Suggestion for a Shure room mic?

[whitzmusic]

I'm personally a big fan of the Rode M5. Although the market is flooded with a lot of similar options, the M5 is super budget-friendly and just so good overall that it makes a lot of sense for any budget-conscious buyer of overhead mics.

[thismercifulfate]

When i use small-diaphragm condenser mics as room micsI do what Steve Albini likes to do and tape them to the floor, which makes them act more like boundry mics. But 90% of the time I much prefer to use the darkest pair of ribbon mics available, which are hopefully Coles 4038's or Royer 121's. On a budget, the cascade fatheads are awesome darkiish mics with some nice low-end heft. I like to position them low, like knee or shin level, because in many rooms the cymbals tend to project upwards and you get more drums down low. In most cases, you're already dealing with more cymbal sound than you want (especially from mic bleed), so I always try to minimize cymbals in my room mics. I love compressing my room mics, to make the room sound bigger than it is. If you don't have a big room, and you're using cardioid room mics, you can point the mics away from the kit and even put some kind of baffles between the mics and the kit. Or put them in another room.

And as a side-note brand loyalty is especially absurd when it comes to recording. Shure make good mics, but so do hundreds of other brands. Shure doesn't make a low-cost ribbon mic. Years ago they bought out a small company named Crowley & Tripp who made some realy cool, durable ribbon mics. They rebranded their mics to Shure KSM models and literally doubled their prices.

[Mike Foreman]

I agree with thismercifulfate on using cheap ribbon mics for rooms. I have a pair of Nady RSM-2s that do the job nicely and didn't break the bank. And yes, lower is better with room mics (just not too low, experiment to see where they sound best in your room).

[dexplosion]

I agree with thismercifulfate on using cheap ribbon mics for rooms. I have a pair of Nady RSM-2s that do the job nicely and didn't break the bank. And yes, lower is better with room mics (just not too low, experiment to see where they sound best in your room).

Hey Mike, what's your recording situation?
Do you have a thread?

[Mike Foreman]

Hey Mike, what's your recording situation?
Do you have a thread?

No, I do not have a thread on that. Coincidentally enough, though, I have been cataloging my entire drum/recording/mixing gear collection based on my wife's insistence that she needs to know what all I have in case I get run over by a bus & she has to sell things so I can tell you exactly what I am using:

Mics:
Bass Drum: Audix D6
Main Snare Top: Beyerdynamic M201TG
Main Snare Bottom, Side Snare Top/Bottom, & Timbale: Audix I5
Mounted Toms: Audix D2
Floor Toms: Audix D4
Overheads, Hi Hat, & Ride: Audix ADX51
Rooms: Nady RSM-2 (pair, seen in my prior post)

Interface/Expansions:
Focusrite Clarett 8PreX
Focusrite Clarett Octopre (2)

Laptop:
HP ZBook 15 (I found this used & bought it because it is one of the few Windows laptops with a Thunderbolt port)

I also have a bunch of other gear for vocal & guitar recording but I assume you are most interested in my drum recording gear. It's all in the box for me. I don't use any hardware compressors or EQs for drums (only use my hardware for vocals). My room is very small & I constantly fight it in my mixes, but it's what I have & I consider myself very fortunate to have it.

Below are a couple of pictures from my drum room & then a picture of my mixing desk. That's where it all happens for me. Sorry about the quality of the pictures. It is especially difficult to take good pictures behind the drums in my drum room, where my recording rack is. It's really tight & dark back there.

[dexplosion]

Watch out for them buses.

I have all my stuff listed out at the moment too.
I'm starting to sell some of my gear, and it helps to have everything in one place - well in one place written out on my computer.

[Mike Foreman]

Watch out for them buses.

I have all my stuff listed out at the moment too.
I'm starting to sell some of my gear, and it helps to have everything in one place - well in one place written out on my computer.

Yeah, I have put off taking this inventory for a long time but my wife is actually doing me a favor in asking me to do it. It's actually good that I know what I have & by extension, can sell. She wanted to know values on everything & that was where I drew the line. I figure it's best for me that she only figures out how much I've spent after my death!

[Johnboy]

If you're really set on Shure then any LDC from their PGA or mid range lines will suffice. Room mics for me are usually slammed by a compressor and a room verb with 20ms of pre-delay so the processing negates the need for an expensive "color" or clean LDC. In fact sometimes the cheaper ldcs sound cool and you get some interesting sounds to work with.

[Boy_Narf]

hey folks. Found a set of KSM 141's for a killer deal went ahead and picked them. Will report back after the next recording session.

[dexplosion]

hey folks. Found a set of KSM 141's for a killer deal went ahead and picked them. Will report back after the next recording session.

I'd be interested to know how they compare to your SM81s.

[Drumming-4-Life]

No, I do not have a thread on that. Coincidentally enough, though, I have been cataloging my entire drum/recording/mixing gear collection based on my wife's insistence that she needs to know what all I have in case I get run over by a bus & she has to sell things so I can tell you exactly what I am using:

Mics:
Bass Drum: Audix D6
Main Snare Top: Beyerdynamic M201TG
Main Snare Bottom, Side Snare Top/Bottom, & Timbale: Audix I5
Mounted Toms: Audix D2
Floor Toms: Audix D4
Overheads, Hi Hat, & Ride: Audix ADX51
Rooms: Nady RSM-2 (pair, seen in my prior post)

Interface/Expansions:
Focusrite Clarett 8PreX
Focusrite Clarett Octopre (2)

Laptop:
HP ZBook 15 (I found this used & bought it because it is one of the few Windows laptops with a Thunderbolt port)

I also have a bunch of other gear for vocal & guitar recording but I assume you are most interested in my drum recording gear. It's all in the box for me. I don't use any hardware compressors or EQs for drums (only use my hardware for vocals). My room is very small & I constantly fight it in my mixes, but it's what I have & I consider myself very fortunate to have it.

Below are a couple of pictures from my drum room & then a picture of my mixing desk. That's where it all happens for me. Sorry about the quality of the pictures. It is especially difficult to take good pictures behind the drums in my drum room, where my recording rack is. It's really tight & dark back there.

Very cool set-up Mike. I have some of your toys, but not all of them. I don't think I will be getting a second OctoPre. I'm pretty sure I will pick up my kit well with the 14 mics. If I need to add a mic for the ride, and one for the timbale, I will, but they are both so loud, I think they will pick up fine with the overheads. We'll see. I have 2 additional inputs if I need them.

[RG1820X]

hey folks. Found a set of KSM 141's for a killer deal went ahead and picked them. Will report back after the next recording session.

That is what I have been using to mic my hi-hat and ride. I really like them.