More Drums, Less Room

The Roswell Mini K47 sounds fantastic on drum overheads. Hear for yourself in these three clips -- three drummers, three rooms, three great-sounding kits:

The Mini K47's natural polar response is slightly narrower than Cardioid, especially at high frequencies. This helps focus the mic on the drums, not the room.

The mic's "K47" capsule has a presence bump in the upper midrange, which helps bring definition to toms and snare while naturally attenuating cymbal wash.

The above video is an excerpt from The Weight session. Listen to the low end on the initial floor tom hit. The Mini K47s were set up in a Glyn Johns array, in a small but live-sounding iso booth.

The full-range response of these mics makes it a viable choice to record drums with just 2-3 microphones, avoiding the setup time, complexity, and phase challenges of close-miking every individual drum.

The Roswell Mini K47 at a glance:

• Our "K47" capsule has a presence bump in the upper mids, and a neutral frequency response above 8kHz. It will naturally hear the tone of the drums and snare, while attenuating the cymbals as well as high-frequency room reflections.
• The Mini K47's polar pattern is narrower at high frequencies. Position the mics so they're pointing at the drums, not the cymbals, and you'll mostly hear drums from your overhead track.
• The mic's large-diaphragm design means great detail, high output, and low noise.
• The mic's compact size makes it easy to hang above a drum kit (without needing a $300 mic stand to carry its weight).
• Its transformerless circuit reduces distortion, even for rimshots and drum transients.
• Smart design, careful assembly, and meticulous testing mean the mic just works.
• Every Mini K47 includes Roswell's "Cutaway" shockmount and metal flightcase.
• USD $389 for a single mic.
• USD $899 for the factory matched pair (in a custom stereo case).

Here is another drum overhead demo, including a comparison to a popular SDC mic: