The Heart/Crotch Mic

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A.David.MacKinnon
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The Heart/Crotch Mic

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:59 pm

Is anybody else using this on drums? If so what are you using and what are you doing with it?
I went through a long period of using a 635A into a distortion pedal. It was especially great in my tape/low track count days. Like everything, I moved away from it and got into other methods.
Lately I've been demoing at home on a Tascam 488 (cassette 8 track). I've gone back to the heart mic for a few tunes and am really enjoying the quick and dirty aspect of it. My current set-up is a Phillips EL 3752/01 plus a E602 on kick and a Sen 211 omni on snare shell. The Phillips is a plastic stereo dynamic from the 60's that was probably sold with reel to reel machines. It's hi-z which is perfect for the Tascam. It had a serious rattle when I bought it so I took it apart to replace the foam. The capsules look kind of like 60's era AKGs. Similar to rebadged 409 capsules that you sometimes see in mics by Grundig and others of the era. They're not that but might be AKGs or who knows. Either way, its sounding pretty cool. It's in no way hi-fi but it's punchy and has a cool vibe. I've got it under the ride, with the centre pointed at the snare. I had to play with the placement to get a good balance between the toms but once I found the right spot it sounds pretty great. Not bad for $10.

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Post by Gregg Juke » Thu Apr 13, 2017 11:12 pm

Track, please?

GJ
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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Fri Apr 14, 2017 3:41 am

Gregg Juke wrote:Track, please?

GJ
Nothing finished enough to post yet. Coming soon.

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Post by I'm Painting Again » Fri Apr 14, 2017 7:19 am

immediately thought of Moses upon reading the topic here

this video goes much more into detail on the wurst

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbPAvl7QA20

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Post by I'm Painting Again » Fri Apr 14, 2017 7:34 am

getting a mic in a position where it picks up the drums in balanced way is an initial step for me obvs

I tend to use a dynamic in this app.. omni like an re50 can make it easier to get all the drums represented though the last session I used a hypercardioid peeking over the batter kick rim pointed at the snare .. kicks' and toms' low end will get in by proximity and be fine if the attack portion is covered by overheads ..

to me the wurst is all about blend and lows and mids .. highs are from the Oh & rooms

typical crushing methods provide a nice volume boost and or your distortion tones

imagination is the limit here

the thing most not talked about with this technique is envelope processing which can be one of the coolest things in conjunction with the peepee mic technique

gates and nvelope/transient designer can add so much to this already great thing

an little example of that can be heard in the Moses vid I posted above

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Post by vvv » Fri Apr 14, 2017 10:09 am

I'm Painting Again wrote: the peepee mic technique
:lol:

The third-grader in me loves this.
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Post by drumsound » Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:07 pm

I've done it on and off for years. Recently a Hi Z cassette recorder mic over the BD, Wurst style. It sounded alright on its own, but when I added an old Ashley SC-50, then it got cool.

Previous favorite was an EV N/D408 through a cranked ART tube pre.

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Post by I'm Painting Again » Sat Apr 15, 2017 7:36 am

vvv wrote:
I'm Painting Again wrote: the peepee mic technique
:lol:

The third-grader in me loves this.
wurst in German means sausage (peepee) or a dog's mess (poopoo)

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Post by Drone » Sat Apr 15, 2017 8:33 am

vvv wrote:
I'm Painting Again wrote: the peepee mic technique
:lol:

The third-grader in me loves this.
So we're duct taping a 57 to the drummers leg?
The previous statement is from a guy who records his own, and other projects for fun. No money is made.

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Post by I'm Painting Again » Sat Apr 15, 2017 9:07 am

Drone wrote:
vvv wrote:
I'm Painting Again wrote: the peepee mic technique
:lol:

The third-grader in me loves this.
So we're duct taping a 57 to the drummers leg?
and a thumper to the butt

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Post by vvv » Sat Apr 15, 2017 12:54 pm

I actually have a pair of Blue Ball mic's.

(Actually, I have 3, red, blue and black in color.)
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Post by joninc » Sat Apr 15, 2017 2:46 pm

I'm Painting Again wrote: I used a hypercardioid peeking over the batter kick rim pointed at the snare ..
I do something similar - I use a 441 pointed at the bottom rim of the snare. I like using a Level-OR or a dynamite compressor for squashing and then blend to taste....
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Post by I'm Painting Again » Sat Apr 15, 2017 3:50 pm

joninc wrote:
I'm Painting Again wrote: I used a hypercardioid peeking over the batter kick rim pointed at the snare ..
I do something similar - I use a 441 pointed at the bottom rim of the snare. I like using a Level-OR or a dynamite compressor for squashing and then blend to taste....
it's a good spot with even a very directional mic due to making the snare the highlight and capturing the lows of the others because of proximity to the shells - with that position I like to drive a hairy pre and slam a space echo with close to no effect happening - or a tight slap for that sort of thing - you really get a sense of solidness from the drive / tape / electronics that's often elusive when recording to digital - after the echo i compress before the converter - beautifully disgusting on it's own then ya blend it in and :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts:

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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Tue Apr 18, 2017 10:00 am

Gregg Juke wrote:Track, please?

GJ
Here's a quick demo with the Phillips crotch mic and an E602 in the kick.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2tOcF ... sp=sharing

The toms are a little quiet and it's making me realize more and more how shitty my snare sounds. I like the way the hats and ride sit in the stereo mic though.

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