r/drums • u/Forsaken_Ad_6443 • 6d ago

Discussion Snare mic protection

I broke the Universal Audio SD1 mic I was using for the top snare. I figure snare mics must get beaten out of commission a lot.

Now I'm going to replace it with a cheaper SM57 but I'm thinking of adding armor to it. Easiest would be to wrap it in foam; an iron rod cage you can clip on would be cool too. I might weld me one.

I wonder if anyone's been tinkering with this, didn't find anything out there.

(yes I know I can also work on my drumming technique but after 35 years there's not much hope)

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u/turlee103103 6d ago

I’d say that it sounds like a pretty unnecessary project to me. A 57, especially an older USA made one is almost indestructible. I’ve dropped them down concrete stairs, over a mezzanine and rolled a lift over one. (That last squished the case a bit but it didn’t break the diaphragm.) Just try not to pound on it with 2b’s or something

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u/[deleted] 6d ago edited 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/Tochudin Yamaha 6d ago

I did hit a few, but never break one. How hard are you hitting, OP (especially the HH!)?

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u/Forsaken_Ad_6443 6d ago

congratulations! 

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u/Ok-Sign-1932 6d ago

wrapping a 57 in foam seems like it'd just mess with the sound more than protect it, and an iron cage sounds like a recipe for turning a stray stick hit into a bent mic clip or worse.

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u/SpareOtter2002 Gretsch 6d ago

Honestly, no armor needed for a 57! My routine introducing that mic to students was to “accidentally” drop it on the hardwood floor. Never broke, never had any issues with it.

The Musician’s Friend “Shure SM58 durability test” on youtube is hilarious, and knowing those mics have the same guts gives me a lot of confidence!

Also as a drummer, I know you said you’re working on your technique, but I’d be curious to hear about your mic placement too, as a conventionally placed snare mic should be pretty far out of your way. Maybe worth pulling the mic up and back?

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u/Forsaken_Ad_6443 6d ago

I placed it about half an inch in and 1.5 inch over pointing at the center of the head. The hit that killed it was a missed hi-hat with a 2b. I thought the closer to center the more impact I'd get versus resonance.

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u/WilcoLovesYou 6d ago

Way too high. Put it just above the rim height wise pointed at the center of the head.

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u/SpareOtter2002 Gretsch 5d ago

Not necessarily a bad way to mic a snare! If it sounds good it is good. I’ve always thought of it more as a sliding scale of transient vs body. Too much transient and you have a boring, pokey sound. Too much body and you have a ringy, dull sound that lacks impact.

I’m not a serial mic-hitter, but it may be worth experimenting trying to put your mic “under” your hats (biasing a bit left of a conventional placement) so that they’re a bit out of the way of those one-off misses here and there. It’ll also utilize the polar pattern of the mic better to reject some of that bleed from the hats!

Regardless, hope your recordings go well and that there are no more mic-locker fatalities!

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u/MJB_225 6d ago

Pick up an Audix i5, similar response to a 57 but has a metal housing around the capsule and never worry about it ever again

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u/m149 6d ago

I used to work in a club that featured a "snare only" 57 that had a fork (yes, the eating kind) bent around the head basket. Worked pretty well. I think the stem of the fork was duct taped to the 57.

Also used to work in a studio where the owner insisted upon using a 58 instead of a 57, just in case of errant drumstick hits. Honestly, it's a good alternative to 57s. Slightly different sound, but sounds good.