Recording drums

[C. Bradley]

Ok, I've been wanting to record my drums for a while now and I think I've got something I can use. I've got a Yamaha MG10/2 mixer, an Audio-Technica PRO-25ax mic for the kick drum, a pair of Shure 588SB's and an EV-664.

 

How should I position the mics to get the best sound out of my setup? My only experience with microphones at this point is playing my Yamaha classical guitar in church for Christmas (boom stand, Shure 588SB, mic in front of sound hole) and recording a few little clips of my amps with the mic stuck right up against the grille cloth front & center.

 

I'm in a small room, 10' x 10' x 8' ceiling. Carpet on the floor, bare walls & ceiling.

 

What do I do now?

[where02190]

Start with one mic positioned as an overhead or room mic, and get the best drum sound you can by moving the mic, tuning the kit, etc. Once you've mastered this, add a second mic, then a third as needed.

 

Less is more when it comes to drums, every mic that is added induces phase issues.

 

AFA micing that acoustic, get the mic away from the soundhole. Try around the 12th fret angled in toward where the nec meets the body. Better clarity, more detail, less boominess.

[C. Bradley]

I'm in the process of preparing a room for use as a studio and I was going to add a few cup-hooks to the ceiling to hang mics from, but I'm not going to put holes in my ceiling in the room I'm in now. Maybe a boom stand would do the job?

 

Also, I've tried recording the drums with one of the Shure mics positioned in front of the set high and centered, but the kick drum lacks bass. The freq. response of the 588SB is 80Hz to 13kHz, and isn't very flat. It's slightly scooped in the mids with the treble levels higher than the bass levels. My kick drum sounds great to my ear, but not so great to the 588SB.

 

I'll try out the acoustic guitar mic technique tonight.

[where02190]

Buy mic stands, don't limit your mic positioning to hooks in the ceiling.

 

Save your money for some decent mics.

[C. Bradley]

I've got three tall mic stands and a desk-top stand that I use to mic amps and my kick drum. I don't have any boom mic stands (the one I used for the guitar belonged to the church). I'm planning on buying additional hardware when money allows. I was going to add a tall boom stand, a short boom stand, and several more XLR cables. Mics will have to wait.

 

I'm just trying to get the best sound I can with what I've got right now. The hooks in the ceiling seem like a good, cheap way to put up an overhead mic. One box of cup hooks cost a fraction of what one cheap mic stand costs.

[Phil O'Keefe]

One box of cup hooks cost a fraction of what one cheap mic stand costs.

 

True... but OTOH, they don't offer the flexibility insofar as positioning. Sure you can hang a mic from them, but you can't adjust it in all three dimensions. If it works for you, that's great - but for me personally, I would find doing it that way an excersize in frustration.

 

Look around your local papers (in LA, The Recycler is quite popular, and it's available in other cities too) for some used mic stands. Or check Ebay. Or ask your local dealer if they happen to have any "scratch and dent" units that they'd be willing to sell to you for a significant discount. But IMO, you'll be a lot better off in the long run with some real stands that allow for more flexibility with placement and location.

[Phil O'Keefe]

With the mics you have, I'd use the A/T on the kick, the 664 on the snare (try the snare shell instead of the top head - aim it at the side of the drums shell itself... watch that you don't point it directly at a vent hole or you'll get wind blasts every time the drummer hits the snare) and I'd use the Shures as stereo overheads. Placement on those is going to be a bit tricky.

 

I'd start with the OH's, and adjust their positioning until it sounds as good as possible with just those two mics - probably setting them about equi-distant from the snare drum, to either side of the kit in a spaced stereo pair configuration, although you can experiment with ORTF and XY placements directly over the top of the kit, or just in front of it or directly above and behind the drummer's head. Yes, use a tape measure if you need to with the spaced pair to get the distances set up, but your ears are the final judges insofar as placement. Then "fill out" the missing bottom with the kick mic, and add in the snare mic if you feel it's needed.

[where02190]

Shell micing, especially right at the hole, is a killer technique. I find that for most of what I do, that suffices well along with good OH and room mic placement, that power rush of air really giving the snare some phatness and push.

 

Watch for sales on Onstage stands at Guitar Center. While not caddillac stands, they are cheap, and you can often get 4-5 boom stands for under $100 when they are on sale.

