Old 06-05-2008, 05:50 AM   #1
Amether
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Default Tom, tom tom tom TOM

OK. So my toms generally sound a bit crap.

True, my RDV7 drum mics are hardly the greatest in the world but they're ok (the toms mics are dynamic) but whenever I record toms they have a strange sound of being just attack and general kit noise and nothing much else.

After squeezing and eqing and all that they sound better, naturally but I never think 'wow'!

Some simple failsafe techniques for getting a better tom sound please!
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Old 06-05-2008, 07:42 AM   #2
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great heads (like remo pinstripes) and then tuning, tuning, tuning. seriously: tuning! if they don't already sound REALLY AWESOME when you got your ear above them, they never will.

also i couldn't find your mics on google. i use beyerdynamic opus 87 and they give a great sound.
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Old 06-05-2008, 10:43 AM   #3
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+1 for proper tuning, it really, really makes ALL the difference and is well worth the time. Even if you're not a drummer, it pays for an engineer to understand how, and have the tools, to tune a kit, because a LOT of drummers don't have a clue about it.

Mic placement and mic type are huge here. I would imagine your mics are probably the source of your woes - can you provide more specs?
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Old 06-05-2008, 11:29 AM   #4
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Great tool for tuning drums (whether you're the drummer or not...): Tama Tension Watch or DrumDial...
Succes with the TomTom.
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Old 06-05-2008, 11:35 AM   #5
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i actually want to get a pack of 3 tom mics that are NOT expensive but pretty good.

sm57? are there any even cheaper?
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Old 06-05-2008, 11:37 AM   #6
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Here's a handy link to the Drum Tuning Bible.

I printed a copy to keep at the studio, and I consider it a must-read for aspiring engineers.
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Old 06-05-2008, 11:38 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Brian Merrill View Post
sm57? are there any even cheaper?
There are probably cheaper mics, but you may not like them. Given you can use a 57 on so many things, it's a good investment.
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Old 06-05-2008, 11:41 AM   #8
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Quote:
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There are probably cheaper mics, but you may not like them. Given you can use a 57 on so many things, it's a good investment.
i mean specifically, for toms...

i wouldnt use a 57 on anything besides drums.
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Old 06-05-2008, 01:06 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Brian Merrill View Post
i mean specifically, for toms...

i wouldnt use a 57 on anything besides drums.
Really?? Well, different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

I've used 57's, 58's, mk012's, om2's, om5's, e604's, and probably some others I can't recall now. I definitely preferred the shures to the audix, I like the senns, and I really liked the octavas but all around, the senns are probably your best bet, but at $140 a pop, probably outside your price range. They're kind of a one-trick pony, too.
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Old 06-05-2008, 02:41 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Brian Merrill View Post
i mean specifically, for toms...

i wouldnt use a 57 on anything besides drums.

i've had fantastic results using a sole SM57 on guitars. they're versatile little buggers.
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Old 06-05-2008, 03:08 PM   #11
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Quote:
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i've had fantastic results using a sole SM57 on guitars. they're versatile little buggers.
Yeah, me too. I've put a lot of mics on amps, but I always end up with a 57. When in a rush, I won't even try anything else.
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Old 06-06-2008, 01:34 AM   #12
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Sorry I got my Ds and Vs confused. Happens all the time.

http://www.dancetech.com/aa_dt_new/h...id=2640&lang=0

Must agree with 57s sounding completely fine on guitars...
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Old 06-06-2008, 01:38 AM   #13
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And thanks for the replies - Drum Tuning Thang looks like a worthy read. Sounds like it's the key to a good sound...

Drum key.
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Old 06-06-2008, 02:17 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Till View Post
great heads (like remo pinstripes) and then tuning, tuning, tuning. seriously: tuning! if they don't already sound REALLY AWESOME when you got your ear above them, they never will.

also i couldn't find your mics on google. i use beyerdynamic opus 87 and they give a great sound.
+1 for that, and hit them like you mean it, but Pipelineaudio will tell you more about that when he wakes up and reads this, for sure .
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Old 06-06-2008, 03:40 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Brian Merrill View Post
i mean specifically, for toms...

i wouldnt use a 57 on anything besides drums.
57s are a good general mic for live miking, but there are better.

