n this post we’ll have some fun with a single, cheap ribbon mic that was placed over the kit, and sounded fantastic! With some processing, it adds a great “smack” to the snare drum, and overall funky vibe to the kit.

17
Mar
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By: Joe Dochtermann
Categories: Home Recording

In this post we’ll have some fun with a single, cheap ribbon mic that was placed over the kit, and sounded fantastic! With some processing, it adds a great “smack” to the snare drum, and overall funky vibe to the kit:

I forgot to post some pictures of the microphone setup. I will make another short post out of that, for easier reference. But for now,here is a snapshot that the band took while tracking drums, showing the ribbon mic over the kit:

This is an easy, great sounding addition to a drum recording, whether at home or in a professional studio. The ribbon mic is the very inexpensive Nady RSM-4 (also known in Europe as the T.Bone RB-500, Pronomic RM-1, or Fame Classic.) – which is the same microphone as the Cascade Fathead! Cascade works over the mics, giving them a logo, a case, checking ribbon tension (a good added value), and tacking on a higher price tag. In any case, the chea $75 Nady version does the job.

If all I had was that mic and a pair of Shure SM-57’s, I’d be able to track drums. Seriously – for a funky kit sound, you could do a lot worse. That setup might not work for a prog metal track that needs crisp, close mic’ed kit pieces, but for a pop, blues, jazz, or rootsy-rock track, it would be more than OK. ’57 on kick, ’57 on snare, ribbon over the kit: total cost $250 in microphones. A ’57 wouldn’t be my first choice for kick, but it has been used on records before (kick drum on the RHCP “Blood Sugar Sex Magic”), and everyone has one around. So, why not?