Tom Mics

[permanent hearing damage]

I've used 421s for some time, but sometimes they just pick up too much bleed from cymbals and/or snare. Usually I can fix it with a gate, but i'm wondering if there is a decent alternative with a narrower pick up pattern.

Any ideas?

[mysteriousmammal]

Audix D4 (Floor) and D2 (rack). These sound better, to me than the 421's, and they're cheaper to boot. Don't pay more than $100 for a D4 or $80 for a D2. D4's are good on kick too.

[Lavahead]

I have a pair of 421's that I like on toms as well.

For something different you should try Audio Technica Pro 25s. They kick ass, and are actually pretty cheap.

Try not to gate the toms, experiment with mic placement. If you hear lots of cymbal in your tom mic it's probably because the cymbal is crashing very close to the mic (I'm not trying to be sarcastic). I think you are going to get a little bleed..but I think that making the best of it with your mic placement will sound better than gating the toms.

In my opinion part of getting the toms to sound good has to do with how they sound through your overheads. The overheads are giving you the big picture of what the toms soundlike. Ease up your close tom mics..and just give the toms some 'oomph' with the overheads.

[Lavahead]

I have a pair of 421's that I like on toms as well.

For something different you should try Audio Technica Pro 25s. They kick ass, and are actually pretty cheap.

Try not to gate the toms, experiment with mic placement. If you hear lots of cymbal in your tom mic it's probably because the cymbal is crashing very close to the mic (I'm not trying to be sarcastic). I think you are going to get a little bleed..but I think that making the best of it with your mic placement will sound better than gating the toms.

In my opinion part of getting the toms to sound good has to do with how they sound through your overheads. The overheads are giving you the big picture of what the toms soundlike. Ease up your close tom mics..and just give the toms some 'oomph' with the overheads.

[Leopold]

I've been using the Oktava MC012s quite a bit or Beyer M201s like them both a lot. I also used a Pacific Pro Audio LD1 on floor tom and that was really good, i don't use it for much else but it sounded great on there.

-L

[dwelle]

joel uses the octavas on toms as well. you guys using the pad i'm assuming?

[permanent hearing damage]

thanks for the ideas. for some reason i thought those audix mics were a bit more pricey. i've been using a D112 on the floor tom recently and have been happy, but i figured there may be some better alternatives

my overheads have always been crap, but i just scored a pair of 414s, so hopefully i'll start getting some nicer sounds off of those.

[marqueemoon]

I also used a Pacific Pro Audio LD1 on floor tom and that was really good, i don't use it for much else but it sounded great on there.

-L

I really like the sound of the LD1 on a bass cab too.

[cgarges]

Well, you could get the Josephson E22s for $3000 a pair and be like Albini.

I've probably tried about 20 different types of mics on toms and I've been very happy with the Oktava 012s. So much so that I went out and bought six of them for just that purpose. Yes, I do use the pads on them. After recently purchasing a pair with hypercardioid capsules, I think I'm gonna try to pick up those capsules for all of my 012s. I like them a bit better than the cardioid caps for toms, which also sound great.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Bear]

I've gotten cool results from mk219s on toms. And since those are dirt cheap, they might be worth looking into. Not sure about the pattern, though, because the ones I used were borrowed.

[thenumber]

our drummer got an Audix drum/tom mic package for christmas. its 3 F10s and 1 F12, and they sound great. very very very little bleed at all. i think they run for 200$, maybe 300$. totally worth it man

[bamse]

Do you guys get your Oktavas from The Sound Room or pick them up much cheaper at Guitar Center?

[wing]

I've been using a good ol SM57 on my high tom... and i love it. it sounds really good to me. captures the drum well. but it's not working so well for me on my floor tom... for now i'm still likin the 421, and it's further away from the snare and what not so i haven't noticed a large amount of pick-up from other drums.

anyway, that's where i'm at.

[stapes]

I've found the bleed on the 421 to be a little problematic as well, but they sure do have a great sound. I think maybe the trick is that if you're using 421's all the way around is to pull them a little further back, and use the bleed to your advantage. I agree that gated toms are rarely a satisfying event. If the toms are tuned well, they'll sorta hum along with the kit, which to me is a beautiful thing because it makes the drums sound much more alive. When I'm trying to get maximum face value for a mic (less leakage) I almost always use beyer mics. Those mics have a tighter polar pattern than almost any other mic I've used. The 201's sound phenominal on the rack toms, and the M88 is the shit on floor. I've even tryed the M380 on floor tom, and it was absolutely massive. And since the rear of the fig8 lobe was aimed off into nowhere, the isolation was great. So beyers are what I'm using when I want more of a dynamic mic sound on the toms. I like the Shure SM98 mics on the toms when I'm using condensers. They're tiny, so very easily positioned on their little clip on goosenecks. They sound very natural and have plenty of body to them, so they need very little eq. I'll usually put those on the racks, and then a 414 on the floor. I've also used the E609 for racks and 421 for floor with great results. The 609 is a little easier to position around cymbals, being flat and all. I've heard of a lot of people that use the stapes mics for toms, and love them. Some gate them on the computer, and some leave them open. Haven't actually tried this myself, but I'd imagine you could get some pretty cool sounds, and possibly not any overheads, or maybe just a mono over. I've used the audix in a live situation, and they rock. Beyers are just about my favorite microphones, though.

Erik Wofford
Stapes Audio

[hiddendriveways]

the 421 looks the coolest.