I've had very pleasing results using AKG C430's for overheads. They seem to be able to catch the ever changing harmonic envelope of decaying cymbals with aplomb. They also seem to handle the attack (or splash) stage of the cymbal's envelope very nicely.
My favorite overheads are AKG C451's though. I just can't afford them right now.

KenMeister

It is better to try and fail, than to never try at all.

Where'd I get the info? I was in there and they sold me 2 for $99. It was even in the flyer, they had there. A pleasant surprise.

Rode nt1's are good overhead.They pick up all of the room.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dot:
I agree the GT44's are great all-around mics for the studio. The GT33's as well. It seems that the mid-size is a great balance between the performance of a LDC and a SDC.


Both the 33's and 44's are meaty sounding mics and hold up well for rock music. The rear rejection on the cardioid caps is on the heavy side – so you don't hear a lot of the room – which is a good thing for people recording in rooms with less than perfect acoustics.

The http://www.macmidimusic.com/prod.itml/icOid/4759's run about $559 per pair. The http://www.macmidimusic.com/prod.itml/icOid/4761's run about $980 per pair.

They're both excellent and very cool mics, and you might get more mileage out of a pair of them than you would out of a pair of SDC's.

---

Dan, what do you think of the GTs compared to the Shure KSM32? Do I have that right, in term of them all being midsize diaphragm class?

Hey, look, something to click: http://www.zspmusic.com

I just wanted to chime in here
and say that make sure that your rooms are
well treated or acoustically acceptable or else
none of the above mentioned mics will do any good.
If they are treated, then my mic pick is oktava MK-012.

my mp3z

I just wanted to chime in here
and say that make sure that your rooms are
well treated or acoustically acceptable or else
none of the above mentioned mics will do any good.
If they are treated, then my mic pick is oktava 012

my mp3z

oops, double post. sorry

my mp3z

let me chime in and say that OH mic choice is a pretty engineer specific thing.

personally, i go for ribbons as OH, cause i love the way cymbals sound when picked up by a ribbon mic, and i love how much woody tone they get out of drums.

most condensers i have tried seem to turn up the cymbals and turn up the drum head sound. just not what i like.

also, consider that depending on your room, the pattern of the mic will be very important. i have terrible sounding rooms and get my best results with supercardiod mics... but heck, you might end up being an omni sort of person.

maybe even someone that will end up using something like a pair of ev re55s (dynamic omnis) for OHs.

i would say you should start with SD condensers cause they are the most common type, then move on from there till you feel comfortable. for me my OH mics make up most of the "drum sound" that i get, and it took me a very long time to find a mic that i like.

(currently i cant record drums without my beyer m260, but pretty soon i think i'll upgrade to a different ribbon)

.
.
.

quote:

---

Originally posted by TAPKAE:
"Only mics I've ever used are AKG C1000S's... pretty "pimp" if you ask me."

Um... sorry to hear that. I traded away some of those in favor of NT5s, and it didn't even take a second thought. The 5s left the 1ks in the dust. I mean that. Really. Like, no kidding really.

Same dough too.

TAPKAE

---

lol, that was me. I've tried some more mics since I got my own set. ( 2 weeks ago) The C1000S's still perform their task well. I was considering picking up these http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2571514971&category=15198&rd=1 451's since they are listed as broken and the seller is selling lots of mics and listed all the non-electret condensors as not passing audio. But someone must have figured it out and they are getting lots of bids and will probably get there value.

I don't have another pair of mics in my collection besides 57's... so I think the C1000S still sound the best. I think they are extremly limited in their bass repsonce, but with a smooth roll off. I have never been able to use them as the kind of overheads that 90% of the sound comes from. But they do pick up the cymbals and hat quite nicely!

I also have used this mic as a second mic for vocals while recording with a 57 or 58, it adds a lot of smoothness to a powerful abuse of the proximity effect. On acoustic guitar of my 20 mics the C1000S is my clear favorite. The interesting thing about this mic was when I bought my pair (3-4 years ago) they were really praised and loved... now its hard to find a good word about them! Which makes me second guess them, but my ears still really like them for acoustic. (I prefer just using 1 mono, over all my ldc's and dynamics)

I'm definetly in the market for a better SDC, as well as an insanely wonderful LDC like the Manley Reference Gold (cardiod). As soon as I have a shitload of money and see one of these used its mine. So purdy it could sound like ass and be worth the price!

Oh, Never mind the cardiod only one doesn't look like much more than a c1 with a paint job and a fancy shock mount. .



-Dusty

geekgurl, the GT mics are much more meaty-sounding than the KSM series. The KSM are clean, neutral mics. The GT's are colored and thick sounding, while still being neutral.

I like the GT's for anything rock, as they really help temper harsh, high-end transients. Great for OH's, amp and vocals. The KSM's are more clear and less versatile, IMO, and for the type of mic they are, I think they should record acoustic guitar better than than they do.

The KSM is more at home around acoustic-based music and vocalists, IMO. Shure seems to have an across the board in-your-face sound with all their mics. Not so good if you're looking for depth and imagery, and because of that I don't find them that amazing on drum OH's. But they're very good for getting certain sounds to the front of the mix easily.

