And how would you prefer your Overheads?

[Tzouras]

I was just wondering what your opinion is on the following question:

 

When recording and mixing drums, do you start from the Overheads adn use the other mics as spot mics that complement the Overheads? Or do you srart with and individual mics and use the overheads mainly for acapturing the cymbals and maybe the room sound?

 

There is no right or wrong method here. Both methods are "correct" depending on what you are doing.

 

Drop a line here on which method you use, or if you have your own method, share it with all the rest of us here!

 

Cheers all!

[where02190]

Overhead and room mics are the key components to a recorded drumkit. the sound of a dit is not the sum of it's parts, but the whole as a single entity.

 

My mics of choice for these positions are a Shure VP-88 stereo mic of rthe overheads, placed aprox 18-24" over the drummers head, back enough to be just out of stick reach. this captures as close to possible what the player is hearing. For room mic I like an AKG C-4000B in omni mode, about chest height, 4-8' in front of the kit, centered on the player.

 

Although I will track close mics on everything, including hats, toms, sometimes even ride mics, typically during mix it is rare I usle more than OH's, room, kick and snare. I put particular concentration on placement of OH and room mics, getting as close to exactly the sound I hear in the room with the player as possible.

 

Of course no kit can sound good if it is not maintained and tuned correctly. A poor sounding kit is a poor sounding kit, no matter how it is recorded.

 

Hope this is helpful.

[KenElevenShadows]

Originally posted by Tzouras:

When recording and mixing drums, do you start from the Overheads adn use the other mics as spot mics that complement the Overheads?

Yes, I like this method best for me. I also tend to work in a manner similar to Where's post, where I end up using room, snare, kick, and lean heavily on the overheads for the overall sound, keeping in mind that it is an overall sound that I am going after. Sometimes, I use toms if they are being played a lot. It really depends. With Where's method of micing over the head, you can sometimes really key in on the toms and get a lot of toms in the overheads.

 

Lately, I have been recording overheads with one omni, an Audio Technica AT4049 small diaphragm condenser. It has interchangeable capsules, so if I don't dig the sound in omni, I'll switch it, but so far, it's worked. One mic, but you really have to shift the thing around and make sure that you are picking up a balanced sound since the overheads are so important. I like this because it's simple, and also, I don't own that many mics, so it frees up another small diaphragm condenser, which I use to double-mic the kick with. Also, because I get a lot of room sound from an omni overhead, I sometimes don't bother with a room mic, freeing up yet another mic. I like getting a really beefy, robust sound, but with as few mics as possible. Less phase problems, more tracks, etc.

 

Six mics: 1 overhead, 1 snare, 2 for the kick (one is almost like a room mic since it's on the outside of the kick), one for the rack tom, and one more for the floor tom. That's what I've used lately, and I feel like I've gotten the best, most solid drum sound I've ever gotten. It's an ongoing process, as with anyone, but that's where I'm at today.

[where02190]

My alternative method is one overhead (same position but slightly higher, usually an Audio technica 4033A, pad in, no rolloff) and two omni room mics(again the AKG C4000B's), equal distance from the drummer, chest height, and 1/3 that distance between them.

 

Hope this is helpful.