All microphones sounded great. The real winner is that “over right shoulder” microphone position. Beautiful, clean recording with slight room sound. And definitely let’s you hear the room a little too, whilst still getting punch from the drums.
Some heavy hitters in this line-up! Honorable mentions for me are AT5045 and United FET47. BUT that COLES 4038 takes the cake and the cherry. It is mind-blowing on the drums but also compliments the cymbals wonderfully. Thanks once again!
Same here. 4038 sounded so natural. All sorts of extra tones and detail in the snare, plus that extra oomph in the lows. Would be my choice for most uses.
Great shootout for this unusual mic position. Very inspiring. I would say most mics sounded surprisingly good and well balanced (ofc, top tier playing, tuning and cymbal selection is a big factor). My only problem with most of them was the very pronounced attack on the floor Tom. The c414 and the Coles were the only ones that managed to capture a fantastic sound on that the entire playthrough as well imo
@@TheMqyable It's a ribbon mic so it has a much warmer sound than condensers or other types of dynamic mics. Usually it wouldn't be a good idea to put a ribbon mic close to a kick because they're delicate and the sound pressure could damage the mic but it's great as a room mic, overhead mic, even guitar amp if the amp isn't too loud. Lots of uses
Great comparison. The winner for me with this placement was the FET 47. It had the best mix of clarity and heft. The immediacy of the snare with the Earthworks was amazing, but it was a little too clinical to work as the whole drum sound. I was surprised at how little the Coles did for me.
I love recording mono drums with one or a couple of mics, that sounds amazing! I've never recorded with the microphone in this position, usually, I put it over the kick, but this position gives a great image of the toms. That's great! Thank you for your video.
For me it is FET47. Everything sounds beautiful, it accentuates the best of each piece, not being hyped as the 5047 or muffled as the 414. 5045 would be in 2nd place.
I used to close mic toms,.. d2 and d4, d6 on kick and an sm57 on snare. A long time ago a friend turned me onto 1 sm57 over the shoulder and a d6 in the kick. i was amazed at how good that configuration sounded in small to mid sized rooms. I've been using that 2 mic configuration for 90% of my gigs (much easier and less time consuming), still close mic for outside and bigger rooms. That Coles 4038 sure sounds great though, might have to splurge and pick one up! Thanks Carter! I really enjoy your videos and your playing is always inspiring!
Thank you so much for this comment. I am new with the whole mining subject so this helped try out using two mics in a live setting as well. I was aware it works great in a studio setting but was afraid that the shoulder (room) mic would catch too much to much of the other instruments. I would like to ask your opinion if this will work also on a tiny stage where the other instruments are real close ? Thanks in advance
@DCA… Try this. Someone mentioned this method above, but quickly, try placing a single SM57 over the bass drum, a few inches back from the batter hoop, aimed at the side of the snare, or even at your knee. You can get a nice fairly balanced sound from just the one mic, with no noticeable bleed from the other instruments on stage. If you are playing louder music and need more punch or low-end from the bass drum, you can add a mic to it, but move it around to find the sweet spot and avoid phase cancellation. You may have to flip the phase on the bass drum microphone. Works like magic.
Great to hear all these mics… always when recording, no matter what situation I always like the minimal mic sounds on the drums because it sounds closest to what it sounds like playing them and that entire kit sound . I have a baby bottle and a couple 57’s and love the bottle for the room mic sound and it’s super hot so ya don’t need to crank it at all. Thanks for sharing that array of slick mics and for those different sounds . No matter what mics though it is always the person behind the kit that creates the lope and feel to make the mics obtain what needs to be captured. Cool to hear the same groove as well really helps to distinguish the nuances to each mic sounds and characteristics. Word word!
This is really excellent. Even some of the stinkers (come on, some of these don’t sound great) could still be useful for certain effects, like compressed, dirty sounds. And thanks too for using that position, which I wouldn’t have typically considered for a mono mic situation. Except for the kick being a bit low, that position totally works for capturing the rest of the kit.
I'd probably go with the FET47, with the AT5045 being a very close second - I thought they sounded the best with or especially without EQ. Surprisingly, the SM57 with EQ held its own. The Coles had the best low end, but lagged behind the FET47 and AT5045 in every other area for me.
I guess you applied the same EQ curve for all of them. Even though it makes it harder to compare it does highlight how they contrast. The FET 47 is a clear winner in the high freq information department, while the Coles 4038 is clearly the best in the mid and low end department. A mix of those would sound incredible just by themselves. But my personal winner is the AT 5045, it is the best overall and by far, only because after I did some processing of my own, which was only some tube saturation with emphasis on the high end to compete with the FET in the 47, I found out it had the same crispiness and definition in the highs while maintaining the depth in the bottom. I think dynamic range is very important for a mic in this conditions. Thanks for conducting this incredible experiment, my dude.
4038, easy. Maybe positioned away from the floor tom for level, but man, the way its like you're getting this zoom in on the details of the snare while maintaining natural balance across the whole kit. Sounds like so many classic records.
God, I love it -- thanks for doing. The differences were pretty huge -- I'd say with the exception of the D12E the'd all work. That AKG just sounded really boxy and kinda weird in the over the shoulder position. The 57 and UNI were more immediate, in your face midrange and top,...kick wasn't as pronounced. Both sounded great. Really liked the United FET47 -- really even but fat (5045 sounded very similar). The Stager's got a great vibe -- chewy with that dark topend and the Coles really got the kick the fattest of all. Anyway -- those were my favs -- I'd say for me -- the United FET47 would be the choice.
The Earthworks had the best volume balance between the drums. Most of the mics picked up too much floor tom and not enough snare. Earthworks probably has a tighter polar pattern. D12E would make a good floor or kick mic but snare sounded like it was in a can.
Unless you're using a hypercardioid mic, this is not a very usable technique. On pretty much every mic, the floor tom is way louder than everything else. The FET 47 and Earthworks had probably the nicest balance between everything with the FET having the best sound. The Coles made the kick drum sound farty and the floor tom way too loud compared to the other drums. Love your drumming, and thanks for taking time to do this. We really learn a lot from these mic shootout videos.🙂
A bit of positioning and play style adjustment and all those issues would be dealt with. I.e. having the mic over his other shoulder to get away from the floor tom.
@@rarianfields then the snare would be too loud. What would be really cool would be to rig something up where the mic is on the drummer's head. Like, wear a hat with the mic duct taped to it. Not kidding, I might try that. And turn your head to which ever drum you want to stand out momentarily.
well, i’ve GOT a 57, sooo..😂 seriously, the fet was about perfect, and the coles had so freaking much vibe and warm thunder. a mix of those would be ridiculousness.
The Cole 4038 is a mean mofo. It captures it all ! Shure Unidyn III, the 2 Audio Tecnica's and the Uni FET47 are great too but the Cole gets the lower end from the BD and FT so nicely. Tho, I'm still recovering from the head trauma learning about the Cole's price...
Your videos not only inspire me to play/record/create but also peak my curiosity. I would love to hear this same style demo with you and another drummer (someone that hits significantly different than you - for example someone like Eloy Casagrande) just to hear how the same mics in the same room/configuration etc. would interpret the difference in playing. Or, I am just an idiot and that’s a dumb idea.
Eloy Casagrande is the No1 hard Hitter in the world dude!! For his drumming needs almost deaf mics or low gained so the sound produced nice without noise!
Carter I always enjoy your playing to the point it gets in the way from evaluating the microphones. You could use a tin can on a piece of string for a mic and I would be happy
I like the Coles the most, with the extra bottom end, but also loved the the 5045 and FET 47. Did you use the same EQ settings on each mic, or adjust it to shape the sound of each mic to your liking ?
AT5045 and Shure Sm57 sounded greater than anything else but and the others did the job well so with a small studio process the sound it will be awesome!
AT5045 (overall definition)/AT5047 (for a super warm sound), United FET47, SR25, SM57 and COLES 4038 are my personal choices. I feel impressed by how sexy the SM57 sounds for overall drumming. I know he's legendary for capturing a tremendous snare sound, but for an overall budget drum record sounds really good.
