drum OH mics - your opinions on these...

[tasker]

hi there, thought I'd pick your heads for your thoughts. I'm tying to put together an as-decent-as-possible drum mic setup. It'll be recorded through pretty nice pres (Hamptone, Sytek) onto tape (8-track 1/2") and then dumped into pro tools for the other stuff. I'm trying not to buy stuff twice, so I'm willing to throw a little extra money for the mics if it'll be something I have good chance of keeping around forever (unlike the Rode NT1 on my desk). I'm looking into a multiple options for OH mics and it would be great if they could double at least as guitar mics. I know this is a mess of ideas, but this is what I'm looking at:

Pairs of:
SE Electronics SE3
AKG 451
Josephson C42
Shure SM81
Shure KSM 141
Beyer 160

Even thinking about getting 1 Royer 121 and going mono until I could afford another (that may be a long time).

The strongest leanings I have are towards the Josephsons, the Beyers and the 141s. Anybody got any advice on this comparison chart? In general, the drumming is aggressive rock and some drum sounds I love come from the Constantines, Shellac, Sonic Youth, Les Savy Fav et al. Not all the same sort of band, but all different from modern radio approaches. I'm already running a D6, Beyer 201, 421s, and a Nady ribbon. Any advice would be more helpful that you imagine!

Thanks,
Tasker

[junkstar]

The 81's are outstanding as OH's and can be used on HH or acoustic guitars with amazing results too. A great mic.

[mus1k_freak]

what about akg 414's or a pair of earthworks?

[Electro-Voice 664]

I use 141's for OH and lots of other stuff, I love 'em

[eeldip]

dont rule out the m260 from beyer. i would try them both... the 160 and 260. the 260's have a really cool color for OHs.

[r0ck1r0ck2]

where does your nady go?

[John Jeffers]

where does your nady go?

That's kind of a personal question!

I've used R-121's for overheads before and didn't really like them. They dull the highs a bit, and I had to add it back with EQ. I like my AT4033's for overheads.

[eeldip]

i like dull highs

[John Jeffers]

Then you would like the R-121's on overhead. They sounded really nice, just not crisp enough for me.

[dynomike]

Why not get the beyer 160s? For guitar amps they seem universally heralded as the shizz.. they are NOT that "ribbony" in a conventional sense and yield lots of shimmer on your cymbals.

Have you tried both the Nady and the Rode on overheads? What do you like/dislike about each? That should probably guide you in where you wanna go.

Btw, I don't own m160's. Take this with a grain of salt. Just heard em on lots of recordings, live dvds, etc. I also hate my overhead mic options so I'm interested to see how this thread turns out. I was thinking at4050s to replace them though...

[I'm Painting Again]

out of that list i would pick the 160's for a more "vintagesmoothroundwarmoldschoolrolledoffhighs" sound and one of the condensers for a "modernattackydetailedsharp" tone..

[doc]

I've had a pair of USA made SM81's for a few years and am consistently stoked on the sound when putting them up for overheads. They routinely beat my 414's and I'm almost always pleased the results.

-Doc

[Shawn Simmons]

I've got a Josephson C42 and I've never been impressed with it on overheads. It's a weird sounding mic to me. I like it but it's weird.

I did just use a couple of B&K 4011's on overheads and they fucking rocked. Really smooth and detailed with lots of midrange. I need to get some of those.

SM-81's sound small to me. I've never liked them on overheads.

451's are great if I'm going to tape but to me they're too hyped in the top to use if I'm going digital.

YMMV,
shawn

[KFT]

I like the sound of the older 451's. The interchangeable capsule options are nice on those also.

[patternagainstuser]

i'm into indie music too... i think the lack of sparkly highs is alot of what seperates indie rock and radio rock. i would choose the beyers, hands down. they are the de-facto electric guitar cab mics as far as i'm concerned, and i bet they would sound great as overheads, being a compromise between a sizzly condenser and a dull ribbon (the beyers are a little brighter than many). i have used a pair of the nady ribbons as OH's and liked the results, though i did add some treble from my board.