Best Microphones for Drum Overheads: Austrian Audio CC8 Small-Diaphragm Condensers

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2 жыл бұрын

I recently got my hands on a matched pair of ‪@AustrianAudio‬ CC8 small-diaphragm condensers to test in my new office studio (recently tricked out by ‪@audimute‬). These mics are absolutely incredible. Possibly the best overheads I've ever tried. Super-clean, detailed, natural, rich, punchy...everything you could ever wish for in a pair of overheads. In this short demo, the only mics I'm using are the CC8s in an XY pattern over the center of the kit and a B52 4.5" in front of the bass drum. No EQ or compression on the mics. Just a little multiband compression and limiting on the master buss to keep the levels nice and tight. You can snag a pair of these CC8s for under $1k, plus a stereo bar. They're not the cheapest mics on the market, but they're as good (or better) than many others that cost upwards of twice the price. Check them out!

Пікірлер: 19

@briangray4640 2 жыл бұрын

Mike, I really enjoyed your MD podcast and am also enjoying DC. You are the only person I know of getting into the gear side of things and I hope you will continue that focus in DC and your YT channel. Thanks so much!

@eduardzemlianoi Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video! Is there any chances to hear CC8 vs X1R comparison? :)

@Mspfitness 10 ай бұрын

Great kit, your cymbals are wonderful...and your touch is killer. Finally someone who's playing my kind of drum sounds with beautiful cymbals so I can hear how these CC8's would sound more to my style of playing. What are those Cymbals? They sound killer! Thank YOU for this.

@MikeDawsonDrums 10 ай бұрын

Glad you dig the vid! The cymbals are hand made here in Pennsylvania by my good friend @nickymooncymbals. These are 14", 18", and 20" Old Worlds, designed to have a similar sound and feel to vintage Turkish K's.

@Mspfitness 10 ай бұрын

@@MikeDawsonDrums Those are absolutely wonderful sounding. Very much in the vibe of older K's for sure. I have a handful of Istanbul which I love, and a 22" K Constantinople which is my go to. Dark, warm etc. Question for you...have you explored, heard, used, or have any experience with the Austrian Audio OC-18's as overheads? That's where I'm at right now...trying to decide between those and the CC8's. Your video had pushed me far closer to the CC8's now that I finally got to really hear them on a quality kit with a player behind the sticks.

@MikeDawsonDrums 10 ай бұрын

@@Mspfitness I can't speak to the OC-18s, but the CC8s are easily my favorite small diaphragm condensers of everything I've tried (which has been a bunch). I can't imagine the OC-18 would be disappointing. For me, it's a question of what I want the overheads to do. Are they to reinforce the cymbals in a mix with close mics on the drums? Then CC8s 100%. If I'm doing a minimal setup where the overheads need to capture the snare and toms in addition to cymbals, then the large diaphragm could be better-suited.

@Mspfitness 10 ай бұрын

@@MikeDawsonDrums couldn’t agreed more so what you’re saying is that I need to get BOTH 🤣. Thanks again for your time and input. All the best.

@MikeDawsonDrums 10 ай бұрын

Correct! 😂

@nickgoogle4525 2 жыл бұрын

Sounds good indeed. What are the two large diagrapham condensers mics in the front of the kit? They are not used for the recording I guess. Did you use those for overheads instead of the CC8? How does that compare?

@MikeDawsonDrums 2 жыл бұрын

Those are SE ribbon mics that I use for online lessons and other projects. They capture the full drumset in a more natural way but aren’t as clear or detailed as the CC8.

@nickgoogle4525 2 жыл бұрын

@@MikeDawsonDrums Thanks. Prior to the CC8 I bought a pair of SE8 mics. Sound was good, but they were much more noisy, about 6 to 7 dB higher than advertised, compared to an AKG C391B. So I returned them and bought the CC8. CC8 are worth the price IMO. I personally will never buy something from SE, because when a manufacturer lies with the specifications I will not trust them any longer. BTW, soundwise the SE8 were fine, but the CC8 are great as one can also hear in your recording.

@oli77sch Жыл бұрын

Sorry, I was way too focused on your great drumming but as far I can tell, the mics are nice, aren't they?

@PeterWeissink 2 жыл бұрын

Sounds great Mike! Have you experienced the difference between xy and f.i. spaced pair? What's your take?

@MikeDawsonDrums 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I did a video comparing overhead placements. XY sounds the most natural and is guaranteed to be phase coherent. Spaced pair is good for stereo separation and cymbal clarity but loses fullness and can have phase issues. I also really like ORTF.

@PeterWeissink 2 жыл бұрын

@@MikeDawsonDrums thanks for the reply! I will check xy out then for the next session! Didn’t really explore all the configurations, but thought and read that spaced pair was the fullest. But we’ll see! How do u you like the acoustic panels? Does it have a huge impact on the overall room sound? Did you treat the room before?

@terrytk9398 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Mike - a good review. Do you have any experience of the OC 818 single microphone from Austrian Audio? Thanks.

@MikeDawsonDrums Жыл бұрын

Thanks! I’ve not tried any other models by them. I bet it’s killer though.

@terrytk9398 Жыл бұрын

@@MikeDawsonDrums thanks Mike. I’ve just seen ep1 series 2 of the drum candy podcast where you mention the overhead Austrian microphone. A nice series of snare drum tests.