Hi all,
Just got 2 AKG P420 big bottle condenser type.
We’re kinda short on space, so was wondering if we can get something that can mount both as XY pair for overheads on one mic stand behind the drummer.
If you know a product that could work, I’ll appreciate some links.
All I found were pencil condenser setup for stereo pair.
I’d also appreciate pointers on mic stand that can hold these high up as OH mics.
Not very flush on cash right now so cheaper is better.
Second thing - these have spider clamp that is garbage. So looking for some kind of mounting ring that can hold better.
Yeah, I like that one, very versatile. I have a more basic version without the swivels. The swivels could give a lot of possibilities, but mine is one piece with mounts on each end - maybe 4" apart - and works okay for X-Y and ORTF, depending on the mics.
You could use those for OH’s, but yeah usually SDC’s are more workable and plenty to capture high end transients. What do you think of those P420’s, if you’ve had a chance to use them?
Havent tried them myself, Im still kinda in the old school 414EB camp, tonewise.
But Im sure if you stuck one about a foot away from a floor tom, and one somewhere directly over a snare drum from a just a couple or three feet … I could indeed tell you if I liked them as an overhead pair.
P420s are quite good actually, but need a few more tests. The pencil type small condensers might’ve been better as overheads but honestly my mic stands are suffering with these and there isn’t much room to place them properly around the drummer. We’ll experiment a bit more. That’s also where the idea to try and mount on one heavier duty mic stand behind the drummer might be better than what we have right now.
Got them for a bit less than $150 each, nice full round mic. It has 3 settings - cardiod, hyper cardiod and omni. Using it on cardiod so far, haven’t tested the other options.
Still fighting with our drummer over mic placement. I think they need to go higher as on left side especially that is too close to the big splash cymbal. That’s as high as our current stands hold. I’ll definitely need better stands with longer telescoping properties.
Is that carpet on the walls? Treated room? Maybe you can try pointing the mics away from the cymbals a bit if your room is fairly absorbent. Even if they’re not high enough, you can affect tone by experimenting with the directionality of the mics. Who knows, maybe even omni mode would give you an interesting sound if you think they’re too close. That might tone down the proximity effect a bit.
You may need to go LOWER… indeed i would start LEVEL with the offending cymbal(s). This will get you both closer to the drums and in the “null” (in mic parlance) of the cymbal.
If I go lower it gets in the way of the drummer’s movement. Ehhh, it is what it is. Switching to OMNI actually seems to have solved the problem somewhat.
I usually find there is a spot where the drummers head and/or right hand / stick dont touch eachother… otherwise he would smack himself in the head a lot (might also be a good thing, I know)
Maybe that spot is nearer his left ear, I dunno. But objectively there is usually a way of micing the snare drum with a good stereo spread from right and left within about 3 feet, where one mic is really close to the floor tom (about 8-12") while both mics still ‘hear the snare’ from approximately the same distance away, to keep it’s ‘image’ centered (while hard panned).
Once you find this ‘closely mic’d, perfectly balanced / stereo overhead’ position, the use of the dynamic close mics can be completely re evaluated, as to what they ‘add’ of value to the mix.
The ‘omni’ setting is probably related to the fact that carpet on the walls will roll off all the highs in the room, giving a ‘dull sound’ to all the drumkit in general.
The omni setting seems to be helping, it is more open sounding. If I get a chance I’ll post a L/R mic image from the overheads so you can tell me what you think. Personally, I am trying to get him back to the pencil condensers but he doesn’t want to as he’s more enamored with the look of the big bottle ones as overheads
