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[Drambudi]

Hey guys.
I'm going to buy a bunch of small condenser's for mic'ing my cymbals individually, and since I have ten of them plus hi-hats I don't want to pay for a more expensive model than needed.

I will cut out ALL lows,  so deep (or even decent) low-end is not something I need from them.
Below is a list of some lower priced models I'm considering:

JJlabs OHX2 - REALLY cheap this one, I'm guessing it sounds horrible...
JJlabs SMC1
FOSTEX MC10 ST
Beyerdynamic MCE 530
Line Audio CM3 - I have two CM2, that's the previous version, and I like these...
A-T PRO 37
AKG Perception 150

I'm asking to hear opinions from someone who tried any of these in a studio recording and how they measured up.

Oh, and these are gonna be up the bell of my cymbals all the time, and will NOT be used for anything else.

Thanks.

A.

[compasspnt]

Wow,

Is this for live?

[garret]

10 cymbals + hh?

[Dave Martin]

Drambudi wrote on Thu, 26 July 2007 16:55

Hey guys. I'm going to buy a bunch of small condenser's for mic'ing my cymbals individually, and since I have ten of them plus hi-hats I don't want to pay for a more expensive model than needed. I will cut out ALL lows,  so deep (or even decent) low-end is not something I need from them.

I'm sorry - why in the hell would you want to do such a thing? To start with, have you considered the phase cancellation that you'll experience? with 10 mics in such close proximity?

[compasspnt]

This is either for stage use (still questionable), or it's a joke.

[Fibes]

Yeah, why?

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

In the rare occasion i mic a cymbal it's going to be a ribbon and usually it's only one that is somehow hidden from the overheads.

[Drambudi]

I'm a death metal drummer, and I'm going for total isolation when I record. I put the mic from below one inch from the bell as close to the center as possible.

Phase isn't a problem since I get pretty darn good isolation when I do like this. It gives you a clear sound and great control of individual levels and stereo position.

I'm going to do this instead of the X/Y overheads I've been using.

Has anyone tried any of the mic's I mentioned?
Thanks,

/A.

[hargerst]

Try these:

http://naiant.com/studiostore.html

Good sound, and they won't break your piggy bank.

[redfro]

Harvey, as usual, answers the question without the "your doing it wrong" stuff.

That's why you're the man, Harvey.

Now, the "stuff".

I don't know of ANY death-metal recordings that do this. I'd venture a guess that none of the albums you listen to do this. Could be wrong, but worth a bet. Most that I've worked on use standard OH and a HH mic.

But, if it works for you...

[hargerst]

redfro,

Absolutely agree, but as you pointed out, I simply answered his question.  A couple of overheads (and rarely a hihat mic), and I'm good to go on any death metal stuff.  Most of the time, the drumming focus is on the double-pedal kick stuff in death metal.

[Drambudi]

"I don't know of ANY death-metal recordings that do this"

-Eh, I know dozens of death metal albums that are recorded like this... In example Sweden's "Abyss Studios" has been using this technigue as a standard for years, and I know others as well.

But what matters is: After years of try-outs in my own studio I know how to get what I'm looking for, just need to choose the right mic...

Thanks for the link Harv, but all these are "omni" exept for
"MSH-1K", which has a roll-off at the top...

I do realize this kind of miking isn't a common thing to do, but just doing the test of listening to a mix, and then muting the overheads, you can hear how clean the stereo picture appears.

I'm not looking for a natural sound, but a produced sound:
Gated toms, triggered bass drums and so on for the ultimate definition of the whole drumkit even at REALLy high tempo's.


A.

[hargerst]

Yes, they're omni's, but if you're miking *that* close, you're still gonna get good isolation with them.  You should buy at least one and actually try it.

[Etch-A-Sketch]

You know, Zildjian used to make cymbal mics that would attach to the stand right under the bell.  Not sure if they make them anymore but you could try lookign for them...maybe someone's selling them on ebay..

Usually the sound right under the bell doesn't sound like the cymbal when you are a foot or two away.  It has much more of a round, nasal tone to it.  The Zildjian mics, if memory serves me, were designed to compensate for that automatically.  I remember they looked funny too...they were tiny little boxes that you clip on under the cymbal.  They didn't even look like mics! lol  But some people liked them, especially for live shows since they were very low profile...

Might be worth you checking out... and sorry, unfortunately I haven't had any experiences with the microphones you are currently looking at.

[CHANCE]

I am confused. If you gate and trigger your drums, wouldn't that isolate them from your L & R overheads ? Are you going for "surround" or just L & R "stereo" ?

[Drambudi]

To Hargerst: These mic's are really good priced, and if you recommend them I trust they are good, BUT, I think I have to go with something that has cardioid pattern...

I know about the Zildjian mic'ing system from the 80's, problem is they don't have separate out's...

"Usually the sound right under the bell doesn't sound like the cymbal when you are a foot or two away"
 -I put it about one inch away. Compared to the O H there is very little difference in sound of the cymbals themselves, but a BIG difference in isolation from the drums. I use severe lo-cut though, at around 3K.
And you can create a REALLY wide stereo panorama.

"If you gate and trigger your drums, wouldn't that isolate them from your L & R overheads? Are you going for "surround" or just L & R "stereo" ? "

 -How would gating the tom mic's silence the toms in the overheads...? I'm mixing in stereo.


Thanks for the replies,

/A.