if you're looking for good mics to close-mic for recording, then you could try sennheiser e604 -they come with a rim clamp too (tho i'd listen to any support-transmitted thumps). a little better is the HyperCardoid Electrovoice N/D468 (a replacement for the 408) -i've used these in studio and live (with the e604 clamps) and they're my standard tom and conga mic at the mo (i have nine) another good one is the sennheiser 421, but you're talking some moolah then for three...

but, as you know, it doesn't matter how good your mics are if your drum sounds are poo to start with.

beyer opus are good too, and compact-headed for those cymbal congested kits
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Old 06-06-2008, 05:02 AM   #16
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dooood, a drum mic kit for 199 pounds? come on!

and seriously: opus 87
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Old 06-06-2008, 05:18 AM   #17
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Quote:
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dooood, a drum mic kit for 199 pounds? come on!

and seriously: opus 87
looks great but a little too expensive for me.
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Old 06-06-2008, 05:31 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Till View Post
dooood, a drum mic kit for 199 pounds? come on!

and seriously: opus 87
Those are good little mics for toms.. but tend to gather too much symbals if you want isolation.

Audix d-series is good set of mics for drums. D2 for toms.

Allso i5 will do. It is Audix "sm 57".

Last edited by Pipes; 06-06-2008 at 05:33 AM. Reason: Typos
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Old 06-06-2008, 05:41 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Till View Post
dooood, a drum mic kit for 199 pounds? come on!
are you saying it's too cheap or too expensive? cos in my experience, Red5 do good quality stuff.
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Old 06-06-2008, 05:56 AM   #20
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Quote:
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are you saying it's too cheap or too expensive? cos in my experience, Red5 do good quality stuff.
interesting, ill check them out.
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Old 06-06-2008, 10:14 AM   #21
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Yeah I'll stick up for RedV for the moment - I've a RV10 vocal mic that I really like... they only sell direct so you can add a little onto the equivalent price if you like. I think I did say the mics weren't mega hot anyway. But what I'm trying to do here really is ascertain is just that - if it's me - if it's the mics - if it's the tuning - if it's the drummer - al that. I'm willing to get new mics if it's required but would naturally prefer just to get better at recording...
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Old 06-06-2008, 10:33 AM   #22
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Quote:
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Yeah I'll stick up for RedV for the moment - I've a RV10 vocal mic that I really like... they only sell direct so you can add a little onto the equivalent price if you like. I think I did say the mics weren't mega hot anyway. But what I'm trying to do here really is ascertain is just that - if it's me - if it's the mics - if it's the tuning - if it's the drummer - al that. I'm willing to get new mics if it's required but would naturally prefer just to get better at recording...
In that case, maybe you should post a sample (or multichannel project) of your recorded drums so folks can see/hear what is going on and determine wether it is mic, mic placement or drummer related.
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Old 06-07-2008, 04:24 AM   #23
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I agree with loser, after all the recording gear is taken care of, the missing link is the drummer. If he doesn't hit the toms with attitude then forget about explosive toms... in that case replace with samples..
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Old 06-07-2008, 06:22 PM   #24
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WELL...

Did a little experimenting - I found having a better drummer, some better drums and (importantly) pointing the mics towards more towards the centre of the tom, rather than more towards the edge as I was doing, made a big difference. I will post a comparison tho.
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Old 06-07-2008, 06:47 PM   #25
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WELL...

Did a little experimenting - I found having a better drummer, some better drums and (importantly) pointing the mics towards more towards the centre of the tom, rather than more towards the edge as I was doing, made a big difference. I will post a comparison tho.
please do, i would like to hear how your mics sound.

It would be cool if you had a short multitrack set of flacs to show

i would love to try mixing with them to see what it sounds like...
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Old 06-08-2008, 12:35 AM   #26
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Audix i-5 is like an indestructible SM-57 that's cheaper and has a little more bottom end (and sounds great on guitars too.)

I really like the CAD M-179 in hypercardioid mode, we did a huge shootout back at school and that sounded the most 'real' for toms and with almost no spill. It's a bit pricier but really useful for other stuff too (acoustic guitar/vox/bass cabs/front kick/room).
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Old 06-23-2008, 01:14 PM   #27
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By the way, I've had NO time to grab the necessary files, but you can hear how they turned out at myspace.com/eightmandown and listen to "Bones". Lots of toms there.
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