avantone Audio CR-14. “In addition to capturing drums and percussion,” Carlsson continued, “I’ve also used my MA-200s for backing vocals, saxophone, and acoustic guitar. The frequency response is 20 Hz – 20,000 kHz, with a very flat response across the spectrum. Condenser mic with cardioid polar pattern best for cymbals and drum overheads recording. The typical dynamic microphone might produce an unsatisfactory “fuzzy” sound. It’s often referred to by its nickname as ‘the egg’, which is due to its egg-shaped grille. But being a dynamic, with a high SPL rating (160 dB) you can definitely feel comfortable about the fact that it can take the dynamics range abuse of a closely miked drum. So if you’re looking for the best large-diaphragm condensers for overheads, or room, and you have the budget, these are certainly the microphones to get. Many users also enjoy the fact that it has a very tight pickup pattern, so you won’t get too much of your other drum sounds in the mic. So you want to make sure you get those in your mix. And given the prices of the other choices I mentioned, I figured that a drum mic for the more budget minded home studio had to be on this list. Hopefully, this guide was able to help you decided on the right buying choice for you. This is thanks to its versatility and ease-of-use. The snare is the next instrument you have to mic. Bottom-line, the Audix D6 drum mic is another great kick drum microphone for the money. What also makes the AKG P420 drum mic perfect for recording your drum room or as an overhead pair, is its SPL (sound pressure level). Users comment on its super quick transient response which brings up a lot of the details in the kick than any other kick drum mic. As you can imagine, a drum set is very loud and there are a lot of instruments in extreme proximity to one another. It’s a head-worn mic that fits comfortably and offers a fantastic dynamic range, plus an ultra-clean sound reproduction. Keeping in mind what is required for each drum sound source mentioned above, some of these specs will help to narrow down your options. Further, the design is very modern and beautiful. Particularly if it will help others just getting into mics. There are three reasons why the Shure Beta 91A drum mic makes an exceptional kick drum microphone. The D6 is a dynamic microphone with a cardioid polar pattern. Because it captures excellent high frequency detail and rejects the off-axis sounds from other instruments. This means that some the links on our site are affiliate links. So one way to save money (as well as time), is to buy a drum mic bundle instead. But another important reason is that dynamic microphones tend to have more authority in the lower frequencies. It’s oddly rare to find someone who actually records acoustic drums! However, for the lucky few with enough space, and enough gear…, A well recorded track of acoustic drums can be the difference between a song that sounds like it was done…. Claps, finger snaps, shakers (in my experience) often go well with some slower mics (ribbons, dynamics) and not so well with cheap condensers (esp. The fact that it is also very cheap makes it one of the best drum mics for the money. It uses dual capsule diaphragm condensers, with side address multi polar pattern. Spec-wise, the AKG C414 XLS drum mic is a large diaphragm condenser microphone. The result? …and one that sounds like it came from a real studio. The Meteorite is incredibly portable, making it the best Zoom microphone for users who travel regularly. This is the result of hours and days of combing through the internet to find the best microphones for drums to today. A good condenser microphone will come with at least one pad to cut down any sound coming to the microphone. Many like in particular how the condenser grill sits in the body. If you read the buying guide section, you would’ve learned the best way to select a microphone, and a simple read through of the description of each microphone would bring you to a very simple selection. Your email address will not be published. Few folks would argue that the hi-hat is the most important of them all. You’ll find these microphones a lot in professional recording studios, being a favorite go-to microphone for professional recording engineers. As an omnidirectional mic, the 183 is useful when there’s no need to filter out background noise. That being said, there really are so many more drum mics that could’ve been added. I found the best way for me to mic a djembe or ashiko is to use a CAD TSM411 mic about 2" from the top rim and a CAD KBM412 about 1" below the bottom hole. Percussion and drum microphones shape the sound to your style. The best small diaphragm mics for OH would be the Neumann KM 184 for best quality, and the Shure SM81-LC for budget buying. Just like with any bass instrument, with kick drums, a specific type of dynamic is typically used, that has a frequency response tailored to the low-end. SDs). In fact, Neumann describes the sound of the Neumann KM 184 drum mic as “fresh and livelier” than their previous model (the KM84). If you are unfamiliar with the Shure Beta 91A drum mic, don’t let the strange design startle you, this is one of the best kick drum mics around. Build a mic collection without breaking the bank as Sweetwater walks you through the best budget recording microphones. If you click on one of these links to purchase a product or service that we recommend, we will be compensated it. There are a few options in this list for great dynamic drum mics for kick drum and floor tom. Dynamic microphone made for recording snare, toms, timbale, and percussion. Honest Gear Suggestions for Home Studio Owners and Music Producers. That it makes little sense for beginners to consider anything else…especially when you consider its price. The standard choice