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Audix D-series

Beyerdynamic Opus

Sennheiser e600-series

Sennheiser e900-series

Shure Beta56

Shure Beta98

another model  (please share)

none  (the overheads get them)

[Airton Pereira]

Of course the MD 421. I wish I had the money to buy 4 of them for my kit!

[Dave Dermont]

I already have my "go to" mics for this, and I use them every chance I get.  I'm curious as to what other favorites' are.  Some colleages and I were having a discussion about this and... who cares about the story.

What has the better sound?  Which is more practical in mounting?  ect.

I say we have Bob Leonard and Ryan Jenkins fight it out in the ring for world champion tom mic.

Then, we can all go out and buy a pile of ATM 350s, and be done with it. 

Actually, I mainly use those A-T mics on brass and reeds.

When it comes to tom mics, I like a lot of 'em. I'd list them all but I'm lazy. Let's just say I like most of what I've heard, and have little doubt that what I have not heard are pretty good too.

Personally, I gravitate to the EV N/D468. Mainly, because it excels at so many things other than toms, and it's quite a bit cheaper than the beyer m201, which is, pound for pound, the world's greatest utility dynamic microphone.

The Mic-Eze, the "Sennheiser Style" clamp, and the LP claw all have a place, so I like having all three available.

I know this is a crazy idea, but there's no rule against using a good old boom stand for drum mics either. I'd like to see you mic a kit with MD421s without some. That'd be hysterical!

Yeah, I know you guys are all romantic about 421s on tom-toms. I bet you never tried to get one repaired.

[Dave Barnett]

In the role of a provider, I'd go with Sennheiser 904.  If I were working for the artist I think I'd go with A-T AE3000.

[Tim McCulloch]

Yeah, I know you guys are all romantic about 421s on tom-toms. I bet you never tried to get one repaired.

Ah, Dave... my love affair with MD-421s on toms was intense but brief.  It led me to understand my Gear Acquisition Syndrome/microphone addiction and how futile it is.  I can stop any time, I tell ya... but I had to give up the 421s because they were too expensive to keep working.  The few that remain are used for horns and orchestral work.

I suspect it's cheaper to get an MKH-80 fixed, as a percentage of purchase price, than an MD-421...

Have fun, good luck.

Tim Mc

ps. Shamelessly pimping the new Jools Holland recording, Rocking Horse.  Some killer stuff on this one... the cover of Joe Zawinul's Mercy, Mercy, Mercy is as flawless as the reggae-twinged What a Wonderful World is danceable.  All-star guest list with Holland's R & B Orchestra.  I'd kill to have a horn mix that sounds like the Zawinul cut... damn.

[[email protected]]

I'm a big beyer fan but my first grab for toms is the audix D4 with LP percussion clamps - sounds good, no foot print and keeps the breakable clips out out of the drummer's reach... if you can get to them before the stagehands they last for a long time, and when they do get dropped - you gaff them in place and they're good to go.

[MARK PAVLETICH]

Flying first class, Sennheiser MD421,   Flying economy class Sennheiser 604's , economy option Electrovoice PL35.

[Loren Aguey]

The Audix D-series mics sound great, but the clamps are terrible.  They won't grip the rims on half the drums I see come through, and they're prone to breaking.  The actual mic clips are a little on the brittle side too.

The Sennheiser e604 and e904 also sound great, and the clamps are *much* better and easier to use.

I've used SM57s for toms, but don't care for them.  They're too big, and the windscreens have a tendency to rattle, especially on floor toms; this rattle gets picked up quite audibly.

I've still yet to find a drum clip I like better than this K&M one. Highly positionable, rock solid and they don't break.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/K-M-Microphone-Holder-for-Drums-450489-i1386464.gc?source=4WFRWXX&CAWELAID=439930031

[Jeff Babcock]

It's really simple...

If you want the best sounding tom mics that have the best thought out mounting and are well built and you want them to be small but not so small that they get beat to hell by the drummer then there is only one choice!  Beyer Opus Series!

They are in my opinion the best tom mics made, bar none!

+1
I prefer them tremendously over the "usual suspects", they sound great, mount wonderfully, and the price is VERY reasonable.  I have not come across anything else I like better (though I'd like to try the earthworks stuff $$$$)

Re the MD421 fans, I can't get past how much bleed there is, they are quite bad in this regard compared to other common tom mics.

[Dave Barnett]

http://www.guitarcenter.com/K-M-Microphone-Holder-for-Drums-450489-i1386464.gc?source=4WFRWXX&CAWELAID=439930031

Great, now everyone's gonna be demanding wireless Sennheiser vocal mics on snare...

[Duncan McLennan]

The Beyers are awesome tom mics.

They do tend to pick up a little more cymbal bleed in my experience, but for the kind of gigs I'm doing that's often a good thing from a tonal perspective.

They still sound way better than pretty much anything else I've used for rock gigs too.

[ProSoundWeb Community]