RE20 on snare?

[MrJoshua]

Now I'm starting to think about putting my SM-7b on snare. I don't have an RE-20.

[UstadKhanAli]

For me... I like to use a hat mic when it's going to be a heavily produced or layered sound. When I got pads, stacked guitars, backups out the ass... then a tamborine or shaker panned opposite that hat for a cool effect and... where's the hat? Most of the time I don't need it, but a clean, close miked hat can really do some very cool things in a big over the top mix. Mutt's pop production uses this effect. It's not a natural sound but it's cool to use the human played hat as an almost techno device.

 

Wow, that just never happens, even in dense mixes, for me. I just never lose the bloody high-hat. I might sometimes have the opposite problem: it's difficult to lower the high-hat.

 

The only time I like micing the high-hat is if someone is doing intricate, Stewart Copeland-esque things, playing with nuance, and using the high-hat for something other than tapping eighth notes and opening it up in anticipation of the ensuing chorus. In other words... I mic it rarely.

[Lee Knight]

Wow, that just never happens, even in dense mixes, for me. I just never lose the bloody high-hat. I might sometimes have the opposite problem: it's difficult to lower the high-hat. The only time I like micing the high-hat is if someone is doing intricate, Stewart Copeland-esque things, playing with nuance, and using the high-hat for something other than tapping eighth notes and opening it up in anticipation of the ensuing chorus. In other words... I mic it rarely.

 

Ahh. Yeah, that makes sense. I'm working with a group of bands where ska plays heavily into at least their roots and sometimes directly in their sound. The hats are usually play ed lightly and intricately.

[UstadKhanAli]

Yeah, that'd be a great instance of using it. It'd pick up all the little intricacies and stuff. If there's any texture to be obtained from the high-hat, that's when I'd use it. But I get mostly rock stuff, and the high-hat is "chikka-chikka-chikka-chikka" during the verses, and then when the chorus starts approaching, the drummer's foot magically gets lighter: ""CHAKKA CHAKKA CHA CHA! CHAA CHAAA!" (that's the 'one' of the chorus)-"TANG TANG TANG TANG TANG TANG TANG TANG! (that's the ride cymbal, which delineates the chorus from the high-hat if the drummer chooses not to continue bashing on the open high-hat).

[Switch]

 

But I get mostly rock stuff, and the high-hat is "chikka-chikka-chikka-chikka" during the verses, and then when the chorus starts approaching, the drummer's foot magically gets lighter: ""CHAKKA CHAKKA CHA CHA! CHAA CHAAA! " (that's the 'one' of the chorus)-"TANG TANG TANG TANG TANG TANG TANG TANG! (that's the ride cymbal, which delineates the chorus from the high-hat if the drummer chooses not to continue bashing on the open high-hat).

 

 

Hahaha, man I love a bit of onomatopaea. I've noticed that with drummers who do a lot of live gigs in smallish venues where the drums are unmiced. I personally like some big ol' messy *semi*-open hats for a rock song, but they have to be so damn controlled, by both compression and the player. I've been listenin' to Superunknown by Soundgarden, and there's some great examples of that.

[AudioArtist]

Quote-Lee Knight-BTW, I've had good luck only including OHs and kick in the phones from the kit. This seems to get guys hearing the real balance and making adjustments without a thought. Crank the highs a bit if need be. Works well. Not to be mean but to allow the player to work it from his end...

 

I've been doing this for awhile as well, but I almost always only use a single overhead, and I encourage bleed in my drums mics. Sounds wrong I know, but it works for me. But back to just feeding the drummer OH and Kick, I also have found that it causes the drummer to be a bit more consistent with their snare/tom hits as they are not emphasised in their cans, so they tend to beat them a bit harder. Sometimes, with a drummer who seems to lack kick consistency, I take the Kick out of their mix as well. I tend to attract drummers with bad hit consistency so this has helped alot in my experience.

Back to snare mic. I either use the 57 (I don't mind so much) or if they are less articulate on the hi-Hat I'll use a clip on (tiny) condenser (I do not recommend doing this, it has to be the right drummer right music, preferably a more "jazzy" drummer.) I try and avoid miking the hat/ride, unless it's a very aggressive (metal) group, because those drummers tend to beat the hell out of their crashes which in turn drowns out my single overheads definition of the ride PING and hi-hats Ting.