[ArrMatey]

if you want a good kick for drums, I usualy have recorded with a sennheiser E602. It's so much better than the akg D112 (aka egg). while the d112 is good for bass amps as well, for the kick, I find it too muffled. The e602 is a lot more clear and punchy. For the kick, I place it near the inner skin and make sure to cover the inner part of the kick drum with either some carpet or even simply a block of concrete. Works really well.

 

Try to position the mic near the inner skin, near where the kick pedal is. It'll get you a clear, thumpy sound.

 

That works well for rocky/metal recordings...especially double pedal players.

[alcohol]

In a small room with a low ceiling, overheads might be better placed in front of the drums away from the ceiling. After much experimentation I found that worked best for me in my room with an 8' ceiling.

[GuitarPLayer61990]

 

Originally posted by ArrMatey if you want a good kick for drums, I usualy have recorded with a sennheiser E602. It's so much better than the akg D112 (aka egg). while the d112 is good for bass amps as well, for the kick, I find it too muffled. The e602 is a lot more clear and punchy. For the kick, I place it near the inner skin and make sure to cover the inner part of the kick drum with either some carpet or even simply a block of concrete. Works really well. Try to position the mic near the inner skin, near where the kick pedal is. It'll get you a clear, thumpy sound. That works well for rocky/metal recordings...especially double pedal players.

 

 

My studio that I work at has both, and I prefer the D112, and the e602 for floor tom. I do, however like the Beta 52 the best.

[C. Bradley]

Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe With the mics you have, I'd use the A/T on the kick, the 664 on the snare (try the snare shell instead of the top head - aim it at the side of the drums shell itself... watch that you don't point it directly at a vent hole or you'll get wind blasts every time the drummer hits the snare) and I'd use the Shures as stereo overheads. Placement on those is going to be a bit tricky.

 

Phil, I AM the drummer! I don't have a band or anything, but I play drums and guitar a lot and I'm decent, if I do say so me self. I'm not too good at bass, but I'm not terrible either.

 

Thanks for the advice on the mic placement! I'll have to check out Creative Loafing for some used boom stands. Onstage stands? I'll keep an eye out for 'em.

 

In a small room with a low ceiling, overheads might be better placed in front of the drums away from the ceiling. After much experimentation I found that worked best for me in my room with an 8' ceiling.

 

Thank ye much Mr. Alcohol sir! So, would ear level be about right? I'm 6' even.

[alcohol]

Overheads in a low ceilinged room.

 

It seems to go against the concept of "over" but I have the overhead mics under the cymbals and just higher than the toms, positioned wide about two or three feet in front of the drums. I like a sense of space so I didn't like the sound of coincident placement. I have the snare in the center.

 

Higher, I got too much cymbal, lower picked up the toms and cymbals with better balance. I'm using a pair of the Josephson C24s for overheads.

[ThomasH]

Hello there. I'm a U2 fan, and a couple of weeks ago I stumbled on this article, where one of the engineers on the Zooropa album discusses studio techniques. I was surprised to find that they usually only used 3-4 microphones when recording drums. You can read it here:

 

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_articles/mar94/u2robbieadams.html

[where02190]

Another vote for the Shure Beta 52.

 

when it comes to drum micing, less is always better IMHO. While I track tom and hat mics, along with the standard overheads, room snare and kicks, rarely do I use more than the room, overheads and kick. Occasisionally i use the snare, rarely the toms, and the hat never, except to use as a countin for overdubs.

[toddlans]

I usually always use 3-5 mics on a kit. This is mostly just because thats all I have available at the moment. But if I had some more mics and free channels, I'd probably add as many as could/had time for after the overheads, kick, and snare were taken care of. I like more of a natural room sound though, so i'd probably end up reverting back to mostly the overheads. But it would be nice to have more options at mix time in case something is missing or needs to be.

 

What I do is set up the mics to some approximate placement, check the levels real quick with where the mics are at, then pull all the faders down but the overheads and i get them sounding decent by themselves, then add kick and snare and whatever else one at a time while the overheads are still up and hear where they're sounding the best with the rest of the drums. When i'm hearing the full mix then, i'll move things around a bit. Then I'll sometimes tweak again depending on how the other instruments seem to mix with the kit. If you get the overheads right all you need to do is fill in with a couple mics on certain things to round out the sound to however you want it.