I already have the Earthworks DM20 as my main mic to go for as a condenser snare mic.
I was comparing it to Beta57a and Sm57, and obviously there are trade offs with dynamic mics, such as duller sound than the Dm20, but on the other hand the dynamic ones have considerably less hihat bleed and altogether it is obviously a different vibe.
So, condensers aside, what dynamic mic would you suggest as your go-to mic, especially in cases when you don't want to use a condenser on given tracking session?
Thanks

I like a BeyerDynamic M201.

Yes, M201 is my goto also. Never regretted putting this mic on snare.

Depends on what you need your snare close mic to do in the mix. As everybody works differently, they need different results. Do you need the rootnote punch from the close mic? Attack? More snare wire rattle? More control over the snare volume in the mix to bring it up when it doesn't play full on?
You said less hihat and a different vibe - as mentioned the Beyer M201 is good for this, also its membrane is pretty quick for a moving coil mic, bringing enough attack .. while in contrast the Audix i5 is slow and will soften the attack.

George Massenburgs favourite mic on snare is said to be the Sennheiser MD431 (mk1, not the mk2) which has a capsule similar to the MD441. It has a mid dip that works well with many snare voicings and it was also OEM'd by a supplier for german church PA stuff named Strässer MD20 and can be had for considerable less money, same capsule as the MD431 mk1 but lesser isolation from handling noise - which wouldn't be an issue in your application. Or for the priest. Even a priest would put a snare close mic on a stand, right?

For a start i suggest you try every dynamic mic you already have and see what they bring to the mix.

Hard to pick just one, as I like them all.

M88 is good. As is the M201.

Loving my AKG 224E, but they're hard to come by.

MD441s I use all the time, even on overheads, congas, snare bottom, toms.

SM57 too.

Love 'em all.

Sorry. Not sorry.

Very much agree! M88 is very nice!
I realize this post is for dynamic mic recommendations, but lately I've been using a Neumann KMS105 on snare. I rarely see anybody talking that mic up in that application. Works very nicely for me.
I've never had the chance to try an M201.

the AKG 224E, which I copped from Phil Brown's book (he used that on a ton of albums), is my new fav.

No proximity effect, uncolored off-axis response, wide bandwidth frequency response like a condenser, but not as hot.

https://martinmitchellsmicrophones.w...one-ever-made/

441, 224, SM53 or 54. Many of the RE can be OK…RE10/11/15/16.

I haven’t tried a 431 on snare but I definitely want to.

If trying to tame it a bit, maybe a SM59. If trying to bring out some more top end on a heavily dampened snare, maybe a 421.

as Frans and Gravyface rightly said, it depends what you want (or what the song "needs")..
there are several very nice options..

441 is a nice one (431 as well)..
I do like the RE EV16 (and the EV RE10 too)
Beyer M88 is a nice option too, quite big lowend..
(the M201 is another good one, but it's less "boosted" than a 57, or an M88, so for some sounds it's better, for other you need to eq it more).

I never used Austrian Audio OD5 and (the condenser) OC7, could be two other options for snare, although I'd have preferred to see an hypercardioid pattern.. maybe they will make one.. who knows..

on the condenser side of things I like the akg 451, especially on jazzy stuff.. (snare is the only place where I do like it).

Neumann KMS105 is another very nice snare mic..
We also use a km140 (or 84) too, although an hypercardiod pattern would help more with the hihat bleed (but we use a cutting dynamic shelf on fabfilter proQ3 when the snare doesn't hit, it goes back to "normal" or flat when the snare hits... works very nice!..so you could use a cardioid condenser too, in most cases).

I hope this helps,

howdy

Cheu

Try out a Heil PR 22 UT.

Lots of interesting choices in this thread. But I'm slightly puzzled .
Many mics that aren't readily available anymore. Also ones where I have to wonder what drummer sets up a kit in a way that some of these mics even fit in the space to mic the snare? Maybe i'm just used to drummers who set the kit up more compactly. I've tried a 441 and it sounded good but getting the right angle was near impossible without moving hi hats etc into uncomfortable playing positions. Hmm, well Sennheiser has made a 'stubby' 421 now, maybe a 441 is next?

Yeah, definitely for consideration for live and certain kits.

For live recordings, I use this 90 degree clamp. Gives you more options for setup, hi-hat in the null, etc.

https://wilkinsonaudio.com/products/...0-degree-clamp

The innards of a MD441 are really that long, capsule and assembly with the tube behind it, i guess they couldn't make a shorter version. The MD441 has a few specific attributes which only a handful of other mics can pull off - light+fast membrane/coil, extended bandwidth, decently linear frequency plot... For something readily available i'd just grab a M201. The other options here are either hard to get or more expensive.

For shorter drum mics, the Telefunken M80sh or the Sennheiser e904 do a good job.

That is a problem...

...For instance an EV RE20 sounds great on a snare but the damn thing is so huge that it is rare to find an opportunity to actually use it.

I’ve liked both MD441 and KMS105 on snare bottom. I’ve tried fitting the 441 on top in a good position and that’s frustratingly difficult. Yeah 105 is a condenser but was brought up in other posts.

Lately I’ve been trying 441 on the shell rather than setting up a top or bottom mic. Part of going more minimalist and has been good there too.

