What are some secrets to miking drums for digital recording

[DeeJeffries]

I have just completed a demo at my home studio and I did not get the drum sound and feel I was looking for. I was wondering if some of you could help me with drum miking techniques that work well with digital recording. Any information would really help me out - Thanks in advance.

[Jode]

One thing that will be a BIG help is a quality tube mic preamp, and also a good tube compressor. As for the finer points of mic angles, etc., you'll have to ask someone else.

[Super 8]

Oh, if I told you the secrets... Well, then they wouldn't be secrets anymore!!!

 

But seriously. A lot of factors -all of them actually- will play in to recording acoustic drums. The issue of digital versus analog isn't the point. You are going to want to use microphones that sound good for recording drums. There are plenty to choose from. Certainly the Shure SM-57 is widely known for this purpose -specifically for recording the snare drum. But there are also packages put out just for recording drums by various manufacturers. How great they are for that purpose is somewhat subjective. It depends largely on how much you want to spend. Also, how many mics do you need. You can mic everything individually, or you can set up just a couple of mics. It depends on what you want -either way works.

 

Regardless of mics and drums, you'll find that the room you record in plays a pretty big role in how they will sound. This is especially true of the cymbals.

 

I don't think I've given you much in the way of answers here, but hopefully some things to think about while you are gathering your answers.

[Jazzman]

There are a few questions that need to be answered.

 

1. What mics did you use for the demo?

2. How were they placed?

3. What room did you play in? A lot of cloth in the room?

4. What is the routing of the mics to your mixing board, or PC?

5. Are you going through a mixer first?

 

Here is my set-up.

 

I have a 32/8 analog Mackie board, so I set up the mics to get a stereo effect of the drums in the mix. There are two ways to do this, if you are standing in front of the drummer and listening to him or if you were the drummer and hear the set from his perspective. You need to find out where you want the stereo drum set in the mix(placement on a stage for example). I usually have the bass drum in the middle, snare off to the right a bit the hat further off to the right. Then the toms in a stereo pattern accross the field. The cymbals are also panned accross the listening field. (I have 10 cymbals).

 

I use AT mics for the whole set. I have 3 mics on 5 toms(split between the toms), two overheads in an "X" pattern(one behind the drummer and facing the opposite side of the set, the same for the opposite side), one mic on the snare, one in the bass drum facing off center of the beater, and one on the Hi-hat.

 

I use a laser pointer for lining up the overheads to hit the ride cymbals on each side of the set that I want to hear in the mix. I try not to mic the crash cymbals. That way they will blend in well in the final mix.

 

I also have my snare mic at the edge of the snare facing towards the center of the drum in a downward position.

 

My Hi-Hat mic is 10"above the cymbals lined up 2 to 3 inches from the edge, on a 5 deg. angle facing toward the center of the hat.

 

Getting a good drum sound will take some time. You might need to tape up drums, take the bottom heads off, dampen them, and for goodness sakes tune up the drums, (another subject).

 

It is a good idea if you had some one play the drums to help you get the sound, volume and panning of the set down pat. A little reverb on the snare does wonders too.

 

Hope this helps a little.

 

Jazzman

[Matt.Hepworth]

Well, we really don't know what sound you'd like to have. All the above suggestions are good for getting great drum sounds. Tell us what you're looking for and we could give suggestions more specific for your sonic goal.