Mic Archive

Instrument

Timbales

Sources
5 (4 independent)

Recommended mics

Mics sources recommend

13 setups from 5 sources, 4 of them independent of any mic maker. Each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those are independent. Listed alphabetically: there is no ranking.

Studio

Bottom

Top

  • AKG C4141 independent source
  • large-diaphragm condenser pair1 independent source

Close

Overhead

The 12 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Bottom Sennheiser MD 421
    below, for cascara/side of drum
    421 or other dynamic below, condenser above; flip phase when combining upper and lower (Eric Schilling, paraphrase)1
  • Bottom Shure SM57
    underneath and/or on top
    SM57 underneath and/or overtop (Jim Gaines, paraphrase)1
  • Top AKG C414
    top, brightness
    AKG 414 for brightness (Jim Gaines, paraphrase)1
  • Close Shure SM57 / SM58 / Sennheiser MD 421 / e604
    close, dynamic mics placed close
    For congas, bongos and timbales, close-placed dynamic mics such as SM57, SM58, Sennheiser 421 or e604 (Tonio, paraphrase)2
  • Overhead condenser (unnamed)
    overhead, farther away to capture room ambience (timbale overheads, bells, cymbals)
    For timbale overheads, bells, cymbals... condensers placed farther away to capture room ambience (Tonio, paraphrase)2
  • Top large-diaphragm condenser pair
    top, about 19 in above the outer edge of each timbale, pads engaged
    Place the mics about 19" above the outer edge of each timbale.3
  • Bottom Shure SM57
    under the drums, pointing out at rims
    Two Shure SM57s beneath the pair of timbales pointed outwards towards their rims (Boris Milan)4
  • Overhead 2 × Neumann KM 184
    overhead X-Y pair
    Pair of small-diaphragm condenser microphones, such as Neumann KM184s, overhead in an X-Y configuration (Boris Milan)4
  • Overhead Schoeps SMC5
    overhead, padded
    I'll put some Schoeps SMC5 mics, padded, as overheads (Carlos Alvarez)4
  • Bottom Royer ribbon
    underneath, catches the mid-range
    Microphones that are a little dull, like the Royer ribbons, catch the mid-range (Carlos Alvarez)4
  • Bottom Sennheiser MD 421
    underneath, V shape pointing out
    A couple of Sennheiser 421s underneath and pointed outward from each other in a 'V' shape (Sebastian Krys)4
  • Overhead Audio-Technica AT4051 or Neumann KM 85
    overhead, 3-3.5 ft above
    Audio-Technica AT4051 condensers or KM85s about three to three-and-a-half feet above as overheads (Sebastian Krys) ... AT4051 condensers or KM85s about three to three-and-a-half feet above as overheads (Sebastian Krys)4

On stage

Close

The 1 setup behind this: placement and quotes

Frequency bands

tone250 Hz – 600 HzESTIMATE: small, shallow metal-shell drums (13" and 14") tuned high, above rack toms
rim and shell2 kHz – 8 kHzESTIMATE: stick on the metal shell (cáscara) and rimshots

Own analysis: 1/3-octave band levels of the first second after the hit (dB re loudest band), plus a 12 ms attack window and spectral peak picking. A band is listed where the level stays within about 10-15 dB of the loudest band (weaker bands are given with their level). "tone" = clear spectral peaks; "noise" = dense or broadband energy. Measured from: none (estimate).

Sounds it makes

Macho (13")higher
Hembra (14")lower
Cáscara (shell)metallic click
Rimshotringing crack

The sound

Single-headed drums on thin metal shells, tuned much higher than toms; played with sticks on heads, shells and rims, so metallic shell ring is part of the sound.

Recording it

Estimate: Not found in the sources checked (general practice): Watch.

Sources

  1. Jackson, B. (2004) The Big Beat, Mixmagazine · mixonline.com
  2. My Conga Place forum: suggestion for percussion recording (2007 thread)forum · mycongaplace.com
  3. Production Expert: Get A Great Percussion Sound - Free Percussion Recording Techniques (Mike Thornton, 2020, with Paul Drew and James Ivey)magazine · production-expert.com
  4. Daley, D. (2006) Recording Latin Percussion, Sound On Soundmagazine · soundonsound.com
  5. Shure: Microphone Techniques for Live Sound Reinforcementmanufacturer · 2007 · music.arts.uci.edu