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Originally Posted by Led  I've got a bunch of snare hits I've recorded over the years in different stairwells/halls/rooms and often I'll trim the hit off and just trigger the room ambience to add to a live snare. It can work well also.... |
Every time I record drums, I take room mic samples of each drum at multiple dynamic levels. I never use samples from the close mics. In the mix, the "real" close-miked drum tracks are used, and these are combined with room mic samples of the same drums. This helps me deal with the problem of "not enough snare in the room mics," or whatever. When the room mic samples blend with the "actual" room mic tracks (the normal ones that were used during tracking) it sounds very convincing, and allows me to bring out any component of the kit within the room tracks. (Tip: If you're using Sound Replacer, turn off the Peak Align feature when you do this.) In my opinion, this technique sounds way better than adding artificial reverb to the close mics, and doesn't sound like sample replacement at all, as long as you're blending the room samples with your original room tracks.
It can also be interesting to take room mic samples from other drums, and/or from other studios to use in a mix. It can really save the day if you're recording in a small room, or if the drummer brings in an anemic kit, or plays like a wet noodle.
Ben B