Anyone Using these Mics?

[Adam Ogden]

Hey Guys-

I am replacing my old AKG Drum Overhead mics....I am at a crossroads, and need your help. I am torn between the Shure SM81's, or the Shure KSM137's. I know the 81's will sound great, but I'd love to have a set of KSM mics. Has anyone used the KSM137's? How do they sound? What do you use them for? Do they work well for your application?

Thanks guys!!!

[inworship]

Hey Guys-

I am replacing my old AKG Drum Overhead mics....I am at a crossroads, and need your help. I am torn between the Shure SM81's, or the Shure KSM137's. I know the 81's will sound great, but I'd love to have a set of KSM mics. Has anyone used the KSM137's? How do they sound? What do you use them for? Do they work well for your application?

Thanks guys!!!

I had a chance to hear the two as well as others in a studio once. The 137's are a little beefier, but the 81's have better detail. Those 81's for price are hard to beat. The 81's also also make great choral or area mics.

the fact is, if you like them, you like them. I don't think they sounded bad. Just not my first choice in that price range.

[Adam Ogden]

yeah....the 81's are hard to beat, I think....I was trying to get a mic that was a little smaller in physical size...we often put our drummer in front of a large center screen on stage, and I want as small of an obstruction as possible.

I don't necessarily know that I like the KSM's...I've never actually heard them...I just know the KSM reputation, and thought it may be worth investigating.

Thanks for your input!

[inworship]

I was trying to get a mic that was a little smaller in physical size...we often put our drummer in front of a large center screen on stage, and I want as small of an obstruction as possible.

I wish they weren't so expensive (or our church would own some), but the Neumann KM184's ROCK! They are hands down(besides the original KM84) pencil condensers I have ever used.

[collintowne]

I used all 6 of the KSM mics. ALL of them sounded fantastic and had beautiful balanced detailed sound. Among the small ones, I liked the 137s. Among the dual diaphrams all three were fantastic, just different levels of flexibility.

collintowne

[worshiptrench]

We used to have the 81's on top. We switched to 137's and will never go back. Much less brittle (we still use an 81 on HH so it will cut). The 137's rock.

(we run 98's on toms and a 52 on kick; a 57 on snare but are experimenting with a Heil on the snare as well).

[amprodirect]

Hey Adam,

The KSM series of microphones are really great, I like all of them.

I use 81's as overheads and have an issue not so much with a 70' wide sceen that is the backdrop, but our television shot that makes our Pastor look like he has antennas (the mics on the kit behind him). So we not mic the brass from underneath. We have been pleasantly surprised by the results. I teach regularly in my seminars to experiment, you might just find something unexpected. Our Pastor no longer has antennas now too.

David Cherry
Shoreline
Austin

[adamsound]

I use the same mics in the same configuration as someone just mentioned; 81 on the hat, and 137s on the overheads. The only difference is that I had the same problem with the overheads being in the pastor's main TV shot, so I switched them to "underheads". I put the mics under the cymbals, just outside the area where the toms are, and pointing up. With a little eq and placement tweaking, no more mics, but plenty of cymbals! I wouldn't necessarily do this in the studio where I want the space of the room, but that is never a problem onstage, where I am trying to get everything as tight and isolated as possible, so this has worked well for me. Also, I agree completely with the comment about the Neumanns, but for the money, the Shure KSM series is one of the best new microphone designs in years!