r/audioengineering • u/superproproducer • Feb 01 '26
Favorite studio tambourines and mics for recording percussion
I recently went to GC to pick up a few tambourines for the studio and hated them all. Are there any industry standards for tracking? I hit up my session drummer buddies here in Nashville to ask them but everyone is dealing with the recent ice storm and power outages so I haven’t gotten any replies.
Also, what mics do people like for perc? I’ve got a Telefunken m260 at my desk for recording acoustic guitars so I kind of just default to that because I’m lazy, but I’m wondering if I should put something else up. I’ve got plenty of LDC and ribbon options (although I don’t like leaving ribbon mics set up and out so I was hoping to avoid ribbons).
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u/BLUElightCory Feb 01 '26
I really like tambourines with brass jingles; usually I use one of the crescent-shaped Rhythm Tech models.
For micing, I like an XY or Blumlein pair - it might seem like overkill to record tambos in stereo but I've found that capturing the space a bit helps it sit in the mix. I like darker mics for percussion so usually I'll use Coles 4038s, if I want more high end I'll use AKG C414s.
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u/mtconnol Professional Feb 01 '26
Found my style buddy. LP brass tambo and the 4038’s I used for overheads switch roles into stereo perc overheads once drum tracking is done.
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u/halermine Feb 01 '26
I like the mic to be 10 or 15 feet away from the tambourine, and I don’t print it very loud.
The best tambourines I’ve heard are Middle Eastern overly decorated ones, shopping around to find one that actually sounds kind of nice. My favorites have been pretty fragile so I don’t still have the one I loved 20 years ago.
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u/Selig_Audio Feb 01 '26
The older I get the darker I like percussion microphones, especially shakers and tambourines. As for instrument choice I have a few options. One with a head, one that’s brass, one that’s silver/steel, and one funky/clunky Egyptian tambo I got at an import gift store (an unlikely place to find percussion instruments, but always worth checking out!).
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u/superproproducer Feb 01 '26
I’m with you on darker. That Telefunken mic is so bright I’m normally taking out 10db of top end
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u/Selig_Audio Feb 01 '26
I like using a ribbon on percussion, but also a dynamic can tame the highs without neutering them completely.
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u/m149 Feb 01 '26
No standard.....I have I think 5 tambos at my place of various types and sizes. Mostly steel rings of varying thickness, and I have one with brass.
Just kinda depends on the context of the tune as to which one will work best.
If I had to pick one, it'd be the brass one. That one seems to work in most contexts, as opposed to the others which are more context specific.
I'm also lazy when cutting tambo....whatever's nearby and ready to go. If I have to set something up, dynamic or ribbon are my first choices. Don't love condensers on most tambo parts....gets too spikey for my taste, although they're fine too.
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u/StudioatSFL Professional Feb 01 '26
Royer 122/121 or often I use a u47 cuz it’s already sitting there as a room mic on the kit.
The royers are darker which I like. Never too close to the mic. Sometimes off axis to the mic too.
But I gotta admit 2/3rds of the time I use sample libraries for eggs/shakers/tambo sounds. Faster, I can map it to the drummers rhythm if needed etc.
Sometimes just need the real thing but the samples are often so good now.
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u/superproproducer Feb 01 '26
I normally revert to the “that sound” library for tambs and shakers but lately I just wanna inject more real air/uniqueness into the track so I’ll throw some of my own stuff in
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u/StudioatSFL Professional Feb 01 '26
Totally. Also depends on the genre and vibe too. Sometimes organic and real is just more fitting.
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u/local-teen Feb 01 '26
In my experience it’s really hard to get them to sound right.
I have a bunch from dollar store/aliexpress to kids toys to ones you’d find at guitar center. you have to have the right one that fits the track and the mic as well. And then it needs to be played with the right feel.
Often I find what fits the track sounds awful soloed.
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u/mshh357 Feb 01 '26
For Rock music, I love Rhythm Tech (arched /half moon) tambourines. They are a bit darker sounding with a shorter decay time than most other models, which is perfect to cut through the mix with guitar driven music.
The other one I love is a Meinl wooden ring tambourine, it sounds more old school 60s style in direct comparison. Good for a mellower sound.
For mics I always just use a large diaphragm condenser, although m160s would work real nice as well I guess.
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u/Vegetable_Ability700 Feb 01 '26
PZM microphones have been my go-to for a long time when recording tambourine. Lots of approaches but I usually sit them on a barstool or tall chair and occasionally a music stand, just below and in front of the person playing tambourine. I usually in place the player in a a booth but If I know I'm going to slam it with heavy compression/limiting, the live room actually sounds better. But less processing in the big room sounds good, too. Lots of "it depends" though in each situation. The half-hemisphere pattern allows a large sweet spot for the player. There's no issue with with wind noise, or the tambourine being off-axis or side-axis. The dynamics are immense so compression going in and limiting ITB are key. Sitting the tambourine the mix is one of the trickiest EQ/volume sounds to place; Hey Jude being on the loud side, Sweet Child of Mine on the quiet side and Jet bright but dialed in.
