Budget Tom mics

[dickiefunk]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy three Tom mics for live use and have a budget of up to £60 per mic. My PA is a pair of Yamaha DXR15's over a pair of QSC KW181's with an A&H QU-PAC for the mixer. Normally I only mic up the kick and occasionally snare and use an MXL A55 for kick and AKG D40 for snare. The A55 is a superb kick drum mic and chose it over an Audix D6 and AKG D112. The D40 sounds great on snare and sounds less boxy than an SM57. For most gigs this is normally enough but on the odd occasion the toms could maybe do with being miked but not on a regulat basis. As I'm not going to be using them very often, I don't really want to spend a lot of money on them.Having had a quick look around, I'm interested in the Pulse D606 (possibly the same as the DV Fame MS604 and Thomann CD55?), Studiospares SD106, Thomann CD56 Beta, AKG D40 and EV PL35.I've heard lots of positive experiences with the Pulse D606 mics saying they offer excellent value for money but the Thomann CD56 is meant to be a step up in sound and build quality!? Does anyone know how the Pulse D606 mic compares to an AKG D40?

What would you recommend??

 

[psychosoundman]

............ be careful using "budget" mics (or for that matter any "budget" equipment) as you have an excellent pair of speakers in the DXR15's.

 

I understand you are working on a budget, no shame in that, however I would personally pay a little more for better quality mics (ie Shure SM57's).

 

#1 They will serve you longer as they are made better and can take the knocks

 

#2 They will give better sound, and easier to tune

 

#3 Acts will not question "industry standard" mics

 

I'm in no way saying 'cheaper' mics cannot do the same job, I'm just suggesting something akin to a Shure SM57 would be much better, even though more expensive - look at it as an investment.

 

I have used the cheaper versions of the Shure/EV/Sennheiser/AKG brands (they all make them) and had no end of problems, from savage "EQing" to total failure during the gig!

 

just keep in mind that old adage - "you pay for what you get!"

[alistermorton]

Haven't there been favourable reviews on here for the Red5 drum mic kits?

[paulears]

I have sold hundreds of the D606 mics and they are amazing value, and work extremely well.

 

For the price it's a no brainer. There is NO problem eq'ing them, and in fact, they respond quite well to musical eq - not problem solving eq. They work well too on bodrhans and other percussion - even bongos if you can get them mounted properly -but even on a stand they're good. Compared to the smaller Sennheisers which they are obviously modelled on, they are duller, and slightly less sensitive - but that's rarely an issue.

 

What is bad? Nothing really, but the clamp can be tricky on the older thin rimmed drums - like some of the old Premiers where the hoop has a fully curved shape, rather that the type that has two parallel surfaces that then go into the round. The mating surface of the clamp needs parallel metal to clamp to, or it falls off.

 

In the band we have two sets of these, and they match the drummers tone and style really well. One set is older and has been on the damp and wet gigs for years now - long before CPC sold them. The polycarbonate shell is well bashed and gouged, and all the grills have gone rusty - however, sounds wise, we don't even notice a difference. If you need to, they can be used on kick too with a bit of constructive eq - but only for front or mid mounting. If you put them next to the beater head they bottom out with a nasty click. half way back or further works in an emergency.

 

For the price - they beat the other similar ones often sold as part of the drum set packages. For me, when I was buying direct from the manufacturer, they were a good margin product. Now CPC sell to anyone, I make less than the postage cost on each one - I see CPCs method, but it killed a lot of products for me.

[Alec]

If you want a mic for toms, you'll get all sorts of recommendations: e604, e904, D4, SM57, and so on. If you want a *budget* mic for toms, the d606 is what everyone keeps coming back to recommending - not sure why you'd even need to ask again...

 

I too have never tired of singing the praises of the D606 after I was introduced to them. And never rejected by any acts, up to reasonably high level.

 

I'd immediately throw away the clips and replace them with AT8665

 

A few years ago, the mic & clip together would have set you back just under £20 - a no brainer. Now it's more like £30.

 

If money were no object, a set of e904s would be lovely, but waaay too much money.

 

SM57 - indestructable? I think not! That grille becomes a consumable. Not to mention the bulk and more awkward mounting compared with a straightforward clip on for live work.

 

Beta98 - sounds lovely, pricey, easily damaged.

 

D4 - sounds great, but mounting is a bit of a palaver again.

 

The Red5 drum mic set is OK, but doesn't have the best mounts either (I tried it years ago and it went back). Plus you're buying a whole set, which you don't need.

 

And, as ever, the best thing you can do to optimise the drum sound is to get a properly tuned kit in the first place.

[GaryNattrass]

I always find it quite amusing with drum mic's for tom toms and those d606 are what I am looking at buying as they will probably be quite acceptable.

 

I recall that THE mic that was most prevalent for a while was actually a lump of large plastic that was designed to be an in-vision TV presentation mic several decades ago.

 

Of course I refer to the Sennheiser MD421 and of course the even uglier mic the 441 was also a snare drum fave for a few years.

 

I was once told that the MD421 was initially chosen for it ability to be hit by the monkey with the sticks rather than the sound they made.

 

Oh well so much for the reasons and we always used a Neuman U87 on the kick in TV land of the 80's and AKG 451 with -10db pads for pretty much everything else.

[S&L]

budget drum mics.

I have the d606 under thomann's badge - CD55 - they are OK - nothing more. I have a set on the van that I use for extra large kits, secondary percussion etc. the clips are decent and drummers seem to get on with them - I have always been worried about them breaking since they are plastic but they never have and no one else seems to have problems with them

 

Red5 - You cant go wrong with the tom mic itself and if you call them they will sell you the mics separately - I seem to remember the last one I had off them was a single for £20 - they sound better than the d606 IMO and they are bomb proof - but their clips are a waste of time and you would have to buy the pulse/thomann clips which is what I use with mine - never leave home without them and if there is nothing else on the van or if I need extra mics they are my go to BEFORE I start on the box of thomann mics.

