Overhead mics?
 

I'm about to purcahse a new pair of overheads to record drums with. I know everyone will have a different opinion, but from the forum posts I've seen today on other sites this needs to be brought up again everynow and then.

What mics do you use for drum overheads? How/Where do you palce the mics?

Any tricks you've come up with when mixing etc?

I'm looking at buying a pari of Oktava MK-012.....anyone had any experience with these? Or would I be better served purchasing Rode NT5's?

Re: Overhead mics?
 

I hav THESE @ my Memphis spot(even The Mad Brad likes 'em:D) & we hav c414's @ the Nashville spot...

Room takes a huge part in it & there are really not much tricks needed in mixing when tracked well...

Re: Overhead mics?
 

I have the Oktavas, they're ok. I'll leave it at that. If you want depth and tone I'd go with the Rode. After purchasing my first Rode (NT2A) I've fallen in love with their products.

Re: Overhead mics?
 

I hav the RODE K2 & 2 NT1a's but never used those on drums before...

Re: Overhead mics?
 

Ive used several but as far as bang for the buck.

I use the Mike J. modded MK-012 and its a reaaaaally good buy. Have Rodes, AKG, Nuemann, AT, and this one is a go to for me and overheads. Captures sound as flat as 160's. Dead flat. What you hear is what you get.

Drum Overheads
Classical Guitars
Solo Orchestral instruments
Acoustic guitar
Cab mics for things like Fender Jazzmaster, Old Princeton amps, etc.
Choir overheads especially w/ Omni capsules

By that fact allone it responds really well to eq and so forth. They arent dark or bright but very balanced.

And with the interchangable capsules its has diffenent flavors to work with.

Best bang for the buck. Best money youll spend in that catergory.

google oktavamod and see.

Re: Overhead mics?
 

Thanks for the reply.

I've been looking at the Oktavamod site a bit as well trying to gauge if that mod is worth it...so thanks for your opinion.

I'm also looking at the Shinybox ribbon mics. From everything I've read about them they seem good too. Too much gear too little money I guess.

I know the mics I'm looking at probably don't compare all that favouribly with the high end stuff, however I'm not at pro at this and have a budget to work with.

I've been using a pair of rode NT5s borrowed from a mate on all my recent recordings for overhead and random condensors for room mics (just for fun). the sound was ok, albeit quite shrill. this may have everything to do with how and where I'm placing the mics too.

I'm leaning towards ribbon mics that I may be able to use on other applications as I just like the mid frequency better. Doesn't sound so harsh to me.

Re: Overhead mics?
 

I've used Rode NT5s for a few years now, and just got some AKG C-451Bs.
If you need a really crisp sound, I go with the NT5s, and for a darker, more mellow sound, I use the AKGs.
As for placement, I've always stuck with a spaced pair, one over the HH side, one over the Ride side, recorded to a stereo track.
When mixing, I usually do a parallel compression on the overheads, especially if I want more room sound.
Other than that, all I can say is to have really good sounding drums to start with.

Re: Overhead mics?
 

spaced pair, large cap or active ribbon

and or my SM-2 center over the snare X/Y or M/S

Re: Overhead mics?
 

Do you have a good sounding room? If so take a look at the cascae fatheads. Probably the best bang for buck in audio at the moment (but you really do need a good room).

Also, what kind of music do you do and do you have a preferred kind of sound? You really need to think about your goal before choosing mics IMO.

There's a zillion different placement techniques. I often use the Andy Johns method. Google it.

Re: Overhead mics?
 

I've been recording anything from Jazz to hard rock recently. I understand that there is a decent difference between how the two kits should be mic'ed etc. Unfortunately my budget only goes as far as one set of overheads.

I'm down to the modded Oktavas, or a set of Shinybox ribbons with one of the two upgraded transformers.