I think the vintage D12 you are using sounds odd. Way to limited in the range. No bass, no highs. I heard recently one with my voice close up and it was a lovely experience. Don’t know if yours was used too death in a bassdrum for example but it should at least perform as good as any other dynamic Mac used here.
All microphones sounded great. The real winner is that “over right shoulder” microphone position. Beautiful, clean recording with slight room sound. And definitely let’s you hear the room a little too, whilst still getting punch from the drums.
The one who drums 😁
i like this one for single micing a kit. you can usually null out some ride with a coles or something else thats not omni
I understand why 57 continues to be the world's standard. Even so, it's an amazing recording method.
Well... I guess I need a Coles 4038 now. That oomph was something delicious. Great video!
Thank you Carter for the no frills mic demo you give to us.
Personally, value for money would be the Shure SM57. BUT out of the lot, the Coles 4038 captured everything, the whole kit quite nicely 👌
What he said..... is right!
The two Shure mics were surprisingly good! I think I like the Coles or the AKG 414 best though. Great demo.
Some heavy hitters in this line-up! Honorable mentions for me are AT5045 and United FET47. BUT that COLES 4038 takes the cake and the cherry. It is mind-blowing on the drums but also compliments the cymbals wonderfully. Thanks once again!
Same here. 4038 sounded so natural. All sorts of extra tones and detail in the snare, plus that extra oomph in the lows. Would be my choice for most uses.
Great shootout for this unusual mic position. Very inspiring. I would say most mics sounded surprisingly good and well balanced (ofc, top tier playing, tuning and cymbal selection is a big factor). My only problem with most of them was the very pronounced attack on the floor Tom. The c414 and the Coles were the only ones that managed to capture a fantastic sound on that the entire playthrough as well imo
AT 5045, AKG 414, and Coles 4038 shining here. Each have different purposes but you can cover a lot of genres with those 3.
Yes! I was thinking the same AT 5045, AKG 414 are the best but also quite expensive.
Coles 4038 is mic for low freq, like bass kick?
@@TheMqyable It's a ribbon mic so it has a much warmer sound than condensers or other types of dynamic mics. Usually it wouldn't be a good idea to put a ribbon mic close to a kick because they're delicate and the sound pressure could damage the mic but it's great as a room mic, overhead mic, even guitar amp if the amp isn't too loud. Lots of uses
@@maxton1506 Thx for explanation. I have to admit I didn't like Coles 4038 in this setup, first of all to much of low freq boost.
414 and the Coles sounded best to my ears
Easily the very first mic sounded the richest. What an amazing surprise
Great comparison. The winner for me with this placement was the FET 47. It had the best mix of clarity and heft. The immediacy of the snare with the Earthworks was amazing, but it was a little too clinical to work as the whole drum sound. I was surprised at how little the Coles did for me.
I love recording mono drums with one or a couple of mics, that sounds amazing! I've never recorded with the microphone in this position, usually, I put it over the kick, but this position gives a great image of the toms. That's great! Thank you for your video.
For me it is FET47. Everything sounds beautiful, it accentuates the best of each piece, not being hyped as the 5047 or muffled as the 414. 5045 would be in 2nd place.
+1
All nice though 🙏🏽🙏🏽👍🏽👍🏽
I used to close mic toms,.. d2 and d4, d6 on kick and an sm57 on snare. A long time ago a friend turned me onto 1 sm57 over the shoulder and a d6 in the kick. i was amazed at how good that configuration sounded in small to mid sized rooms. I've been using that 2 mic configuration for 90% of my gigs (much easier and less time consuming), still close mic for outside and bigger rooms. That Coles 4038 sure sounds great though, might have to splurge and pick one up! Thanks Carter! I really enjoy your videos and your playing is always inspiring!
Thank you so much for this comment. I am new with the whole mining subject so this helped try out using two mics in a live setting as well. I was aware it works great in a studio setting but was afraid that the shoulder (room) mic would catch too much to much of the other instruments. I would like to ask your opinion if this will work also on a tiny stage where the other instruments are real close ? Thanks in advance
@DCA… Try this. Someone mentioned this method above, but quickly, try placing a single SM57 over the bass drum, a few inches back from the batter hoop, aimed at the side of the snare, or even at your knee. You can get a nice fairly balanced sound from just the one mic, with no noticeable bleed from the other instruments on stage.
