your "favorite" snare drum microphone

chris ryan · Post by **chris ryan** » Mon May 07, 2007 12:12 pm

been searching the forum but couldn't find a dedicated thread.

i'm kind of over using the old 57 on snare. when i had access to it, i liked the sm beta 87. but i haven't had experience with much else.

what's the mic you always throw up first?

also wondering about bottom as well. i have been using a 57 on bottom too. it sounds nice in the mix with the top, but i have never been able to get the bottom to sound anywhere decent by itself. all i get is a nasty sounding flap. but like i said, it adds something nice in the mix.

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Mon May 07, 2007 12:24 pm

I used to do a 57 on the shell, pointing at the hole but offset, and an MK012 overhead. I'm not set up right now, but the first thing I plan to try is the Beyer M160 overhead, and a 635a kinda pointed at the rim, at an angle, to try to get the head and shell both. Has anyone tried something like this?

djimbe · Post by **djimbe** » Mon May 07, 2007 1:04 pm

I mic the shell more often than not, and rarely use a bottom mic. I like these on snare:

Altec M20 (it can have a lower output so it isolates some hat bleed)

Neumann TLM103 (MUST pad this one since it's normal output is hot)

Stedman N90 (big and beefy...what you'd expect from a big dynamic)

Oktava MC012

Earthworks TC30K (good for isolated, snare only work and brushes)

If one of those mics can't get me a good sound, I figure that either I suck or the drum sucks...

mikeyc · Post by **mikeyc** » Mon May 07, 2007 1:07 pm

I'm still a big fan of a single 57 on the top, but I've had occasional luck with 57's top and bottom, phase flipped on one.
My recent faves are either an AT Pro25 for a little more thud, or an Audix f15 for snap. I have this old Lanier courtroom witness mic that kicks pretty serious butt on snare too if you scoop out the god-awful 300Hz bump... it depends on the sound you're after.
I've only tried mic'ing the shell a couple times... I used a Stedman N-90 on an old Ludwig marching snare near the air hole and got a pretty balanced sound out of it.

I wouldn't expect to get much more than a little texture to mix in from the bottom head though-- usually you have a sound that's totally useless when you listen to it on its own. Pop in some earplugs and listen to the bottom head of a snare: it sounds pretty nasty. I think room mics tend to have a better track record for stand-alone usefulness.

JohnDavisNYC · Post by **JohnDavisNYC** » Mon May 07, 2007 1:13 pm

57 on top into an API 512 or EH12AY7, EV 635a on the bottom into whatever... the 635 is my favourite snare bottom mic. I don't think that I will ever try another mic for that application, it rules that much... I don't do bottom all the time, but when I do, it's the 635. I got a great snare sound the other day with a GT44 small diaphragm tube mic, just off the rim aiming across the head. nice and detailed with a good pillowy thump. will have to investigate that some more.

john

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Mon May 07, 2007 1:24 pm

I've got an old Unidyne III that I like to use to mic the top head. But then, that's not much different from a 57, really.

Max · Post by **Max** » Mon May 07, 2007 1:27 pm

I've been using my Shure KSM137 a lot, lately. It's probably my favorite snare mic.
I also like Beyerdynamic M201s, M88s and AKG C451s.
Shure Beta98s have a nice snap and a lot of top end. Sometimes that's just what you want.
I also think that the Beat87 is a pretty decent snare mic.
I haven't tried my MK012s but I can't imagine that it will sound bad.
For snare bottom I like AT4050s, C414s or MD441s but they work on top as well.

trodden · Post by **trodden** » Mon May 07, 2007 1:47 pm

the past couple of years its been regular of beta 56 on top, usually right above the rim going to API 3124 channel and a stedmen N90 on the bottom or combo of bottom/shell going through one of my soundtracs topaz pres. MC 012's through modded symetrix sx202 for overheads not including various room mics.

jaguarsg · Post by **jaguarsg** » Mon May 07, 2007 2:12 pm

Andy Smash wrote:I've got an old Unidyne III that I like to use to mic the top head. But then, that's not much different from a 57, really.

+1.

the 545 sounds a lot warmer to me than the 57. at least warmer than the modern ones.

markmeat · Post by **markmeat** » Mon May 07, 2007 2:24 pm

For pure shits n giggles I just mic'd my whole kit with 57's (snare, both toms) and a PR40 inside the kick, FatHead II OH... it was only for a limited pressing split 7" we're doing so I wasn't to afraid of "ruining" anything... was I ever suprised when it was one of the best and easiest drum mixes I've done in months...

www.myspace.com/bemydoppelganger (Throw a Party, Carbondale Babe City)

Sometimes those damn 57's will shock you... normally I love the PR40 on a snare or the ever popular MD421.

MEAT

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Mon May 07, 2007 2:36 pm

I think the 57 is defnitely workable on a snare as long as the overheads are helping capture the full body of the snare sound. The 57 can bring some attack to blend in.

Used a Sennheiser e609 not too long ago that sounded pretty cool - sort of like a 57, but not quite as peaky. Plus, easy to place that mic.

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Mon May 07, 2007 8:13 pm

I really like the Audio Technica ATH-23HE. It looks like a mini ATM25 and is quite easy to place in addition to sounding great.

barny15 · Post by **barny15** » Mon May 07, 2007 8:25 pm

e609.

ashcat_lt · Post by **ashcat_lt** » Mon May 07, 2007 9:03 pm

Shure "green bullet" harmonica mic is my personal favorite. Hard to find people who will let you do it though...

digitaldrummer · Post by **digitaldrummer** » Mon May 07, 2007 9:09 pm

For some reason I really like the AKG D440 underneath, pointed off-axis at the snare wires. I think I got it at GC for about $50. It's got great fuzz. I usually mix that with an Audix i5 or sometimes a 57 on top. I tried a 57 on bottom one time and hated it.

Mike

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your "favorite" snare drum microphone

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