by jorge » Wed Jun 18, 2014 5:22 am
Slaps sound echo-ey and don't sound dry and clean. The bass is exaggerated and harder to control than when sitting and lifting and lowering the drum with no mic or external mics. Although you may think all outside sounds are reduced inside the conga, there are resonances that actually amplify some frequencies and may need to be EQ'ed to prevent feedback if there is a monitor nearby. Plus there is a ring at about 700 Hz that you normally don't hear onstage but it gets amplified with an internal mic. I have tried taping the mics high and low inside, and a short boom stand inside. You may want to experiment with dampening the sound with towels or foam or something to try to get a more natural conga sound. I only tried internal mics in my studio, I would not want to try it in a performance until I get the sound right in my studio. Internal mic'ing is a cute idea and I haven't completely ruled it out, but my initial experiments have not been very successful so far. External mics work fine, so there is no immediate need for internal mics unless you can make them sound even better than external. What mics are you using for internal placement?