Drum mics

flatout

Just wondered whether any of you might be able to help:

Are SM57s much cop when it comes to mic'ing toms?

Have been using a 57 on the snare for ages, and am happy with it, but now that we're getting louder I'm going to need to mic the remainder of the drums. What's optimal?

Thanks in advance!

guitarfishbay

Fine but Audix D2/4 and Sennheiser e604/904 types are easier to place due to being shorter. Might be worth looking at those as well.

PolarityMan

I've used them before in the studio, even used a single SM57 between 2 rack toms in a pinch.

Danny1969

57's are nice for Toms but the 904's guitarfishbay mentions are a better bet as they pick up less spill from the cymbals and are smaller and thus harder for the drummer to hit. 

If you do go down the 57 route make *shure* they are genuine, there are so many fakes about now and externally they are hard to spot. I recently repaired some fake 57's and externally the fakes looked better than the real thing in finish but broke because the internal tiny coil  wires weren't routed properly

kennedydream1980

The drummer in my band uses SM57's on his toms and they sound great, very meaty and full sounding, but he has to gaffer tape the black swivel windscreens as he has a habit of catching them when playing, if you do hit one the plastic windscreen tends to shatter into a thousand pieces!! :-)

flatout

Thanks for the information all - I could try and get our drummer to be careful - how do you rate my chances?!

trolley

Get him to buy my drum mic set

maltingsaudio

To be honest get a set RVD9's from Red 5 http://www.red5audio.com/acatalog/Drum_Kit_Mics.html junk the clips they supply and get some decent ones. Used them for years only put the 604s out when specced or space really tight. They also sound great under the snare

mike257

I'd go 604 for toms, or 904 if budget allows. Use them week in week out, always do the job and still the least fiddly to attach of all the different clamp mechanisms I've tried.

I honestly wouldn't go for anything that needs a stand for live Tom mics, just too much faffing about and too much extra floor space and setup time.

flatout

This is all dead useful - thanks a lot!

Cirrus

Use MD421s - not because they sound any good, but if you ever have to make a quick escape after a terrible set or need to launch a barrage of matter at an attacking crowd you can just push the "quick launch" button on the mounting system to have them shoot off in whatever direction you point them.

Seriously though, for live use I strongly suggest something small and rim-clippable. Beyond that, any subtleties in mic tone are going to be completely lost in the sound variables gig-to-gig.