S&L Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 This one is causing me sleepless nights and it's something I haven't tackled before. a 3 band rock show in a week and a half and two bands have confirmed their drummers provide backing vocals...I thought someone was taking the mick but apparently not!So with no budget and a handful or 58's and 57's along with other assorted lesser mics, I am wondering how to mic these drummers, given that I already have a bass drum mics' 2 overhead mics and a backline nearby that is mic'ed. my gut instinct is to use something dead like an AKGD190 I hae laying around and rummage around to see if I can find something to gate it - but quite honestly this is beyond my experience level so I am looking for some low tech and/or low cost suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I'd assume the bands have had to jump this hurdle when they play elsewhere so why not just ask them what they prefer to use? Perhaps they could even bring along their favourite mics if it's something exotic. FYI, my go to mic for singing drummers is the Audix OM7 which is pretty my built for this application. I understand you don't have a budget but a week's rental would be something like £10--if you can find one at all. The other option might be a headset mic--if you have any lavs, it's actually pretty easy to build a home made headset out of coathanger wire and heat shrink tubing--you just have to experiment with positioning to get the mic as close as possible to the mouth without getting to much breath noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete10uk Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I have been recently engineering for a local band night, this is outside my corporate conference comfort zone so I have been feeling my way through. A couple of bands have requested drumming vocals and I'didnt give it a second thought, just placed a 58 on a boom stand and let the drummer position it. Good results with no issues, first couple of nights this ran un gated but to clean it up I now stick this through a gate. The drummer from a particular band even commented how much he enjoyed playing here because his part sounds great. They've been back 4 or 5 times now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichM Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Shure Beta 56 is my first choice. Hypercardiod pattern for (slightly!) less spill from the kit, plus it's nice and compact so doesn't get in the way quite as much as a 58. As long as the drummer sings fairly loudly (which they tend to do, due to where they are) you can gate it pretty tightly, further reducing clutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjadingle Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Further to help with placement issues - might be worth investing in a gooseneck. Saves drummer hitting stand with a wayward stick and going straight through the PA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Siddons Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 As per Petes reply let the drummer position the mic himself. I prefer to use a 57 or Beta 57 here as the pick up pattern is slightly smaller. Gating can be tricky in this situation as the proximity of the snare can render any vocal gating unworkable, but providing you pay attention to levels in his monitor all should be good. Do also use a decent quality mic stand as many singing drummers have a habit of pushing the mic out of the way when not singing and with that goes the stand! My personal bete noir BTW is left handed singing drummers on a multiple band night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Well said about the mic stand, Doug, I tend to use a sandbag or two borrowed from the Lx guys on the base of the stand to make absolutely sure it goes nowhere. When you all speak of gating, are you using a hard gate, or a downward expander that slowly fades it out, as it were? David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 If they can actually sing - as in have volume, then a 58/Beta58 would be the easiest choice, although I do a lot of work with a Beach Boys band where the drummer sings the falsetto part and oddly, a 57 works really well - touching his lips. If they are a bit blast, then the original open foam windshields they use to come with are pretty good - or just buy a cheap closed foam one and use that. Personally, I hate gates for drummers who sing because as they open and close, the kits sound changes as you've got another overhead - but a closer one! I like to bring up the vocal mic, do the usual eq for the drummers voice, then leave it up and eq and balance the overheads to use this 'sound'. Then you don't have to worry about the sound changing when the vocal mic closes - and even worse, sometimes drum vocal mics open on enthusiastic tom hits and this sounds horrible - so for me, it's normal fader control for the vocals and no gate. The only time I have had to use a gate is where the drummer, moves the mic right out of the way in songs he doesn't sing on, but even then, if I have the chance to plan, I'll still try to avoid the gate. It's too easy to start to get a Phil Collins kit when you don't want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peza2010 Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 BETA 57 would be my low budget choice. without spending silly money, and without making the drummer look like britney - its about as good as it will get.Your always going to get spill from the drums, just by the nature of what they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichM Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 My personal bete noir BTW is left handed singing drummers on a multiple band night! A couple of months back I did a night with 4 bands, 2 of which had left handed drummers. The promoter in their wisdom ordered the bands so we had to move the kit around every single time http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/mad.gif http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerry davies Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Just like Paul, a 57 on a boom stand, no gooseneck (they confuse drummers who unscrew them when moving them around), no gate and mute it when they go all Animal/Keith Moon. Always make best use of what you have got before looking to solve problems you do not yet have. KISS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldradiohand Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 SM58, stage weight/sandbagged stand, judicious use of the fader. I don't think I'd use a gate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlfaudio Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 A normal 58 should be fine so long as you keep it off axis to the snare. As other folk have said, a gooseneck can be handy for this. I'll usually explain to the drummer that the kit will sound better if the mic is positioned with the back pointing to the snare; it will inevitably move at some point during the set and you'll likely not be able to get to the stage to reposition.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dboomer Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 A lot of this depends on how loud the drum set is (but they are always loud ... aren't they?). If your biggest concern is leakage from the drum kit into the vocal mic the best solution I have ever used is a Crown CM 311a. It is a differential type mic and is essentially dead to everything once you get more than about 6 inches from it. Everything else I've ever used (including most of the mics thus far recommended) will end up giving you as much sound from the drum kit as from the vocalist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S&L Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 I have just checked back in and picked up all the replies and I really do appreciate those wiser heads - I'm mulling possibilities at the moment and looking for a sandbag! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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