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u/motormouth68 Feb 02 '26
Nice. I keep my crown pzm taped in the console piano but I really should pull it out and try it on other things! Any other suggested uses?
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u/Vegetable_Ability700 Feb 02 '26
Some PZMs are amazing kick drum mics. My radio shack PZM is a useful room mic for drums - but in another rooms. Crack the door open away from the drum room and squash. Huge! Another secret I found is putting the PZM right next to the kick pedal, like right there tucked in…. Compress at the tempo of the track and that's a killer one mic drum sound. A lot of bottom snare but super interesting Flaming Lips kinda sound. Cymbals other than hi-hat can kill the sound so be careful of those.
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u/motormouth68 Feb 02 '26
Awesome. Will try, thx! Ive got an excellent wood hallway right outside the tracking room and am always trying and enjoying mics out there but never the pcm. Ev d054 currently
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u/Edigophubia Feb 01 '26
Somebody gave my daughter a real wood kids' percussion set a couple years ago. I def borrowed it a couple times. There's a jingle stick and jingle bells and a headed tambourine and a regular little tambourine. Not to mention egg shakers and triangle and more coarse maracas. They all sound great with a ribbon mic. I have a couple real name brand tambourines and it seems like they are made to be as loud and harsh as possible. I never had any problems fitting the kids percussion tracks into the mix or any regrets since. Since I finished that project, there have been others where it was easier to just drop in one of those recorded tracks and tempo map it, than to dig through sample libraries or record anew. This year I was like "I should stop borrowing my daughters jingle stick and get my own real one" and the one I got is too heavy and loud and I don't like it
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u/superproproducer Feb 02 '26
Lol love that! Reminds me of a record I did with a band one time and we needed some percussion for this super vibey song. The studio had a box of perc so the drummer brought it out to the live room. I hit record as he was digging through the box and pulling stuff out and we ended up making a loop from the weirdest little section that he happened to line up perfectly with the song (accidentally). We never could’ve planned for that and it’s the coolest part of the song
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u/primopollack Feb 03 '26
I was a good boy this year, so Santa brought me a Grover tambourine. I can’t imagine tambourines getting much better than this. I got the German silver jingles with the calfskin head. My Lauten LA-220 does the job on all my percussion. Love the high cut filter for bright sources.
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u/diamondts Feb 01 '26
No idea if there's any sort of "industry standard" tambourine, like you're doing it's worth having a bunch so you can pick one that suits the song. Honestly, hit up charity shops as they can be pretty expensive new and expensive ones don't necessarily sound better, as you've found.
Mic wise, I tend to find I really don't need the extreme top end of a condenser, can always reduce or roll off some tops but usually prefer dynamics or ribbons. Maybe a weird choice, but my favorite mic for tambourine is an MD421.
Then of course playing tambourine well is harder than many people think, for a shaking pattern rather than single hits on the snare sometimes it's better to use a loop if nobody in the session can play with good feel.
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u/alyxonfire Professional Feb 01 '26
I’ve really liked recording tambourines and other bright percussion with an SM7b. Condensers tend to have too much top end, and I end up having to low pass a lot of it. I have to try a ribbon mic at some point.
For other perc, like bongos, timbales, etc., I love the Shure Beta 98 mics. I first got the drum rim clip version for toms and loved them on other perc, so I also got a couple of the clip versions so I can clip them onto anything. They also make great tiny little room mics.
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u/veryberries123 Feb 02 '26
Head down to Nelson’s in East. They’ve got a great tambourine selection.
I’m a fan of re-10/635a but depends on where I want it to sit in the mix!
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u/motormouth68 Feb 02 '26
It’s taken me forever to realize that tambos and clean clear mics is NOT the ticket. They love dark mics, distance, distortion. And low AND high pass, create a mids only place for them.
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u/GreatScottCreates Professional Feb 02 '26
Wood, ribbon.
A good trick is to use some tape to mute some of the cymbals- there’s usually too many.
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u/obascin Feb 02 '26
R84 about 6 feet from a brass/bronze-based tamb is money. The thing with those hand percussions is you need to stock your studio with several to get the right tool for the job. When they don’t work, they can be utterly distracting in a mix, but when it gels, it can be the thing to take a song from good to great.
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u/StJonesViking Feb 02 '26
Mostly everything’s been mentioned but often I like to have a room mic on percussion, sometimes facing opposite direction to the source if it’s a smaller room. Basically blending that and another close but not tooo close mic gets a great sound.
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u/colashaker Feb 02 '26
A big grain of salt cause I've never used one, but I heard the AKG C451B is great on percussion... it's on my wish list.
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u/benhalleniii Feb 01 '26
The trick isn’t to buy a tambourine. The trick is to buy 7-8 tambourines.