Written by Stevens Lambert
Drums are an important part of any church service. They provide the beat for the rest of the instruments and congregation to follow and they fill out the sound of the worship team. When you are seriously recording your worship team it's time to get a good set of drum mics. Also if you purchase a drum shield, drum-kit mics and run them through your speakers you gain better control over the volume of the drums in the sanctuary. Believe me, this can really enhance the quality of your worship. You will get less complaints about the drums being to loud and it really fleshes out the sound.
As with anything in life you get what you pay for. The gold standard for drum kits is the DP line by Audix led by their award winning D6 kick drum mic. This microphone is used by the very best drummers in the world. If you are serious about getting into mic'ing your drums give me a call at Kingdom (800-788-1122) and ask for an Audix drum kit. They are the best!!
Now there are also some more affordable kits that still pack a serious punch, like the one in the photo on the left. Electrovoice has the best bang for the buck out there with their five piece kit the KDMDK5 for $399.
Make sure you have the neccesary number of open channels in your board to handle all the drum mics. If you don't, buy a small board to just mix the drums and run an out into your main console. You still want a high quality mixing board though so I would use an Allen and Heath AHZED14 from Kingdom.
What you will need:
- Unless you have 5 to 8 open channels on your snake, go ahead and buy a seperate drum mic snake. This is a much better solution that running 5 to 8 seperate mic lines back to your booth.
- If your mixer does not have enough channels buy the AHZED14. Normally I never pigeonhole customers into one product but this is really your best option.
- A drum shield is a must if you plan on running your drums through the system. We sell several types here at Kingdom depending on the size of your drum kit.
- You need to purchase as many XLR cables as you are buying microphones. Always buy new cables when you are buying new equipment. It lowers the chance of the equipment not performing well due to old cables.
- My best suggestion is this. If you have a drummer who can keep the beat but isn't a really a master of the drums buy the Electrovoice Kit. It sounds great and will give you a good recording. If you have a drum virtuso who can wow the crowd or if you want the truest sound possible, buy the Audix DP7 or Audix Elite 8. You can't get your hands on a better set of drum mics. If you really want to go over the top take a tip from my pal Rob Docherty, the Tech Director of Quest Community Church, and buy a couple of Shure SM81's for your overheads.
As with anything in life you get what you pay for. The gold standard for drum kits is the DP line by Audix led by their award winning D6 kick drum mic. This microphone is used by the very best drummers in the world. If you are serious about getting into mic'ing your drums give me a call at Kingdom (800-788-1122) and ask for an Audix drum kit. They are the best!!
Make sure you have the neccesary number of open channels in your board to handle all the drum mics. If you don't, buy a small board to just mix the drums and run an out into your main console. You still want a high quality mixing board though so I would use an Allen and Heath AHZED14 from Kingdom.
What you will need:
- Unless you have 5 to 8 open channels on your snake, go ahead and buy a seperate drum mic snake. This is a much better solution that running 5 to 8 seperate mic lines back to your booth.
- If your mixer does not have enough channels buy the AHZED14. Normally I never pigeonhole customers into one product but this is really your best option.
- A drum shield is a must if you plan on running your drums through the system. We sell several types here at Kingdom depending on the size of your drum kit.
- You need to purchase as many XLR cables as you are buying microphones. Always buy new cables when you are buying new equipment. It lowers the chance of the equipment not performing well due to old cables.
- My best suggestion is this. If you have a drummer who can keep the beat but isn't a really a master of the drums buy the Electrovoice Kit. It sounds great and will give you a good recording. If you have a drum virtuso who can wow the crowd or if you want the truest sound possible, buy the Audix DP7 or Audix Elite 8. You can't get your hands on a better set of drum mics. If you really want to go over the top take a tip from my pal Rob Docherty, the Tech Director of Quest Community Church, and buy a couple of Shure SM81's for your overheads.
I have given you a lot of information. If you need help sorting it out, just give me a call!
Stevens Lambert
800-788-1122
Steven - really GREAT information.
Thanks, Johnny
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Checking out "How to Mic Your Drums" on KingdomInsight: http://ning.it/nzARz7 #churchtech #ministry #Jesus #teaparty #tcot
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Checking out "How to Mic Your Drums" on KingdomInsight: http://ning.it/nzARz7 #worship #ministry #church #pastor #churchtech #revival #Jesus
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Checking out "How to Mic Your Drums" on KingdomInsight: http://ning.it/nzARz7 #technology #worship #church #leader #pastor #drums #teaparty
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