Drum Tips From the Pros - Part 1 Simon Phillips

Those of you regularly following Shure UK will be aware of the Drum Mastery workshops, where Shure provide you with a series of bi-weekly workshops from our drum professional Darren Ashford – helping you gain useful professional knowledge. To support this further, we have decided to bring you a series of blog posts dedicated to bite size tips from professional drummers. Here, you will learn the tricks of the trade on how to get the most out of your Shure gear, and capture those killer drum sounds!

First up, a little advice from Simon Phillips, well known for his work with Judas Priest and the Who.

 

Simon Phillips & Shure

 

Toms & Kick Drum Mic Technique from Simon Phillips

“Toms: I use KSM137s on all the toms for live applications and KSM27 (now the SM27) for recording. 

The main requirement with live sound is a system that can be set up and taken down quickly. Certainly the system I had with my 98s was pretty slick. All the barrels (pre amps) set into A53M shock mounts which were attached to an aluminum bar which was mounted somewhere on the kit and then a loom of 98 cables all cut to specific lengths and then wrapped with tech flex made for an elegant and quick solution.

The KSM137 was the prime candidate as they would slide into the A53M shock mount, therefore isolating the mic from the drum and/or hardware, and then a loom made up of regular mic cable wrapped in tech flex and terminating somewhere at the rear of the kit and near to a stage box.

I do not place these mics close to the drums. They are at least 2” away from each drum. If the kit is well balanced there is no leakage problem. 

Bass Drums: I use a Beta 52 which is mounted on a custom built clip assembly inside the drum. I think the best position for a kick mic is off centre. I place mine around 4” from the shell facing directly towards the beater head.”

Click here for more information on Simon Phillips, or for more information on getting the most from your drum recordings and performances – visit the Shure Drum Mastery Website.

More tips from the pros coming shortly –  subscribe to the Shure UK blog RSS and be the first to know.