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Cheap overhead drum microphones  [ Edit ] 

Update: I’ve started posting demo recordings of these mics

The search for affordable (i.e. less than $300 for a pair) condensor microphones is officially over. I had narrowed my search to the Oktava MC-012, AKG C1000, and Marshall MXL 603S. In the end, I went with the Marshalls. They should be arriving some time next week, courtesy of ebay and a music store in Miami.

Everyone says that the only way to buy microphones is to buy them and try them, returning if you have to. Unfortunately, my schedule doesn’t really allow me to do that, so I did all of my shopping via word of mouth and usenet. Here’s what I learned about each of these microphones.

When I started this search, I was pretty well set on the AKG C-1000s. A stereo pair goes for $279 at Sweetwater. The price was definitely right, and I had recommendations from a good friend (a friend for heroes, actually) to go on. Problem was, he doesn’t actually own the microphone, he has been told it’s a good one. Research on rec.audio.pro showed that opinions of this mic are extremely mixed — some people are really positive, others are really negative.

Because this is usenet we’re talking about, one must always read with a salt lick nearby. People tend to troll for flame wars over topics like which mic sounds better, or why your mic is crap. Still, the seeds of doubt were sown. I wanted to do some more research.

I read lots of positive reviews of the Oktavas on usenet, and very little negative. They are apparently very good mics, made in Russia. Russia and China are currently places where a lot of the less expensive mics are made, and allegedly each country tends to have certain sonic characteristics that go with its mics. Anyway, the Oktavas have a good reputation, but they are harder to find (not as many dealers as AKG), and more expensive than I wanted to pay right now (over $400 for a pair). I realize that mics are worth spending money on, but I can only barely afford $300, so anything more was out of the question. I decided to continue the search, and look for better prices on the Oktavas.

At some point I saw this cross-posted message between r.a.p. and alt.music.4-track about the MXL 603s, which compared favorably to the Oktava MC-012. I had never heard of Marshall Electronics, so I started to look for more information. I couldn’t find a single negative opinion about these microphones. As far as I could tell, everyone who bought them liked them. I was able to hear an mp3 sample of drums recorded with them (no longer available since mp3.com is gone), and was pleased.

Marshall is another company that’s hard to find in stores. Most people think of Marshall amps, which are made by another company, not Marshall Microphones. I tried some local dealers, couldn’t find any, so I resorted to eBay. I found a pair for $219, including shock mounts, cables, and hard case. That, to me, looks like a helluva deal, and the music store selling them has a 30 day money-back guarantee. So if they turn out not to sound good after all, I can return them.

Overall, I’m pleased, and will be posting some more on these microphones after I receive them some time next week.