How to mic tom-toms

Guidelines for miking snare tom-toms with DPA Microphones.

This article will give you guidelines on miking the toms. It will discuss the best type of microphone for the job, suitable placement options and mounting tips.

Musical styles

The toms can be miked in the same way as the snare, but toms can have distinct roles in different music styles. In addition, the importance of aesthetics should be considered.

For jazz, it is common not to use toms at all and only get the drum sound balance with accurately placed overhead mics and maybe close miking the kick drum and snare drum. Alternatively, pop and rock drum sounds often require a closer miking technique to achieve very isolated tom signals to process individually.

Minimize phase issues

To minimize phase issues between numerous microphones it can be a good idea to use fewer microphones. Placing an omni or wide cardioid such as the 4015 Wide Cardioid Mic or the 2015 Wide Cardioid Mic strategically between toms can focus on more than just one tom. For a fatter sound, making use of the proximity effect, a 4011ES Cardioid Mic with Side Cable or 2012 Compact Cardioid Mic, with even higher isolation are both good choices.

A drum kit can produce very high peak sound levels. Levels more than 120 dB at one meter, so close to the cymbal or drum head, levels of 156 dB or more are not unusual. It's imperative that the microphones used must be able to handle these sound pressure levels without clipping. You can place any DPA mic within one centimeter of the drum head and experience no mic overload.

Instrument microphone

The 4099 CORE+ Instrument Mic allows for high quality audio capture of toms. Pair it with the D-CLIP Microphone Clip for Drum for a low profile and unobtrusive design that provides visual elegance along with uncompromised sound quality and accurate dynamics. The 4099 comes in 2 sensitivities. One for normal to very loud SPL instruments and the extreme version for snare drums, timbale and other extremely loud instruments.

The unique and flexible clip-on system provides fast, stable and repeatable positioning in numerous positions via the flexible gooseneck to fit different drums and allow a variety of sound nuances.