The Shure SM58.

[Jeff Dunne]

Re: The Shure SM58.

Total +1 here, although nothing beats an SM57 on a snare drum IMO.

Ever heard a Neumann KM86i on top and an SM98 on the bottom? :bowdown:

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: The Shure SM58.

Ever heard a Neumann KM86i on top and an SM98 on the bottom? :bowdown:

I am too lazy to mic the same drum twice - the phasing issues would drive me bananas. :banana: I'll take your word for it.

 

[Jeff Dunne]

Re: The Shure SM58.

I am too lazy to mic the same drum twice - the phasing issues would drive me bananas. :banana: I'll take your word for it.

Really? I find it fairly necessary to mic top and bottom - mix the bottom in lower for a nice crack - adds a great body and a bit of attack to the snare. You can just check phase in mono with some headphones before recording, or flip it afterwards - most DAW's these days have a phase reversal.

Or hell, line it up by hand LOL.

 

[myxolidian]

Re: The Shure SM58.

i use an audio-technica 2020 and it really sounds great...

+1

I'm surprised more people don't mention this mic when mentioning cheap condensers. I think it sounds great. Pretty flat frequency response and what I hear is what it picks up. Great for amps and vocals. And for $100 it's a great deal.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: The Shure SM58.

Really? I find it fairly necessary to mic top and bottom - mix the bottom in lower for a nice crack - adds a great body and a bit of attack to the snare. You can just check phase in mono with some headphones before recording, or flip it afterwards - most DAW's these days have a phase reversal.

Or hell, line it up by hand LOL.

Don't tell me how to check phase, boy! I was checkin' phase when you were still poopin' your underpants!!!

My problem is that my ears are too picky. I can hear when two mic's are even a TEENY bit out of phase and it bothers the crap out of me! Even worse is when I get the positioning just right, then the lead-footed drummer hits his kick so hard it nudges the mic stands out of place. Bah! Most of the time I can't be bothered. I keep my drum mic'ing as simple as possible.

I think a lot of engineers are too anal about a lot of things like drum mic placement and selection nowadays. "When The Levee Breaks" was recorded with a single mic hanging in a stairwell, and that is one of the best freakin' drum sounds of all time.

Anyway, thread hijack over.

 

[Jeff Dunne]

Re: The Shure SM58.

Don't tell me how to check phase, boy! I was checkin' phase when you were still poopin' your underpants!!!

My problem is that my ears are too picky. I can hear when two mic's are even a TEENY bit out of phase and it bothers the crap out of me! Even worse is when I get the positioning just right, then the lead-footed drummer hits his kick so hard it nudges the mic stands out of place. Bah! Most of the time I can't be bothered. I keep my drum mic'ing as simple as possible.

I think a lot of engineers are too anal about a lot of things like drum mic placement and selection nowadays. "When The Levee Breaks" was recorded with a single mic hanging in a stairwell, and that is one of the best freakin' drum sounds of all time.

Anyway, thread hijack over.

Hahaha perfectly understandable - Definitely agree with the engineer's being too picky comment. There are just a couple tricks that you need to apply depending on the genre (blanket over kicks in metal, cotton balls in toms for pop, etc) and then just get the damn drummer to get a good take in.

 

[Rich_T]

Re: The Shure SM58.

Don't tell me how to check phase, boy! I was checkin' phase when you were still poopin' your underpants!!!

My problem is that my ears are too picky. I can hear when two mic's are even a TEENY bit out of phase and it bothers the crap out of me! Even worse is when I get the positioning just right, then the lead-footed drummer hits his kick so hard it nudges the mic stands out of place. Bah! Most of the time I can't be bothered. I keep my drum mic'ing as simple as possible.

I think a lot of engineers are too anal about a lot of things like drum mic placement and selection nowadays. "When The Levee Breaks" was recorded with a single mic hanging in a stairwell, and that is one of the best freakin' drum sounds of all time.

Anyway, thread hijack over.

word! I do a sound engineering degree at uni, and its so much like that. All this technology and theory, but nothing to actually give you the performance of a lifetime down on tape.