dlogan
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Drum recording with limited mic options
I'm going to be doing some drum recording - just for fun, not a professional situation - and only have Large Diaphragm Condensor mics (4 of them - none of them a matched stereo pair) and an SM57.
Basically the main thing I'm lacking is a kick drum mic. Should I use two of the condensors in front of the kit (instead of as overheads) to pick up more of the kick? Or should I use two of them as more traditional overheads and also place one in front of the kit, closer to the kick? Or other suggesions? Of course the SM57 will go on the snare.
I know there is no cookie cutter way to record drums, but if you could help point me to a good starting point with the mics I already have, that would be appreciated. If the sessions go well and we decide to do something more "official", we'll invest in a good kick mic...
BTW, my LDC mics are a Rode NT1A, Rode NT1000, Blue Blueberry and an AKG Perception 220.
Thanks!
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35mm
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Re:Drum recording with limited mic options
2010/05/12 16:02:16
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4 mics - use Glinn Johns technique for overheads 2 x LDCs (do a search on google). Use 57 on snare. You can use a LDC on the kick - that's been done many times before.
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dlogan
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Re:Drum recording with limited mic options
2010/05/12 16:25:18
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Thanks - I've seen things on that technique (Glyn Johns BTW for someone else trying to Google...). I wasn' sure about the LDC on the kick. I'm assuming I won't put it inside the kick drum. Is about a foot away from the non-beater head a safe distance?
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skullsession
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Re:Drum recording with limited mic options
2010/05/12 16:36:31
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I wouldn't worry about any of those LCD's inside the kick drum, as long as it isn't right at the hole where the air blast is coming, you'll be fine INSIDE or OUT.
ME? Overall, I'd go with the 57 on snare. One of the mics as a MONO OH mic, one of the LDC's in the kick, and the other two would be split stereo as room mics.
You'll get plenty of stereo spread from the room mics, and by using the MONO OH mic, you'll avoid phase issues inherent to multi-mic drum setups.
Just be sure you check phase of your snare to your OH. And check phase of your kick to your OH. And check phase of your room mics to the OH. With that, and a little bit of creativity in mic placement and room choice, you'll be doing fine enough!
HOOK: Skullsessions.com / Darwins God Album "Without a doubt I would have far greater listening and aural skills than most of the forum members here. Not all but many I am sure....I have done more listening than most people." - Jeff Evans on how awesome Jeff Evans is.
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mattplaysguitar
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Re:Drum recording with limited mic options
2010/05/12 17:14:15
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skullsession
I wouldn't worry about any of those LCD's inside the kick drum, as long as it isn't right at the hole where the air blast is coming, you'll be fine INSIDE or OUT.
ME? Overall, I'd go with the 57 on snare. One of the mics as a MONO OH mic, one of the LDC's in the kick, and the other two would be split stereo as room mics.
You'll get plenty of stereo spread from the room mics, and by using the MONO OH mic, you'll avoid phase issues inherent to multi-mic drum setups.
Just be sure you check phase of your snare to your OH. And check phase of your kick to your OH. And check phase of your room mics to the OH. With that, and a little bit of creativity in mic placement and room choice, you'll be doing fine enough!
I'd probably do something like that too. Just make sure you get a bit of time to tune those drum heads. More time consuming option however: - Record as per above, not worrying too much about the mic choice for kick and snare, choose the best ones for overhead and room first. Also try to set the kick and snare mics up so they have a low bleed to direct ratio. We want those snare hits MUCH louder than anything else. Mic the top of the snare cause from the bottom, the high end is similar in frequencies to the highhat and might make triggering difficult later on. That may or may not be a problem. - Set up the best two mics on your snare and record some snare only samples of different velocities - Same thing with the kick - Using audiosnap and something to trigger those hits, replace your original kick and snare sounds with the new improved ones! This is something that is very good to practice so if you have the time, I suggest you have a go at it.
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dlogan
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Re:Drum recording with limited mic options
2010/05/12 17:28:35
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Gracias, amigos. I'm cautiously optimistic we'll get something decent. He's a very skilled drummer with a nice kit, and an okay room to record in. I like the mono OH idea - I also only have one good preamp (the others will go straight into the interface preamps), so that would make sense to to put my best mic and best preamp on the OH.
We'll be getting together possibly next weekend to start doing some recording. I post on the results!
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CJaysMusic
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Re:Drum recording with limited mic options
2010/05/12 17:50:39
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jimmyrage
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Re:Drum recording with limited mic options
2010/05/12 20:46:48
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I think I would experment around a bit. Shame you don't have a matching pair for overheads but maybe the two rodes will be simular, or 1 overhead may work for your situation. The 57 isn't the 1st choice for a kick mike but is actually closer to a AKG D112, Beta 52 or MD 421 than anything else you have, and you can get a decient kick sound from one. You may be able to use it along with one of the LD condensors you have. Or you may want to make a subkick out of an old speaker to use with the 57 or one of the condensors. I usually use a 57 or MD421 on the snare but I've also had exelent results with a LDC. Watch the position if your worried about HH bleed. You can get a nice crispy sound by miking the top rim from the side. Don't rule out the condensors as a snare mike. A lot of your snap , even from the kick and snare will probably come from the OH's. Watch for phasing problems and comb filtering.
The room you record in may have more to do with the sound than the microphones.
Hope this helps.
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Rbh
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Re:Drum recording with limited mic options
2010/05/12 22:07:21
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The 57 won't get close enough to picking up the kicks fundamentals as an LCD would. The LDC should be fine IF your drummer isn't killing the kit. If, as you say he's a skilled drummer, then he'll understand the difference between a recording situation and general playing situation. The skilled folks know that you get tone and balance by playing the kit to it's component strengths and weaknesses. A good drum recording is all about balance in the playing.
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Jonbouy
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Re:Drum recording with limited mic options
2010/05/13 05:32:18
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+ 1 Completely to what Skullsession said with what you have available. The only difference is I'd go for the Stereo image from the OH's and use a mono 'Room' setup but that is pretty much semantics here. You'll get a good sound with those spending a little time on placement.
post edited by Jonbouy - 2010/05/13 05:35:12
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papa2005
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Re:Drum recording with limited mic options
2010/05/13 09:58:22
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Jonbouy
+ 1
Completely to what Skullsession said with what you have available.
The only difference is I'd go for the Stereo image from the OH's and use a mono 'Room' setup but that is pretty much semantics here.
You'll get a good sound with those spending a little time on placement.
I agree...And, depending on the sound you're looking for, you can compress the crap outta the mono "Room" track and mix it in with the "regular" drum tracks to fit your needs... The most important thing to consider is that, with only 5 mics, you're going to have to spend a decent amount of time working on getting the sound right...You will have to try different mic placement configurations depending on how the drummer plays on a particular song...Hopefully the drummer is experienced enough to be able to tune the drums for your room...You might also want to have a good supply of paper towels or napkins (or an old bed sheet that your wife won't mind you cutting into pieces) and some duct tape... Your mic choices aren't ideal but, with the properly tuned kit and a good drummer, you should be able to get a decent recording.
Regards, Papa CLICK HERE for a link to support for SONAR 8.5 CLICK HERE to view a list of video tutorials... CLICK HERE for a link to Getting Started with Session Drummer 3...
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