The Basics: An on-mic filter for the SM57 that reduces off-axis spill and bleed, $89 direct.
The Apps: The only thing worse than cymbal bleed in your tom mics? Hi-hat bleed in your snare mic! Careful positioning and noise gates are all helpful, but wouldn’t it be better to acoustically prevent so much spill? It is, and the Alpaca 57 from Alpaca Mic uses (yep, you guessed it, Sparky!) Alpaca wool, contained in a tube that neatly fits around the headbasket of the 57 and reduces high frequencies off-axis without choking the mic into omni operation.
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Indeed, the drum’s tone is slightly darker, but that nasty hat spill becomes a lot less shrill and much quieter—it sounds like you’ve used EQ and a downward expander to attenuate 6 dB between snare hits.
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For that matter, they also make the Alpaca Mic, a larger model that fits most LDCs and provides a similar solution for vocals tracked in noisy rooms.