 

thomann CD56 beta - on a par with Red5, I have one in my 'go to' box and it sounds ever so slightly airier than the red5 but otherwise on a par - you would be hard pushed to tell the difference.

 

these days I'm using the red5 for budget gigs (read - where I don't think the drummer can hit straight) and D2 for the decent gigs.

 

Re snare mics - if I'm up against it a red5 will do but it's not great - an sm57 is marginally better but to be honest I'm in the process of clearing out anything that even looks like might be a 57 - too thin and others have said not indestructible - I recently started using the i5 and if someone would car to sponsor me I would have a box full - putting an i5 on a snare for the first time was a revelation - so I would say but red5's for toms, splash out on an i5 for snare and be prepared for a broad grin the first time you lift the fader on it.

 

[dickiefunk]

Thanks for the replies guys! Very helpful!

I can buy the D606 under DV247's Fame MS604 at £45 for three! This seems like a complete bargain!

The Red5 mics look great and the RVD9 Tom mic appears to cost £25 including drum mount clip.

How would you describe the difference in tone between the CD55 and Red5 RVD9? Also is there any noticeable difference in output between the mics and bleed rejection from other drums?

I've heard the Audix i5 on snare and agree it sounds excellent but the AKG D40 is working fine for the moment.

Thanks

[paulears]

I bought a bunch of those red versions direct from the factory that had been screen printed wrong. They all said they were bass drum mics! The bass drum mics were labelled tom tom! They are of course metal not plastic, and sound exactly like the sm58 counterfeits that appear to all share a common cardioid capsule. So they sound like the cheap Behringer hand helps, and the others sharing the same capsule. On drums, not bad at all really. I would have bought more but once the faulty printing ones went, the price went up, and the 606 was then better value. If you can order 500, the manufacturer Yoga will put any name you like on them. They are not interested at all in smaller quantities and the best prices need 1000. They did supply me a sample of one model of 50. Took a year to sell them at 50 quid each. Difficult to make decent money on cheap mics any longer as Thomann and CPC wipe it out. My best margin one went from two or three a day to zero when Thomann found them and sold them for less than I was paying!

[dickiefunk]

So I guess it boils down to 3x MS604 for £45 or 3x RVD9 for £75 if Red5 sells them individually!?

If I wasn't on a limited budget I'd be going for Beyerdynamic Opus 87 (or current equivalent), Sennheiser E604 or Audix D2 but these cost 5-6 times the price!!

 

 

[Alec]

Remember, with drum mics, the sound is only part of the picture. There's a lot to do with ergonomics.

 

The clip is a huge factor. Get a rubbish clip and you'll curse it forever - especially when it falls off or breaks.

 

Also, don't discount size - some of the budget mics are quite a bit longer than others, which can make or break being able to fit them in awkward positions, like under cymbals. Right angle XLRs help here too...

[dickiefunk]

Yes that's a good point!

I'm feeling pretty torn at the moment as I had the full rig out last night and am really liking how good it is sounding at the moment. My current kick and snare mics sound excellent and I don't really want to compromise on quality but am only going to be using the mics a few times a year. All the other mics I use (Sennheiser E9xx series, Audio Technica vocal condensers and JZ HH1) are all quality mics and I don't really want to lower the standard a lot but don't know if I can justify spending 5x more on mics that will only get used occasionally!?

[S&L]

Yes that's a good point!

I'm feeling pretty torn at the moment as I had the full rig out last night and am really liking how good it is sounding at the moment. My current kick and snare mics sound excellent and I don't really want to compromise on quality but am only going to be using the mics a few times a year. All the other mics I use (Sennheiser E9xx series, Audio Technica vocal condensers and JZ HH1) are all quality mics and I don't really want to lower the standard a lot but don't know if I can justify spending 5x more on mics that will only get used occasionally!?

 

It's horses for courses - engineers can get too hung up on mics - put the money where it matters most so for a standard band set up I would say - decent di's (orchid) good vocal mics, then kick and snare mics, half decent condensers for hi hats and overheads where needed - and probably the money you need to spend least on is guitar cabs (I find rvd30's are better than 57s at less than half price) and then toms ..toms after all are just something that pleasantly go 'thud' or 'bong' or some permutation there of at the end of a verse or chorus - they aren't singing an opera and I wouldn't be thinking about spending as much on a tom mic as on a vocal mic. by the time you have gated them up and eq'ed them to stop them sounding like a rank gong (dependant on just how bad the drummer is at tuning) you don't really need brilliant quality for what's left.

 

here is a video of 'Elvis' last year - I did this with all red5 tom mics (including snare) d112 on kick and thomann em700 (cheap as chips) on overheads and hi-hat wind forward to 43.30 as that song has plenty of tom rolls - alas video is just a cheap camera on tripod - sound from the room not the desk but it's enough to give you some comfort re the red5's - for a few times a year I wouldn't be spending any more than the set demoe'd here.

[dickiefunk]

Yes my other gear is up to a decent standard. I use Orchid Classic DI's and have a pair of Rode NT55's SDC's along with the other stuff I mentioned earlier.

The toms are my least crucial part but I don't want poor performing mics. How do the various mics I've mentioned compare regarding bleed from the rest of the kit? The Sennheiser E604's that I've used have very good isolation.

[dickiefunk]

How does the Red5 RVD9 compare to the CD55/Pulse d606 regarding tone and rejection of bleed from other drums? Also, how does the output of these mics compare?

I'm still torn between going the budget option or getting some more AKG D40's or EV PL35's. I think the Sennheiser e604's are to expensive for me to justify.