Classical Indian Dance Sound

[JMusumeci]

My facility has developed a regular trade in presenting classical Indian Dance Graduatiuon Recitals. One thing they all include is a live "orchestra" consisting of vocalists, violins flutes, and percussion, especially skin drums. I am looking for a moderately priced mic that will really perform well on a skin drum - extremely close-mic-ed. The 77-52 kit froim Shure seemed like the perfect solution, and in fact the 57 is great on the treble face of the drums, but the bass face doesn't generate anything like kick-drum levels, and the 52 seems sloppy and slow to me (and to our clients, who are all studio musician's and know what they are hearing. So what's a nice, punchy, reasonably priced mic for percussion that will make these drums sing?

 

[DaveySimps]

I have actually done quite a bit of classical Indian music reinforcement. I have always loved the SM 57 and Beyer M88 combo. The M88 has great isolation and low end reproduction. In recent times, I have had good results with Heil PR22 and PR40 combo. The PR22 in substitution for where I would have used the SM57, and the PR40 in applications where low end sound is important. All of this being said, the M88 and PR40 both cost a few hundred dollars a piece. However, anything that I would recommend to get a good low end sound would be in this price range. Not sure what your budget is.

You also may want to play with mic placement a bit. Sometimes I have had better luck positioning the M88's off axis slightly. A slight adjustment can make a big difference depending on the technique used by the musician.

~Dave

 

[Footer]

Might want to give an RE-20 a run. Our engineer puts those on cajon's pretty regularly and they work well. Most music stores will let you borrow a mic or two to test to see what you like best. There is also the PR-40 which I am seeing more and more of coming through. The 52 is a great mic, our engineer swears by it, but its not perfect for everything.

 

[themuzicman]

I have actually done quite a bit of classical Indian music reinforcement. I have always loved the SM 57 and Beyer M88 combo.

I second the suggestion of an M88 and 57 combo, the M88 captures awesome low end. I love them on any deep resonant drum and my bass cabs. I would recommend them as an inside kick drum too, but must warn that the diaphragm will wear out pretty fast in such a high SPL environment making the D112 or Beta52 a better choice on a kick.

Sorry for the digression, but in short - listen to DaveySimps. I wanted to show you more benefits to owning an M88 as I think they are awesome mics.