Snares ... hmmm ... work pretty good for catching rabbits. :D :p :cool:

Deep shell birch and bell-brass full-floaters with Ambassador heads torqued as tight as you can get 'em. Strainers a bit loose. If the drummer knows how to hit 'em you don't need a close mic.

:c:

Well different snares, for different situations, but as far as miking I've found that being a couple of inches up from the rim and pointed towards the center of the head where the drummer hits makes for a great snare sound, really punchy, more so than when you are right on top of it.

I love my Arbiter 9mm maple 5.5x14" snare! I recently bought some E/V ND168 snare mics, only to find out WHY they were discontinued. The SM57 SMOKED them in my opinion! The high end definition of the SM57, coupled with a more open pattern just gives you that full snare drum sound. I place the 57 about 1.5" over the rim, anywhere from .5" to 1.5" above the head, pointing center. The 57 up close gives the sweetest ring...I love it! You can check out this little comparison [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.nowherer…"]HERE[/]="http://www.nowherer…"]HERE[/].

You will need to pan hard either way to hear the comparison, it's explained which mic is which on the page.

Warren

Snare:
Ludwigs, wood and chrome.. great drums. This I am saying as both a drummer for 35 years and an engineer. Also some older Premier and the Slingerland wood and chrome shell snares.
As a rule, I see a Ludwig come in the studio I'm a happy man.
Drum set? Well that's different. For new drums the Yamaha maple shell customs are outstanding, and IMO, hands down the easiest drum to tune and sound unreal,everything you need in a drum.

Mic:
Depends. Beta 57's on the top head, and a AKG 451 on the bottom, or reverse depends on the type of head, and set sound going on. Tuning depends on the drummer, and the rest of his set, on a personal side, I like a lower tuned snare where (in rock) accurate solid rim shots come out great .. nothing better.. it can be wood or chrome. Chrome for the blues shuffle, wood for the ballads and quiet stuff.

White remo ambasador heads, little to no "muffling" should be required with a well tuned drums, and a set that doesn't have toms ring when the snare is hit (tune that set!).

Hi hats, 13" Zildjians for recording. AKG 451, or Schoeps on the hi hat.

NO GATES PLEASE anywhere, tuned up and played right they're 1000000% unneeded.

That's a start.. next?!

K-Sound, have you ever used the Evans Power Centers? I use the reverse dot, they give 2 ply durability and 1 ply responsiveness and tone. Unbelievable head in my opinion, you should try one. They're $11.75 at http://www.midwestpercussion.com (my favorite place for drum stuff). I use 'em for ballads, blues, or heavy rock/metal.

I agree with you on the low tuned snare, it also gives you more expression depending on how hard and where you hit it.

Disagree on the gates though, they're at least useful in keeping hi hat and cymbals out of tom and snare mics.

You're on the money when it comes to little or no muffling! I get sick of seeing these guys taping all sorts of stuff to their toms and snare, and laying 2 blankets AND a pillow in their kick to muffle it. Thank GOD for my Arbiter maples though, I can acheive a good tuning on both heads without removing the drum from the stands. You can actually tune the bottom head while playing the top, kind of how things are supposed to be in my opinion!

What do you use for overheads? I'm in the market for a matched pair of SDC's, budget is up to $800-ish.

Keep rockin'...

Warren

Try the Studio Projects C-3's on your overheads, you'll be amazed. The AT-4047's are also very good, but the C-3's are more real.

See if you can find this :
Albert King "Thursday Night In San Francisco"
Live at the Filmore
Theotis Morgan on drums .. this HAS to be the killer drummer of all time .. and what a sound .. this says it all.

I still am not fond of gates :) , but to each his own, maybe you can use one or two and get away, but I still think if the drummer is good they just get in the way... speaking as a drummer...

Originally posted by K-Sound Studios:
Try the Studio Projects C-3's on your overheads, you'll be amazed. The AT-4047's are also very good, but the C-3's are more real.

See if you can find this :
Albert King "Thursday Night In San Francisco"
Live at the Filmore
Theotis Morgan on drums .. this HAS to be the killer drummer of all time .. and what a sound .. this says it all.

I still am not fond of gates :) , but to each his own, maybe you can use one or two and get away, but I still think if the drummer is good they just get in the way... speaking as a drummer...

Did Theotis Morgan record with C3's? (I'm assuming that's why you're mentioning him in this context)

Warren

Charlie Watts has the best snare sound I've ever heard, live or recorded. What is he playing? Funny thing is, when the sound guy was testing the kit before the show, it sounded terrible. It kinda went gishhhh, gishhhh. But when he got on the kit, forget about it!

Theotis played drums on that live cd back on june 27, 1968! That sound is from his playing, frankly, it's killer stuff. His heart was in it, and it shows.

Anyway ... no the C-3's were a very pleasant surprise for me as drum overheads. They were suggested to me after talking with a friend of mine in NYC who came down with a couple of handfuls of Neumann's for a session he did in my studio. He said he'd used them on the west coast, and they floored him. I bought a pair, and threw them up .. and wow... it was like the sound I used to get with a couple of Neumann's up there in the previous studio I worked at... I was very very surprised and pleased .. the shock mount could use a better locking screw though.

The AT-4047's are also a very fine mic, and usefull on male and female vocals, as well as accoustic guitar, elec guitar, elec bass (not stand up bass).. and quiet, dead quiet.

I mentioned Teotis becuase the idea of drummer's sound was what I was getting at. If the drummer can play it'll happen. I have a far higher respect for gospel, blues and old R&B drummers (can you say the James Brown Band), and some of the jazz drummers, than rock drummers, for their consistant quality of sound, often created , with very good, though limited mics. I play all of the above styles, and love them all.

However,it seems in my studio, that I get more rock drummers looking for me to create their sound than from the other styles. Drum sound is the drummer's job, putting up good mics and capturing that is the engineer's job. Great studio takes come from the ability of the artist and their ability to play the music .. kinda like having developed your own sound on guitar, without a multi-effects box. It's not that the box is bad, it's having to reach for it first.

Should you desire a small condenser, perhaps tthe new AKG-451's are worth a look. They have a pad now (handy with that mic and drums), and they will be of tremendous use in any session. They also make a great overhead drum mic... I happen to prefer a large condenser. That's a personal taste, since I also prefer a spaced pair .. not always the easiest overhead setup.

K-Sound, good mics don't make bad drummers sound good...you're right!

I tried some NT5's this past weekend, and was quite impressed with their full reproduction of the kit. These mics really give good detail of everything, and the high end isn't hyped like many small diaphragm condensors. I'll probably get another style mic though, since my friend can loan me the NT5's at anytime if I need that flavor.

C3's are supposed to be very nice mics according to many folks, I may get one someday for vocals. I do prefer SDC's for overheads, they articulate the high frequencies better in my opinion.

James Brown Band...now there was a tight bunch!

Warren