If you are playing louder music and need more punch or low-end from the bass drum, you can add a mic to it, but move it around to find the sweet spot and avoid phase cancellation. You may have to flip the phase on the bass drum microphone. Works like magic.
Great to hear all these mics… always when recording, no matter what situation I always like the minimal mic sounds on the drums because it sounds closest to what it sounds like playing them and that entire kit sound . I have a baby bottle and a couple 57’s and love the bottle for the room mic sound and it’s super hot so ya don’t need to crank it at all. Thanks for sharing that array of slick mics and for those different sounds . No matter what mics though it is always the person behind the kit that creates the lope and feel to make the mics obtain what needs to be captured. Cool to hear the same groove as well really helps to distinguish the nuances to each mic sounds and characteristics. Word word!
The Earthworks mic makes the hi-hats sparkle, but that Oktava...Ooooh, I need it!
yeah i expected to see more Oktava comments. Immediately struck me as good. That and the Coles. The Coles gets a lot of comments.
I didn't know before, this mic placement may lead to such results. Thank you for the comparison of so many microphones.
This is really excellent. Even some of the stinkers (come on, some of these don’t sound great) could still be useful for certain effects, like compressed, dirty sounds. And thanks too for using that position, which I wouldn’t have typically considered for a mono mic situation. Except for the kick being a bit low, that position totally works for capturing the rest of the kit.
I'm surprised you're getting such a balanced sound from that one mic. Need to try that mic placement out.
What was your cymbal choice on this one, Carter....thanks again
I'd probably go with the FET47, with the AT5045 being a very close second - I thought they sounded the best with or especially without EQ. Surprisingly, the SM57 with EQ held its own. The Coles had the best low end, but lagged behind the FET47 and AT5045 in every other area for me.
I guess you applied the same EQ curve for all of them. Even though it makes it harder to compare it does highlight how they contrast. The FET 47 is a clear winner in the high freq information department, while the Coles 4038 is clearly the best in the mid and low end department. A mix of those would sound incredible just by themselves. But my personal winner is the AT 5045, it is the best overall and by far, only because after I did some processing of my own, which was only some tube saturation with emphasis on the high end to compete with the FET in the 47, I found out it had the same crispiness and definition in the highs while maintaining the depth in the bottom. I think dynamic range is very important for a mic in this conditions. Thanks for conducting this incredible experiment, my dude.
Ribbon is at 16:00 This MONO technique saves a lot of time and is worth looking at.
Nice Vintage Color also ! 👍
Thank you for this Carter!
4038, easy. Maybe positioned away from the floor tom for level, but man, the way its like you're getting this zoom in on the details of the snare while maintaining natural balance across the whole kit. Sounds like so many classic records.
God, I love it -- thanks for doing. The differences were pretty huge -- I'd say with the exception of the D12E the'd all work. That AKG just sounded really boxy and kinda weird in the over the shoulder position. The 57 and UNI were more immediate, in your face midrange and top,...kick wasn't as pronounced. Both sounded great. Really liked the United FET47 -- really even but fat (5045 sounded very similar). The Stager's got a great vibe -- chewy with that dark topend and the Coles really got the kick the fattest of all. Anyway -- those were my favs -- I'd say for me -- the United FET47 would be the choice.
Thanks, that was an eye opener!
i'm going with the SM57. it a nice crisp and tight sound.
The Earthworks had the best volume balance between the drums. Most of the mics picked up too much floor tom and not enough snare. Earthworks probably has a tighter polar pattern. D12E would make a good floor or kick mic but snare sounded like it was in a can.
Unless you're using a hypercardioid mic, this is not a very usable technique. On pretty much every mic, the floor tom is way louder than everything else. The FET 47 and Earthworks had probably the nicest balance between everything with the FET having the best sound. The Coles made the kick drum sound farty and the floor tom way too loud compared to the other drums.
Love your drumming, and thanks for taking time to do this. We really learn a lot from these mic shootout videos.🙂
A bit of positioning and play style adjustment and all those issues would be dealt with. I.e. having the mic over his other shoulder to get away from the floor tom.
