Drum set mic configuration/choices

[bpence310]

Hi everyone. I currently have a DW performance series drum kit (22" kick, 14" snare, 10/12/14/16 toms, hi-hat, 4 cymbals). I currently have it mic'd as follows: Kick - Beta 52 outside/Beta 91A inside, Snare - SM57 top and bottom, Hi-Hat: SM-57, Toms: 4 Presonus tom mics, Overheads/Rooms: Modified MXL990/770 mics with the kits from microphone-parts.com to put K67/K47 LDC and new circuitry inside.

I guess my question is, are there any better ideas for mics for a great sound? I am finally pretty happy with the sound, overall, but I know there are always better options. Just wanted to see what others have done/are doing to see what I might be missing.

[cryophonik]

People have gotten amazing results with fewer and lower quality mics, so I’d say that’s a pretty good setup. You could certainly spend more for incrementally improved mics and sound quality, but you’re probably already at the point of diminishing returns. What are you using for preamps?

[RunBeerRun]

Back before I was using electronic drums I had an acoustic drumset and just used Radio Shack mics and some headphones taped onto some drums for extra mics. Sounded awesome!

A preamp is always a big help no matter what you've spent so far.

Don't compare your audio to mainstream music, those were all made by robots anyways.

[thecontrolcentre]

I've gotten great results using just 2 mics ... one (Audio Technica or Tandy) in front of the kit pointing at the kick and another (SM68) directly above the snare at overhead height. Makes mixing really simple.

[bpence310]

Cryophonic, I have a Soundcraft UI24r that I use primarily as an audio interface, so everything runs through that. The pre-amps are decent in it. I have thought about getting external preamps, but from what I've read, the ones in the UI24r are decent enough that it wouldn't be much better. As you said, kind of at the diminishing returns point.

[cryophonik]

I've never used that particular Soundcraft model, but I've used some of the cheaper Soundcraft mixing boards in the past and I've always liked their preamps. The specs say that the UI24r has Studer-designed mic pres, so I've got to imagine that they're far more than adequate for the job.