Home Studio Recording: 5 Top Snare Drum Microphones

When it comes to home studio recording having good equipment will help produce big studio sound. Many people have begun building their own recording studio in their homes for either simple garage band type fun, or for trying to bust into the big money world of pop music. Setting up a home studio means that a lot of attention to detail must be adhered to for great sounding music. Everything from the instruments, acoustics, cables, mixers, and microphones will all work together to create beautiful sounding music. 

Snare Drum Microphones

One of the smaller, overlooked components of a home recording studio are snare drum microphone kits. These microphones are important to pick up that tell tale snare drum to help keep the rhythm of the music. Some people will simply use a regular microphone and place it near the snare drum. However, this is a mistake that will not pick up the great sound adequately enough. 

Two Mics Are Needed

When it comes to picking up the true sound of an instrument you must try and position the microphones so that it records the original sound. When you simply set a microphone on the top of a snare drum you are going to be essentially picking up half of the sound. This will give a different type of sound. Two microphones are needed to really pick up the full effect of what a snare drum sounds like in a recording. One for the top of the drum and another for the bottom part. 

Top Position Microphones

For a better rundown of some of the better snare drum microphones for your home studio recording sessions we are going to break it up into both top and bottom mics. Here are some of the best top ones.

• Shure Beta 56A - This small microphone has a supercardioid pickup pattern that provides great sound without any type of feedack. This microphone also has a stand adaptor that holds it securely to any type of stand, even when the drummer gets a little carried away and strikes it with a drumstick.
• Audio-Technica ATM23HE - Another great snare drum mic that has a hypercardioid feature that provides ultra high performance that grabs the music out of the air and keeps out all of the unwanted noise and feedback. 
• Audix i5 - As a part of a larger drum microphone kit, this small mic is a great alternative to the other ones mentioned. It's omindirectional head, and supercardioid feature gives a lot of performance in a small package. This mic will block out all other insturments and only center on the snare drum as its main source of sound.

Bottom Position Microphones

Give your snare drum a little more depth with a bottom mic.

• Shure KSM137/SL - Because of its versatility in recording, this microphone makes a great choice for an undermount on a snare drum. 
• AKG C451 B Condenser Microphone - A slimline microphone that is excellent at picking out the transient sounds and centering on the one that is the direct sound source. Perfect for a small studio, or a place where there is a lot of other instruments in the background.