Mic'ing Congas

[mattydinx]

Hi all,

 

Just a bit of a query regarding Conga drums.

 

I'm doing sound for a band this Saturday who have requested a pair to be mic'd up, but I was just wondering what solution to use.

 

My experience of conga's; they have been quite large, and can easily be loud enough for 350 seater venues, but they claim theirs wont be heard. So....

 

Do I Mic similar to toms on a drum kit? - aimed at the skin or, Mic from below to get a deeper sound or something else (possibly both solutions?)

 

All responses appreciated.

 

Cheers

[J Pearce]

Congas have a fair bit of hi frequency content too, so think about using a capacitor. There was a good article on Sound On Sound a few months back covering this. I'll post back when I've found it.

 

[edit]

 

Found it, unless you have the December 06 issue of Sound on Sound or an a esubscriber it will cost you a whole 99p to dowload the pdf though.

 

Link to article

[MarkPAman]

Inside or underneath is too "boomy" usually. I mike from the top just like a tom (SM 57, e604 etc). One percussionist I know likes to move to the front for some songs, so we use claws for that, and the mikes goes with him.

[Bobbsy]

I like a small diaphram condensor (AKG 451 or 391 for me, but there are lots of others out there) placed above and slightly in front of the congas. Unless you're going for super-high SPLs, you don't need to get too close and will get a more natural sound from a couple of feet away.

 

Bob

[whitlock]

Iv found that a Small diaphragm capacitor mic about 6-8" away from the drums, over the rims - pointing towards the middle of the pair works quite well.

Iv never had anyone hit one there yet! and the sound has been very natural and balanced, for your information I have used an AKG 5900 for this.

[colebrooke]

Hi

Whichever mic you select, you shouldn't have too many problems with the mic positions suggested above. You -can- mic from below, pointed up at the skin, but it does need careful EQ otherwise it will boom. You do get a bit more SPL into the mic, however. If your stage volume is high, (for example if the congas are near a loud drummer) the player may need to have a bit of their instrument in the monitors. That's when a condensor that's not close enough to the skin might give you gain before feedback issues. Best solution is to reduce the stage volume of course...!

 

In terms of mic choice, I've had good results with SM57 placed in close (in a loud band environment). I've also used various condensors to good effect.

 

Hope it goes well for you!

 

Justin

[paulears]

I'd go with the small condensors as although dynamics work (I have to say I've used 57's quite a few times) sometimes you get some really amazing players who do all sorts of wierd things with their thumbs - kind of fast flams, but not too loud - There is quite a bit of top on congas - apart from the fundamental skin tone, there are lots of percussive elements that kind of 'chuff' - can't really describe it. I know one guy who mics top and bottom, and swears by it - I've not tried that - to be honest, it's just a little too much for me to do. I've a pair of the cheap chinese thomann condensers - and they sound really nice - and, seem quite 'stage proof'.

[TAG1960]

I like a small diaphram condensor (AKG 451 or 391 for me, but there are lots of others out there) placed above and slightly in front of the congas. Unless you're going for super-high SPLs, you don't need to get too close and will get a more natural sound from a couple of feet away.

 

Bob

 

451s can be prone to overloading if your congo player is a little enthusiastic!!! Dynamics such as SM 57or MD 421 work quite well and give plenty of headroom for the unexpected!

 

Good Luck

 

Neil

[StevieR]

Personally I always use either SM57 or Beta57 mics, one per conga, pointed at the heads at about 45 degrees with about 4" clearance. You can also use Sennheiser e604's.

 

Steve

[Bobbsy]

451s can be prone to overloading if your congo player is a little enthusiastic!!! Dynamics such as SM 57or MD 421 work quite well and give plenty of headroom for the unexpected!

 

True with the basic 451, but for any drum use I'd tend to put on the A50 10/20dB attenuator insert which seems to eliminate the problem. Later versions have switched attenuation instead of the insert.

 

As has been pointed out, there's a lot of high end on the conga sound and (personal taste here) I like the way an SDC reproduces it.

 

Bob