To Improve my drum sound
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Posted on Sep 02, 2007 04:31 am
Deathwish
Member Since: Aug 29, 2007
Ok so i just bought 4 CAD drum mics from musiciansfriend
1 KM 212 Dynamic Kick Drum Microphone (Kick)
2 TM 211: Dynamic Percussion Microphone (Tom)
1 SN 210 Supercardioid Dynamic Percussion Microphone (Snare)
Im also using
2 Cobalt CO4 Dynamic Microphones as overheads
(Its Only A Four Piece Kit {Snare/Tom/Floor Tom/Kick/Cymbals}
And i know now i can get great recordings, but ive noticed in a lot of the research that i do sometimes the drums are panned. i want the best quality i can get (obviously) so i was already going to pan the overheads {hard left and hard right}and i was thinking should i tweak the whole set? will this make it a better sound? i know its all prefrence of person, but what do YOU think??? Oh if it helps im recording Metalcore.
Cheers
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olddogMember
Since: Jul 02, 2003
Sep 02, 2007 11:32 am With the exception of Tom's on a large kit I personally find drums panned excessively, distracting and un-natural sounding. When I pan my kit it's usually very close to the postition's of the individual pieces, and rarely by more than 15-20% either direction with everything falling between that range.
Dan
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Sep 03, 2007 10:32 am I agree, when you sit 20 ft out from a kit, you hear the left side in both ears, not just one side. So just move them parts a little off center, maybe the low tom can be more to the left, but I wouldn't put anything 100%.
course, that's just my .02$us
Remember too, that the drums are only part of the overall sound. A lot of times, simple is best. Just make them sound fairly natural, and then they won't fight with other instruments/vox in the whole sonic picture.
sticadokid*sticado: short and LOUD!*Member
Since: Feb 25, 2005
Sep 03, 2007 10:58 pm listen to some all that remains, as i lay dying, unearth, and trivium (old stuff... the crusade sucked). hear how the drums are panned and try to get urs like that. i usually keep the snare and kick in the middle, hard left and right on the overheads, and equally spread out the toms (high tom 75% R, mid tom 33% R, low tom 33% L, and floor tom 75% L)
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Sep 04, 2007 09:16 am I tend to pan the overheads pretty wide. Remember that each overhead doesn't only pick up its own side of the kit...there's a lot of crossover between what each mic picks up. So panning 100% L and R won't necessarily mean that your kit will sound too wide. This would be especially true if you were using LDC mics as overheads since they'll each pick up a lot more than just what they're pointed at.
McMerkinHobbyist musician,pro recorderMember
Since: May 15, 2007
Sep 04, 2007 10:41 am Snare and kick should probably be center, but I like having the toms (and floor tom especially) enough off to the side to notice it. Stereo drums are a good thing to do, so long as it's not overdone.
But recording is a different animal than live performance so I wouldn't feel too bound by live analogy. It all depends on what you're going for in the sound of the record.