@@rarianfields then the snare would be too loud. What would be really cool would be to rig something up where the mic is on the drummer's head. Like, wear a hat with the mic duct taped to it. Not kidding, I might try that. And turn your head to which ever drum you want to stand out momentarily.
Wow, that ribbon is a lot better than all the rest.
It’s the 414 for me.
well, i’ve GOT a 57, sooo..😂 seriously, the fet was about perfect, and the coles had so freaking much vibe and warm thunder. a mix of those would be ridiculousness.
The Cole 4038 is a mean mofo. It captures it all !
Shure Unidyn III, the 2 Audio Tecnica's and the Uni FET47 are great too but the Cole gets the lower end from the BD and FT so nicely. Tho, I'm still recovering from the head trauma learning about the Cole's price...
SM57 really outstands from the others
57, Cole’s and AT5047 were the standouts for me. Awesome stuff.
Your videos not only inspire me to play/record/create but also peak my curiosity. I would love to hear this same style demo with you and another drummer (someone that hits significantly different than you - for example someone like Eloy Casagrande) just to hear how the same mics in the same room/configuration etc. would interpret the difference in playing. Or, I am just an idiot and that’s a dumb idea.
Eloy Casagrande is the No1 hard Hitter in the world dude!! For his drumming needs almost deaf mics or low gained so the sound produced nice without noise!
Well, I think it would just be louder.
Carter I always enjoy your playing to the point it gets in the way from evaluating the microphones. You could use a tin can on a piece of string for a mic and I would be happy
I like the Coles the most, with the extra bottom end, but also loved the the 5045 and FET 47. Did you use the same EQ settings on each mic, or adjust it to shape the sound of each mic to your liking ?
The trusty ol 57 for me.
AT5045 and Shure Sm57 sounded greater than anything else but and the others did the job well so with a small studio process the sound it will be awesome!
Sm 57 Shure on my shoulder. Like the Beastie Boys. Beyer Dynamic M88 for the bass drum. For the room, it depends. What else.... 😁
You might be the most balanced drummer on the planet right there with Gadd.
The 47 was the best No eq but the Coles if I could add some top end with a pultec.
Just curious... Are you playing along to the same track in your IEMs during each example?
Never mind! I can hear/feel that your playing to an unaccented click. Killer groove, indeed!
No click or track ….. just playing. It’s off take to take. I’m human ha
@@cartermclean Love it! How much difference did you perceive while playing when the EQ was enabled?
SM57 was surprising, the Coles too....what's ''your'' favorite ?, Carter...
Sweet sound! Question, is that a kit that you had custom done by Ludwig or did you finish that green yourself?
ofc the room plays a big part on the sound here, but man, that 57 really works
AND, off topic, when can we expect a Carter Sig Ride?
AT5045 (overall definition)/AT5047 (for a super warm sound), United FET47, SR25, SM57 and COLES 4038 are my personal choices.
I feel impressed by how sexy the SM57 sounds for overall drumming. I know he's legendary for capturing a tremendous snare sound, but for an overall budget drum record sounds really good.
The sm 57 sounds good for recording. Would it be good for just amping/ micing my drums if i plugg it directly to my amp without a mixer?
They make a firegrain version of your stick now?
coles all the way
I liked the 5045 most.
So, no kick mic at all for this?
What heads are you using on your toms?
This just goes to show that a 57 gets you 90% of the way there!
Even if it gets you 75%, when buried in a song mix it can feel like 100% like how it is on many albums
@@ramencurry6672 and honestly nothing some clever mixing and compression cannot get you the rest 25%
Original! The original! Play the OooooOOooRiginal !!
No mic on the kick right? Wow
0:14
10:22
18:00
Average microphone or EAD10 drum module for you, drummers ?
Heyyy thank you my family !
I think the vintage D12 you are using sounds odd. Way to limited in the range. No bass, no highs. I heard recently one with my voice close up and it was a lovely experience. Don’t know if yours was used too death in a bassdrum for example but it should at least perform as good as any other dynamic Mac used here.
I think the SM57 performance was the best..🤔
Why is no one giving any love to the Oktava???
SM57 more tunable
414