Drum Microphone Shoot-Out (Mono Room)

[Gregg Juke]

Part 1 of "The First Annual St. Pauly-Boy Un-Scientific Microphone Shoot-Out" brought to you by The Sonic Vault, available here:

http://soundcloud.com/freshcaptures/wav ... -shoot-out

Session notes/details coming soon in a later post edit. Check it and enjoy.

GJ

Edit: Some details-- As posted at Soundcloud, four microphones used to record solo drumset in succession-- Teac MM-100 Dynamic, Fathead Ribbon, Shiny Box 46MX Ribbon, MXL V67 Condenser (w/Scott Dorsey Mod). Signal Path-- Mikes to EWI snake to PreSonus Eureka preamp to MOTU 2408 Mk.3 to Sonar 6/Sound-Forge 9. Dry/No processing whatsoever.

Mikes all set-up on the same stand approx 11 feet from front of kit. Engineering by Bruce Rounds. Sloppy/out-of-shape drumming by Me. Editing/upload by Me (a little funky; I took the material home to work on, and wound-up editing by sight on the living room computer while the kids watched TV, which is the reason for the cut-off cymbal tails piling up at the end ). The shoot-out is "un-scientific" for a number of reasons, including the fact that these are not all the same take (I did try to play the same intro and basic grooves on each successive take), and when we get to guitar and vocals, a few different preamps were in the mix (Eureka and Grace Design). Should give a general idea about what these mikes can do though.

Coming Soon-- Vocals and Electric Rhythm Guitar, with Audio Technica, AKG, EV, Fathead, and Shiny Box microphones.

[drumsound]

This might be fun

[Gregg Juke]

I hope so Tony! I'll get some more details up soon, and the next set of shoot-outs; a little swamped.

GJ

[Gregg Juke]

Bump-- Details/Session Notes added.

GJ

[KennyLusk]

The TEAC mic sounds great and in a lot of ways I prefer the way it sounds over the V67. It seems to have a more open sound with greater clarity than the V67 on these drum tracks. But the V67 seems to capture the drum "notes" bigger than the TEAC. Both could be used together in sum really well I think.

Again though, just as with the Djembe tracks both ribbon mics just don't even seem to measure up IMO. Just my taste though, everyone has their own preference. The TEAC mic is really surprising me.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

yeah i agree. the teac has a nice midrange crunch to it. both of the ribbons sound awfully dark. although...aaaaiiiiieeeeeee! comparisons are so hard. if i get used to the v67 and jump back to the teac, it sounds so trashy. i think i like the v67 best overall, even though it's not as initially exciting as the teac.

and in context with close mics (and other instruments) i might well like one of the ribbons better, a little mid cut/hi boost would go a long way.

thanks for posting this gregg. and nice drumming. also, that's 11 feet back? damn. that far back in my room would sound like an airplane hanger.

[Gregg Juke]

Hey guys, thanks for your responses. Yes, they are so different and all have their charms.

If I was going to use only one mike from the bunch for a clean picture on mono kit, it would definitely be the MXL (unless I was going for a "vintage" sound). But in actuallity, we use the Teac as our standard room mike! I like the high-end too, and the glossy crunch it adds to close-mikes with stereo overhead. It works great with parallel compression too.

Scott, it might be like 9 & 1/2 or 10 feet? But about that. It's not a very big room. 10-foot ceilings though.

GJ

[accordion squeezist]

I go with the Teac...I guess mostly because of the toms.
Love your room! I'm definitely not listening to a video game here.
Thanks for doing this.

[losthighway]

I think if that was my room mic on a kit with 3-8 other mics up, I'd probably end up compressing it to give it a little grit and pump. At that point the ribbons would probably win. I like the Fathead.

[T-rex]

I think if that was my room mic on a kit with 3-8 other mics up, I'd probably end up compressing it to give it a little grit and pump. At that point the ribbons would probably win. I like the Fathead.

I just got a pair over the holiday and I am loving them for just this reason.

[Mane1234]

I was pretty surprised by some of these sounds being the Fathead fan that I am...I'd buy one of those Teac mics if I ever come across it. The thing that struck me the most was if you have those mics available you can combine a couple in your mix and easily find a wide range of sonic options. A nice dark ribbon with the crisp Teac in there as well for some definition...Tasty man

[Brett Siler]

The snare through the Shinybox sounded terrible! The V67 sounded the most balanced to me.

[drumsound]

These are really interesting. I was really into the sound of the MXL on it's own, and I think the TEAK would be great in context. The ribbons did nothing for me, but maybe they'd be cool with other mics.

Are you playing a Z ride with a chain or rivets? Maybe one of those "K Custom" which is just a freaking Z without stars hammered into it...

Is there a picture of your room somewhere, I'd love to see the space.

Thanks for sharing.

[Gregg Juke]

Hey Tony!

No Z ride... (How do you spell a "shuddering" sound?)

It is an old Earth Ride I got years ago, and it does have rivets (4).
As far as pix of the room, I'm working on all of that methodically-- Slowly putting together the materials for a website. But I'll see what I can do on the "a little sooner than later" tip.

GJ

[drumsound]

Hey Tony!

No Z ride... (How do you spell a "shuddering" sound?)

It is an old Earth Ride I got years ago, and it does have rivets (4).
As far as pix of the room, I'm working on all of that methodically-- Slowly putting together the materials for a website. But I'll see what I can do on the "a little sooner than later" tip.

GJ

Oh yea, I forgot about the Earth ride...pretty similar nightmare.