recording drums...
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Posted on Mar 01, 2008 04:27 am
kodyshred
Member Since: Feb 19, 2008
when recording drums should i mic EVERY drum or just certain drums and overhead mics?
and could i just run my mixer to an interface through just one channel and just adjust the levels to where i wanted them on the mixer?
you guys are probably getting sick of my dumb questions but thanks for giving me great answers for every question i ask.
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pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Mar 01, 2008 08:02 am it is certainly a variable subject.
Some may use 2 mics, set up carefully to get the whole kit.
Some use 3 mics, 1 out front, and 2 overheads.
Others get more involved, and put mics around to differing extents. This starts getting complex, as people want to keep bleed from other mics, and then there's the mixing afterwards.
You can pre-mix the drums, like you said. This gives you a decent balanced sound, that you more than likely can live with. But this gets your drums all mic'ed, but recorded into a low-input-count interface.
If I were doing the pre-mix route, I'd try and get the drums all panned around in the mix, so it sounds like a stereo field, then send it out on two channels, to keep the stereo field. If you really spend time getting the mics set up right, and the mixer set right, it should come out very nice.
Oh yeah, a controlled and dependable drummer helps a ton here as well. Because louder / softer styles can't be corrected much after it's recorded =).
If you have a high-input-count, then yeah, setting up more mics and tracks can give you huge amounts of control over the drum group. But, it can add a ton of editing time as well.
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Mar 01, 2008 05:18 pm Yeah, too many ways, would be better to state what you have to do the job and then get reccomendations on the best way to set it up.
Mar 02, 2008 09:37 am I record drums on a tascam 788 8-track/it allow 6 simuiltaneous tracks of recording:
1-mic through compressor/gate-kick
2-mic through compressor/gate-snare
3-mic-gate-high tom
4-mic-gate-mid toms(between two close drums
5-mic-gate-floor tom
6-overhead(need another/don't have the tracks for it)
I end up mixing these to a stereo pair/if you have two inputs on the interface I would try to get a good stereo mix with what you have/you will be taking a chance that something doesn't work in the mix later/I keep my individual drum tracks as virtual tracks even after I mix to a stereo pair so that I can remix them later when the rest of the song is near completion/if you only have one input the drum mix will be infinitely better if you can compress and gate the kick while recording
WaltChief Cook and Bottle WasherMember
Since: May 10, 2002
Mar 02, 2008 11:30 am It all depends on what I am looking for as a final "sound" and who I am working with.
I have used up to 12 mics. Snare top and bottom, Kick inside and out, All toms, High Hat (I just live a high hat), two overheads and two knee-highs. With this set up I have options and a reasonable ability to massage sounds in the mix. For simplcity sake I will put the two snare and two kick tracks through group tracks.
This is just such a difficult subject. In some cases I will use synthetic sounds for say kick and snare if the kit involved just doesn't make the grade for what "we" (all involved) want out. Sometimes the only way to get things alligned up correctly if the drummer is challanged is to play each part seperately.
Real_estate is soooo important in capturing drums. Time to set up and experiment is soooo important with drums. This is where a "for pay" studio has a huge advantage. A tuned room with a kit pre-set with mics via plenty of time and experimentation is something very difficult to match with the drummer who has a two hour window to set up, play, and boogie.
Soo much depends on the sound you want. I've heard some jazz tracks here captured with just knee-highs that where amazing, however in a heavy rock setting the sound would just come across as whimpy. There is just a lot to consider, and I don't know any great way to circumvent experience.
Mar 02, 2008 11:45 am Personally I use -
Two on the kick drum - A dynamic mic inside the drum
A condenser mic beside drummers feet pointed at beater. (Either using a pad or not too close to avoid damaging the mic.
Using a condeser can help pick up the transients and higer frequency content, sending these to a group compressor can get a nice big kick sound.
Micing the snare i normally only mic the top with an SM57 or an sennheiser e604, but if you want less hi hat bleed using a mic with a figure of 8 pattern with the hi hat or whatever else in the null area of pickup
Hi hat normally gets a condenser but I have had really good sound from both a sennheiser 421 and e602
Normally i'll use condensers with large diaphragms as overheads to get a nice full sound, but sometimes use matched AKG C451's
Other than that I'll add microphones to taste on any givem occaision, or if anything else needs accentuated in the mix. Toms may need miced but if theres enough of them in the overheads and bleeding in the other mics they can either be left or maybe just micing the floor tom
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Mar 02, 2008 11:15 pm heh, using tad's method above, you can always add a sample over top of the snare and kick, to really thicken up the sound.
It's not so difficult now-a-days. Free, basically.
