I think you have every mic you need to make excellent drum recordings.

Perhaps some improvement in placement technique, coupled with a course in tuning will bring this next step up without the outlay of cash.

Of course, when you really get a handle on these things you'll want to upgrade then , and you'll be ready for it when it can make a huge difference.

I think you can find a pair of the Russian made Octava's, for around $100 US and they sound fabulous, for being as great a bargain as they are. Make sure you purchase their 10 or 20 DB pads that screw on to the microphone. Then you are ready to go full tilt boogie.

Don't hurry. You will get there
Ms. Remy Ann David

Would I benefit a lot from having two overhead mics as opposed to one?

Stereo as opposed to Mono :)

2 would be twice as nice, right?

but - i've heard that the rode nt5s dont work so well for OH mics. great for acoustic instruments (guitar, hand percussion, etc). i've never used them so it's second hand info, but from a guy i trust, but you have no idea who i am so who cares, right?

anyways - oktavas sure.

anyone know any good "dark" ldc that work well as OHs?

rockstardave wrote:

anyone know any good "dark" ldc that work well as OHs?

The Studio Projects B3 is quite a good overhead mic. It has three patterns and keeps the cymbals sounding more natural that some of the fizzy-high-ended mics tend to.

Drum mikes

I use two Octava's for overhead's on my drum kit - and I like the results. Nice cheap mike's - but sound real good for overheads. They do a nice job of picking up the cymbal's and the entire kit.
Might I also make a couple of suggestions? I am a drummer - and very critical of the drum sound.

A must have - unless your into jazz and like that small or boomy bass drum sound - spend around $150.00 and get an Audix D6 for your bass drum - placed inside the drum pointed toward the pedal in a mildly muffled (small blanket etc) bass drum. HUGE improvement in the sound. I mean HUGE. I could never achieve that golden bass drum sound - now I have it. Get's the real low end that I've constantly been striving for. Balances out the drum sound amazingly. Blended with the bass guitar in a mix - it's killer.

If you want a tight snare sound - use zero ring on the snare. Cuts down on the overtones and give's that funky tight snare sound. Mixed with a nice low bass drum - sounds great. I have now been experimenting with a more open sound - which I now tend to prefer using no zero ring. More open - nice again with the low bass drum sound from the D6.

Hers's a killer idea that has worked great for me both in the studio - and playing live. I call it Jerry's Low Tech - Low Cost Drum Mike Set Up.

1.One unidirectional mike placed between snare and toms.
2. D6 in bass drum
3.One unidirectional nice condenser mike placed right next to the left side of the drummers head - facing the kit.

I used this set up once when I was in a hurry to lay down a quick drum track to use as a meter or click track and didn't want to set up the overheads. I was amazed at the sound, Drummers always want to hear what they hear playing. With the condenser next the drummers head - your picking up exactly what he hears. It picks up the entire set along with the cymbals - but not too much of them - generally - just enough for a good mix. Mixed with the other mike's it's a killer sound using minimal miking.

One other note - and then I will shut up - I don't go crazy trying to compress and gate the drums or add eq to them. One thing I've learned is that you shouldn't be too judemental of the sound of one instrument alone. When listened to alone without other instruments the snare might sound too boomy or not quite right - cymbals too bright etc. But - mixed with the rest of the instruments in the mix - it sounds great. I've actually gone back and re-recorded instruments - including drums - just flat - no eq and without any additional effects (compression - gating) added after I first recorded with compression and eq'd.
When re-recorded flat and added back into the mix it sounds great - nice and open - right where it should fit. And - then I have the added luxury of adding small amounts of eq as needed.

Thanks for listening...

JB