I used a Beta 98 on snare and Earthworks DM20 on floor tom tonight. I've always liked 98's on snare but it was quite different after using an M201 for so long. I probably haven't used a 98 for 6 months, I'll start using them again some more now. It probably needed to be a little higher or farther back but I was using it because space around that snare mic is pretty tight. It was maybe 50mm above and that's a little close for me, but it was basically under the hi hats anyway so I didn't want to get much closer to that either. I won't get into why there's so little space there but I've never been able to mic his snare how I'd like.

I've got to fix my TGD70, I can't keep using it like this. I should use the house B52 and e901 at least a few times as it's part of the installation there. The M. XLR insert has lost the little screw that holds it in on my kick mic, it still works but I have to be careful not to break the wires. And I think it rattles a bit now because of it. I'm already not happy with the amount of play in the whole mic stand setup I use, I've got to stabilise it somehow. I was thinking of getting one of those Triad Orbit ball joints machined and fitted with a lock screw, now I'm not sure that's going to work. There might not be room to do it in that part.

Anyway tonight the best part of the drums was the floor tom. It's a very nice drum kit and without question that drummer has set it up nicely and he can play, and it sounds just great on a decent PA. Floor tom might not seem like a very important part but it's just one of those accents that can really add the polish to a song at the right moment. Anyway the DM20 brought out the deep, solid note of that tom just great, it was pretty cool IMO. Tuned fairly low, I think it's a 16". Like most bands now it's a 4-piece kit and I'm still using an ND46 on rack tom, still like it. I always try for a good toms sound but tonight that floor tom was nice. I've also had great results with an MK-101, which isn't as quick and convenient as some, and I usually use an OD-5.* I've used this DM20 before on floor tom but tonight it was particularly nice, on such a good sounding drum.

*I am willing to concede, there really is nothing wrong with e904's on toms in my application and I don't need my own toms mics... but it's still nice to have them. I would have had a nice floor tom sound with that tonight but the DM20 is still better. Yes I agree that condensers for toms may smear the snare sound, so I gate them, this is the analogue rig and it's a Drawmer quad gate. Fine for the job. To travel light on the weekends I use the e904's in the mic kit down there and they do the job fine, and they're convenient of course. I will horse around with my own mics in that venue over time but for now the house stuff suits me.

When I started using an M160 on guitar amp I placed it some inches off the grille, then on certain amps I found I could place it right on the grille, then got lazy and did that all the time for a while. Then started placing it at about 150mm away again and it sounded so much better that's what I try and do all the time with that mic now. (It can help with 57's too but I'm pretty used to them right up close).

At my midweek gig now the standard setup is that for any bands with IEMs we use the wall-mounted ui24 and splits from the stage box, so everyone can do their own IEM mix from an iPad at side of stage, or can do it with their own phone or tablet. I have to say I don't much enjoy working with ui24's, there are a lot of them around and I have more problems with them than most other mixers. Especially staying in touch with it via a tablet. Lots of bands have them in their racks to do IEMs with and they are the one thing that most often goes wrong or won't work. The in-built hotspot has a range of about 5 angstroms and using an external WiFi router has been a headache regularly too. It's neat that anything with a recent browser can work with it, whether it'll do it dependably is another question. One of the first digital consoles I used was a Presonus, it was so easy it was a relief and I thought it was alright. I used one again recently and found it painful. Digital stuff does suffer obsolescence pretty horribly when it hits. The M7CL is still a useful desk but that was more up-market in its day. One day the SQ series will be out-of-date too but they are turning up all over. The new Qu's will likely sell all they can supply too IMO.

I'll be continuing to work away on weekends for most of this month and July, and beyond that I'm sure I'll work there again. If there's any way I can ever talk them into an upgrade I'll see if I can get them to look at an Avantis. There is actually already one in Bunbury, not far away... I'd love to get a good look at one some time. I did a couple of shifts with a new entry-level Digico, I didn't get along very well with it and everyone from that company was basically swearing at or about it too.

PS I don't use the Earthworks mount for that DM20. I know plenty of ppl get by fine with the provided one but I didn't so I got a Shure A75M, the mount for a Beta 98AMP/C. I was interested in getting that model of 98 but opted for the DM20 instead, then once I decided I wanted the different mount I was starting to regret getting that mic. It's a really good toms mic, it's just I didn't really need one of those. I thought it was going to be a pretty good snare mic and it can be but not all the time, it's a little flat for that task IMO. But with processing I think it can still do alright.
There's a sax player on the weekend and for one song he uses one of those MIDI saxes, that'll be fun. I think I've only ever seen them once or twice before.
Now that I know my way around that SQ7 a little better I've planned out how I want to set it up. It's got 32 faders but I'm not going to use that many for most of these bands, so I'll assign FX returns to the last group of 4 faders. The console;s patching and routing is sensible enough, you just have to spend enough time with it to know where to find everything. But we still can't get the actual A&H apps going with that version of the firmware somehow.

Question regarding snare mics:

I’ve been using my m201 on snare at home mostly to improve isolation and have grown to enjoy the sound. Live I still default to a 57 on top and that works for me just fine (and often spectacularly).

I think I remember you like an m201 on snare top. Isn’t it also pretty flat? Curious how the dm20 differs in this regard to your ear.

I do indeed use an M201 on snare (top) most of the time and rarely use a mic underneath. I find the DM20 flatter than the M201, for sure. The Beyer doesn't have a ton of presence boost but there's some there... I haven't had a good look at its FR for a while, I could be wrong. I do often use a bit of boost, anywhere from about 2 to 5kHz, usually 2-ish. The M201 does have the potential for a fairly thick-sounding low / LM range depending on the snare, for the 80s tribute act last night I took advantage of it.
I think the key to the M201 on snare live isn't so much its FR as a snappy attack. I guess it sounds flatter than a 57 but the DM20 IMO needs even more boost in the HMF for a snare. M201 on snare top might even be the time to use a bottom snare mic - as you suggest there are times when it can be a little dull naturally and the bottom mic could add something to help. But somehow I still like the M201

My DM20 can be great on toms (and the right snare too) but I'm still having problems with the mount... The Shure A75M I got for it won't go tight enough to stop the mic clip from slipping and last night for the last 2 songs the mic ended up with its head on the floor tom skin. I'm getting tired of battling with it TBH. I'll try the Earthworks mount again but I need to find a solution, that mic wasn't cheap