Dot, How is clarity less versitle? I'm just wondering. I feel that I get pretty good representations of whatever I put in front of my KSM mics. Then I can effect them/color them as I wish.
Just wondering. It seems to me I have more control this way.
While I don't use mine for overheads. You've got me thinking.

JoeSixpack songs
" It looks just like a Telefunken U47. You'll love it"-FZ

j6p, clarity doesn't mean less versatility. I was comparing the KSM series to the GT series when I wrote, The KSM's are more clear and less versatile, IMO,

There are mics that are clear and more neutral, but also very versatile: The AKG 414, AT 40 series, DPA mics, Studio Projects B series. The reason why I feel the KSM series are less versatile is because 1. I haven't been that impressesed with them on acoustic guitar and 2. They do not translate much 3-dimensional imagery - which, IMO, makes them not necessarily the best mics for stereo use, like drum OH's.

I have heard some of the KSM's sound really good on vocals, especially female vox. The KSM's give a very close, intimate and up-front sound.

Speaking of OH mics, most of the mics being discussed so far are small condensers. In many cases I've been recommending large condensers for OH's. Here's from a post I made last year at homerec:

We played around in the studio the other day. We wanted to hear a bunch of mics on drum OH's. We ran an AKG D12 through a Manley SLAM! on kick and ran 15 or so mics through a Millennia HV-3D mic pre.

We only used a single mic on the OH positioned about 6' off the ground over the drummer's right foot. The conclusion of the session was that large condenser mics do such a better job of bringing out the entire kit.

The winners in order of preference where:

AKG 414 B-ULS picked this over the 414 TLII
Red5 Audio RV8 - very open and airy
Oktava MK-319 - excellent OH mic. Highly recommended. I think they're $99 now.
AT 4040 - another winner

Another mic I've heard on OH's that are great are Studio Projects B1

The AKG 451's we used made a good "cymbal" mic, but didn't pick up much detail from the kit and made the toms sound like paper.

The idea here is that most people in these forums are micing kits with less mics - which I actually recommend. Kick mic, snare mic and a pair of OH's are all you need in the way of mics for a great drum sound - as long as the kit and room sounds good and the drummer can play.

We later switched out the D12E kick drum mic with a Red5 Audio RVD1 - and everyone liked the RVD1 better.

Bottom line: If you're looking for OH mics, get a pair of large condensers. they pick up the entire kit much better than most small condensers. Of course, this is a generalization, but just don't assume that you need to get small condensers for OH's.

IMO, the clear hands down winner for a budget OH mic is the Oktava MK-319 and the Studio Projects B1 - both of which will run you less than $200 for a pair.

Thanks Dot. I know what you mean about acoustic. Placement seems extra picky, and I move when I play so...some low end junk gets to tape.

For overheads most recently we used MC-012s with the omni capsules. One was back over the snare aimed just above the top of the first tom, the other over the cymbals, and to the right.

In the past we used the AT-811s 'cause that's what we had. Those are what's on anything I've posted actually.

JoeSixpack songs
" It looks just like a Telefunken U47. You'll love it"-FZ

I've been using a pair of AT 4031s for drum overheads for the last 9-10? years with good results. They seem smooth and clear, crisp top end. They sounded much better than the akg c1000 when I was demoing mics. But I have never had the chance to use anything else. Used them on a trumpet once and I like it.
Darius

After reading Dot's post I can't wait till I have to record a drum kit again. I have mostly recorded the O/H's with SM81's or Earthworks SR71's and am really looking forward to putting my SP B-3's or C-1's to work. I don't record live drums enough and I just want to make sure that I get the cymbals. It would seem that with the thinner membrane that the B3's might be first choice for O/H's???

conga

“...that there’s something wrong with the world, you don’t know what it is, but it’s there...”

Morpheus – The Matrix

http://www.machinesound.com

Dot,
I was wondering, when you're micn'g with the large condensers, how are you positioning them?

Oh, and also the Oktava MK-319 I'm finding online go for around 325 each. The sp b1's are closer to 200 for a pair. I thought you might have meant the Oktava MK-219 but that also goes for over 300 each.

thanks

evt

quote:

Originally posted by evt:
Dot,
I was wondering, when you're micn'g with the large condensers, how are you positioning them?

Oh, and also the Oktava MK-319 I'm finding online go for around 325 each. The sp b1's are closer to 200 for a pair. I thought you might have meant the Oktava MK-219 but that also goes for over 300 each.

thanks

evt

Hey, ev, wazzup?!? How're things on The Island?

You may note, Dan was quoting that price for the MK319, um, five years ago.

I think I got mine for around that back then, before they became one of the chic babes of the modding craze. I modded mine, too ... probably frakked it up. I'm not a big fan.

Now, the SP B-1 is a whole 'nuther can o' beans, IMHO. I've had nice results with them on OH, and plan to use them on the high toms for a project I'll be tracking shortly.

I'm glad you dug this one up, evie, it gives me an excuse to go get a second AT4040! Now, there is one mic that's worth about three times its price.

mud

I'll second, the Red5 Audio mics, I use the RV 10's set up in Fig. 8, in a Blumlein position over the kit, going through a pair of Purple Audio BIZ mic preamps.
Very nice.