KB

I am currently pretty happy with the Austrian Audio OD-5. This is an Active Dynamic (it requires phantom power). It is a little brighter than most dynamics. It is on a 'swivel', so it is very easy to position. Because of the design, it has excellent rejection in the rear. The only downside of the mic is that it is a bit susceptible to physical vibration. I make doubly sure the stand is not touching any part of the drum kit, and I use one of those Shure "inner tube" clips that help isolate it.

The ever-popular Beyer M201 is my other fave. Audix i5 is fine, 57 is fine. A 441 is great on snare but it's harder to position. and anyway, it's also great on so many other things. It often gets called away.

IMO, the 'sluggishness' of dynamic mics (more mass, less compliance) is sometimes a plus when close miking drums. It's not dull, it's fat.

With a four piece kit you can usually put a 441 directly to the left of the rack tom (player’s perspective) aimed down at the edge spot on the snare furthest away from the player.

If a player has a ton of toms, you can sometimes fit it in between whatever two rack toms are directly to the left of the bass drum, right in front of the snare. A short stand is needed.

Otherwise you can try to get it between the high hat and closest rack tom, usually a short stand between those two.

Not every approach works well with every drumset.

My boring answer: My go-to snare mic is a bog standard Shure SM57. 9 out of 10 times that mic gets me the sound I'm looking for.

The other 1 out of 10 times it's either a Sennheiser MD441, or an Audix D1. I also recall using an Audio-Technica ATM41a and liking the results...once .

fwiw I have never liked the sound of a Shure Beta57 on snare. Go figger.

I used to work at a recording studio where the chief engineer's favorite snare mic was a Brush BA-106 Acousticel, which I think technically still counts as a "dynamic" microphone (although it is definitely not a moving-coil dynamic). But I was never as enamored of that mic as he was, so I definitely wouldn't reach for it unless there was nothing else available.

Yea, sorry, I was trying to make as shorter post as possible, so people would not stop reading it halfway.
The use for the 2nd (or better say 4th snare) mic in my case is studio only, probably 99% for studio use. I am a session drummer with my own hybrid studio and (knock on wood) I have had quite a few clients and successful tracking and mixing sessions in 2024... absolutely loving stuff that I do these days.
So, the new dynamic mic would be just for tracking drums, snare like I said, and the customers are various: from pop, drum loops tracking, to hard rock / metal.
So yeah, basically like I said - something on the opposite side of the DM20, when I don't need the spiky attack, and when I am in need of dynamic goodness, bottom end and duller/wider sound.
I have previously checked M88, but it sounded kind of too bright. I am now leaning towards M201 when so many people recommended it.

I think the SM57 and M201 are kings of snare dynamics, but I've also been pretty happy using my EV PL6 which is in the 660/RE15 lineage. Kind of a less peaky 57 and smaller than say an RE20 or MD441.

Dr. Alien Smith> ALIEN 8 Figure 8 Dynamic
Top capsule peaking over snare top,bottom cap at shell.

*No phantom power or it will shoot lasers through your snare drum.

The M201 is a remarkable microphone:

It sounds pretty damn good on almost anything, and really shines on others (including snare).

Also good on hi-hat, acoustic guitar, hand percussion and some vocals, etc.

Consider using both at the same time, for session work.

I don't do a lot of it, but when I do, I'm usually tracking upwards of 20 mics on the kit because I want them to have a ton of options.

Last one I did was 19 mics:

Kick in (RE20)
Kick out (Mojave FET 201)
Kick batter (lavalier mic hanging in front of the beater)
snare top 1 (57)
snare top 2 (AKG 451 taped to the 57, capsules aligned)
snare bottom (MD441)
Rack Tom (MD441)
Floor Tom (M88)
OH L (Line Audio CM3, Spaced Pair)
OH Mono (Royer R10, centered over kit)
OH R (Line Audio CM3, Spaced Pair)
Wurst [knee mic] (635A)
Ride Spot Mic (AKG 452)
Front of Kit (CM48T)
Room Far Mid/Side (M130/M160)
Room L Low (CM48T Omni, 6 inches off the floor)
Room R Low (CM48T Omni, 6 inches off the floor)
Room Trash (SM91 boundary mic sitting on an upside-down snare on the concrete floor outside the room)

Massenburg says he's loving it as overhead in his recent book:
https://metalliance.com/recording-and-mixing-drums/

sm57

boom, job done, next.

Love the M201. It's so smooth and expensive sounding (made me forget about my M160). Flat. It can sound a bit dark if you need a bright snappy sound. I like the M88 too, but it is a pain to get set up and doesn't reject as well. I need another 201.

I can use a 57 or an i5 (or 635a), but the 201 is another level.

neumann km84

same here

for some reason I think the Beta 57 is a 'weird' mic. I don't care for it and much prefer the 'regular' 57. What's really odd is that I prefer the Beta 58 over the 'regular' 58 if I am comparing those two head-to-head. Now I have never shot out the two 58's on snare, but considering how close the design of the 2 mics are, it's still an unexpected result.

Here's a curveball: Sennheiser e906.

It has the presence rise that seems popular (including a switchable 4kHz bump), supercardioid pattern, and it's very easy to get into position.

I have 4x e906 and 8x e904. Sometimes I wish I'd gone for six of each.

Chris

me too, I don't like the sound of the beta 57, it's a weird mic, the sm57 is more natural sounding my ears, and it sounds perfect when in the right place on snare drums, the key is setting it up properly.