for room mics is a matched pair of condenser mics (either large or small). You’ll love the cardioid pickup pattern and the five bass roll-off options. It ships with an integrated USB cable for Mac, PC, and iOS. The 2 best ones I recommend are : The SM57 drum mic also has a 40Hz-15kHz frequency response, with a presence peak that gives it the sense of clarity that makes it so popular. For that reason, you can also use it on floor toms. You can expect a not too bright yet well balanced sound. Alternately, you’d also choose a pair of large diaphragm condensers if you want to record the drum room, and then use the small diaphragm condenser pair to microphone the overheads. In terms of specs, the Sennheiser e604 drum mic is a dynamic microphone with a front address cardioid polar pattern. The ones mentioned in this list will be sufficient for that. These cymbals are often very close to the snare drum, so isolation is key. But you also would’ve realized, hopefully by now, that the best way to get the right sounds is to use the right microphones in the right way. So once again, here’s the link: Now that we’ve gone through the entire drum kit…. Let’s go over them together right now. And, you will also notice, that the drums would sound amazing because of it. And the affordability factor definitely pays for itself when you get them as a three pack. The C-2 Stereo overhead mics for drums are no different. The diameter is just 20 mm, with a rugged steel construction that makes it very durable. The 183 is an omnidirectional condenser, meaning it’s best suited for mic duties in well-treated rooms, which sound good as a whole. Bottom-line, you really can’t go wrong with using a pair of Neumann KM 184 to mic your drums overhead. Required fields are marked *. I usually try to choose the percussion mic that will give me the sound I want without EQ. The difficulty in this is that I am not a traditional percussionist playing with in a traditional percussion environment. what-mics-are-best-suited-for-percussion. Look at the style of music you are miking. The Shure SM57 is undoubtedly the best value for any microphone available, and it’s certainly one of the best-selling mics in the world. This makes these microphones perfect if what you want is to get as much of those hi hat and cymbal details into your mixes. The SM7B dynamic microphone has a smooth, flat, wide-range frequency response which is superb for vocals, music and speech. Drums are tricky like this, as we have a lot of different sources packed into a small area. Simply pulling the microphone away may seem to solve the problem, but you may end up picking up the sound of a neighboring instrument, or the ambience of the room or set. This means a super neutral and uncolored kick sound. Question. However, there is a highly noticeable downturn regarding those, taking into consideration price firstly. Enough though it has that crisp bright sound I mentioned earlier, there is a slight roll off at the highest frequencies. For this project, we used two Mojave MA-200 mics in several different ways. In application, the Shure SM-81 drum mic is ideal when you want to get tight, detailed, and focused drum recordings. FAQ. Overall, it is neither too dark, nor too harsh a microphone, as they can really make your overheads (particularly hats and cymbals) glisten. Most importantly though…the SM57 just sounds really good on snares. A large diaphragm microphone will give you a bigger sound, but these do a very good job at bringing out the shimmering details in your hats and cymbals in your overhead. It often provides to back beat to the music, so an uncontrolled snare sound can really damage the way your drums feel in a mix. You probably realized that getting the perfect sound from your drumset can be a challenge. The SM57 is often used as a snare drum microphone, as it rejects noise very well from the hi hat. So this guide will explain what goes into choosing the best microphones for each drum, and how you can make the best choice for yourself, based upon a few factors. There are a few useful specifications to watch out for when choosing a good drum microphone. It’s described as balanced and clear, with a very low distortion signal. The busier the mix, the more likely I am to use just one mic on the percussion. Understandably, the kick drum is a high SPL instrument (sound pressure level). It has a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz, that remains neutral in the lower mids to the high frequencies, with a bit of a presence peak around 8 kHz. The AKG P420 drum mic is that microphone in my opinion. The Shure SM57 is the industry standard snare drum mic, and a high performing choice for toms, whilst the It’s sound is considered modern, highly detailed, and crisp. So one way to save money (as well as time), is to buy a drum mic bundle instead. The result is a sound that’s not as “boomie” as the Beta 52A, rather you get more of the click that’s much more appropriate for pop, and rock/metal genres. Far from being ‘just’ an electric axe specialist, this mic is just at home working with acoustics, drums, bass guitars and vocals too, and is happy transferring its skill-set between the studio and the stage. Each of the microphones we’ve listed below will suit a certain use, whether that’s accurately recording the microscopic details of a vintage acoustic guitar or grand piano, or embellishing the sound of a great vocal performance. The cardioid polar pattern makes the microphone awesome at feedback rejection. The standard option is a small diaphragm condenser mic. One popular hi-hat mic used in pro studios is the Neumann KM184 -(Amazon/B&H/GuitarC/MusiciansF/Thomann). In this guide we’ll look at some of the best mics for recording drums whether studio or stage.
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