Starting to record, any advice?

I just got a set of mics for my set:

4 Snare/Tom mics

1 Kick mic

2 Overdead mics

(All XLR)

My set:

Yamaha Rydeen:

1 Kick

1 Rack Tom

1 Floor Tom

1 Snare

With a ride, splash, crash, and china cymbals

I also got a 12 channel mixer to record with, and I got a new sound card and breakout box for my computer.

I have recorded a few songs with my band, and it sounds good, but if anyone can give me advice for any special sounds, that would be great.

Take your time, tune like crazy. Try to get the best sound at the source instead of using recording "tricks". Experiment with different micing distances, but watch your phase when you get a little bit off the heads.

What kind of a sound are you going for?

well i really like the whole bonham sound in "When The Leevee Breaks",

but then i REALLY like peart's 30th anniversary setup and sound, its so clean.

I think you'll find that most of Bonham's stuff was recorded very organically. Fewer mic's than you would think, placed further from the drums than you'd expect.

I wonder if there's documentation somewhere about exactly how that setup worked?

/willy

yes, i will look into that.

peart's setup is beyond me though

he has a great drumset let alone tons of mics and gear, but i love his sound

I've heard stories about Bonzo taking the mic (one mic!) placing it strategically over his kit (not sure exactly where) and forbidding the engineer from touching it. Voila!

Make sure your drums sound good in the room. elsewize yous wasting your time.

that sounds odd,

but my room has horrible accoustics

its huge but has no reeverb at all

Bonham used to leave a room mic a few feet out from the drums where he believed the sound "blossomed." Use a room mic (or preferably a Mouse, if you can afford it!) on a chair about six feet infront of your kit and waist level, and mix that into your direct mics. I've done that on a few recordings and I'm very happy with my drum sound.

Most importantly, use new heads, tune your drums VERY well, and PLEASE GOD, DON'T GATE YOUR DRUMS!!!

Actually from what I heard, Bonham went for a really unusual setup for recording "When The Levee Breaks". He set up his drums in a stairwell on the 10th floor landing in a 20-story building. He mic'ed his drums as normally did, and then placed an ambient mic at the top of the stairwell (20th floor) and a second ambient mic at the bottom (basement).

That would explain the unique echo on the drums.

So long story short, Bonzo was weird.

Another odd technique that he supposedly had a part in was placing a microphone in a plastic bag and submerging it in a bucket of water. Not sure if there's any truth to it, but it was used as an effect on the end of a Third Eye Blind song (maybe "Jumper"?).

I use some somewhat weird techniques when I mic:

- I put a mic on the batter and bottom of the snare

- I place one bass drum mic almost against the batter head by going through the drum

- I cross my overheads and then reverse pan the sound so the cymbals pan. Makes a great shimmer!

But most importantly, try new things! What works for everyone else may not for you, and vice versa.

get used to playing with a click took me a while to get used to but very glad i did

wow, great input, thanx guys

im just soooo happy i can record now, its been 2 years since i wanted to

any advice on micing the kick?

its too much of a thump with no ambiance... it may be the mic, but i really think its the room...

Your room is, after the instrument itself, the most important thing that's going to shape the sound of your recording. Especially if you want a nice open sound like Bonham.

http://www.danalexanderaudio.com/glynjohns.htm

This is a good place to look for the LZ sound with regard to drum micing. But I would take some time and read up on cheap room treatments, as well as really listening to the sound of your room to get it as natural and pleasant sounding as possible. That'll do more than all the fancy mics, pres, and compressors in the world can ever hope to.

Mic placement is always fun to experiment with, and sometimes you hit gold!

Back in the mid-90's, the band I was in was in the studio recording our first CD. The studio had a loft with a grand piano above the 'drum and percussion' area. I was laying some timbale parts for one song, and the engineer had accidentally brought up the condenser mic for the piano in the loft, instead of the mic on the timbales. When we played it back, it sounded GREAT!!! So that's the way the part was left on the recording.

You just never know!!