Gearslutz.com - View Single Post - Drum Micing Ideas - Bad Room, So-So Drummer

superwack · 29th October 2008

I know there are about 1,000,000 drum micing threads and I have read a bunch of them but have yet to find the info I am looking for so please forgive me if this exists somewhere.

Most of the more minimal drum recording/mic recommendation threads I've read contain statements like "this technique works in a good room and/or with a good drummer who can balance themselves" but what to do if one/both of those are not part of the equation?

I am recording 2 songs for a 3-piece highschool modern-ish, classic-ish (think Blink meets Aerosmith) rock band in an untreated wooden detached garage with a wooden door and concrete floors. I figure it would be a good idea to do some blanket-hanging, maybe put some plywood down (?) and would love any suggestions for dealing with the room (it's about 16' square with ceilings about 10' or so) but my main question is how to mic the kit?

The drummer is decent for his age/experience but I doubt he can be trusted to keep himself in perfect balance. He plays a 4 piece kit with a hat, ride, and 2 or 3 crashes (all nice zildjians) there will be new heads on the drums and, fortunately, I am pretty good at tuning kits so that should at least be one less headache! FYI I have done a few drum sessions in NEVE/SSL rooms that turned out pretty good but those benefited from good acoustics, drums, etc....

I've got a digi003 so there is a max of 8 inputs. Ideally I'd like to use 6 for the drums so I can track some direct bass/guitar (perhaps scratch but I'll keep my fingers crossed!) as the band is MUCH better when playing together.

MICS

1 each Shure 55, 56, 57, 58
1 x RE20
2 x MD421
1 x C451EB
2 x Apex 205 (modded by Michael Joly)
1 x Oktava 319 (also modded by MJ)
1 x M201
1 x RE10
1 x PZM
1 x AKG D1000E
1 x Marshall MXL603 (modded)
1 x Marshall MXL2001 (modded)
1 x Marshall MXL2003

PRES

2 x api 512c
2 x Neve 1272
2 x Atlas Juggernauts
1 x Groove Tubes BRICK
4 x digi003 preamps

We won't have too much time for experimenting so I'd love to grab some suggestions for where to start... some of my ideas are

a) "Traditional" (KICK RE20, SNARE SM57/M201, TOMS MD421, OH APEX 205) 512/Atlas on OHs with the opposite on K/Sn and the 1272 for toms)

b) or what about forgoing the OVERHEADS (although I've NEVER heard of this) and instead close mic the HH/RIDE (603, 451) to have more control over those and hope the cymbals bleed in to everything enough? then what pres where?

c) the "traditional" but with a MONO overhead (205, 319...) plus a MONO room mic (205, 319, PZM) to try to get a little bigger sound out of the garage)?

d) maybe a minimal setup would be the best (recorderman - never tried it - or K/Sn/OH) then what mics/pres?

Any thoughts, ideas, experiences would be very, very much appreciated.

Thanks!

29th October 2008	#1
superwack Lives for gear Joined: Mar 2007 Location: Burbank, CA Posts: 1,409 Thread Starter	Drum Micing Ideas - Bad Room, So-So Drummer I know there are about 1,000,000 drum micing threads and I have read a bunch of them but have yet to find the info I am looking for so please forgive me if this exists somewhere. Most of the more minimal drum recording/mic recommendation threads I've read contain statements like "this technique works in a good room and/or with a good drummer who can balance themselves" but what to do if one/both of those are not part of the equation? I am recording 2 songs for a 3-piece highschool modern-ish, classic-ish (think Blink meets Aerosmith) rock band in an untreated wooden detached garage with a wooden door and concrete floors. I figure it would be a good idea to do some blanket-hanging, maybe put some plywood down (?) and would love any suggestions for dealing with the room (it's about 16' square with ceilings about 10' or so) but my main question is how to mic the kit? The drummer is decent for his age/experience but I doubt he can be trusted to keep himself in perfect balance. He plays a 4 piece kit with a hat, ride, and 2 or 3 crashes (all nice zildjians) there will be new heads on the drums and, fortunately, I am pretty good at tuning kits so that should at least be one less headache! FYI I have done a few drum sessions in NEVE/SSL rooms that turned out pretty good but those benefited from good acoustics, drums, etc.... I've got a digi003 so there is a max of 8 inputs. Ideally I'd like to use 6 for the drums so I can track some direct bass/guitar (perhaps scratch but I'll keep my fingers crossed!) as the band is MUCH better when playing together. MICS 1 each Shure 55, 56, 57, 58 1 x RE20 2 x MD421 1 x C451EB 2 x Apex 205 (modded by Michael Joly) 1 x Oktava 319 (also modded by MJ) 1 x M201 1 x RE10 1 x PZM 1 x AKG D1000E 1 x Marshall MXL603 (modded) 1 x Marshall MXL2001 (modded) 1 x Marshall MXL2003 PRES 2 x api 512c 2 x Neve 1272 2 x Atlas Juggernauts 1 x Groove Tubes BRICK 4 x digi003 preamps We won't have too much time for experimenting so I'd love to grab some suggestions for where to start... some of my ideas are a) "Traditional" (KICK RE20, SNARE SM57/M201, TOMS MD421, OH APEX 205) 512/Atlas on OHs with the opposite on K/Sn and the 1272 for toms) b) or what about forgoing the OVERHEADS (although I've NEVER heard of this) and instead close mic the HH/RIDE (603, 451) to have more control over those and hope the cymbals bleed in to everything enough? then what pres where? c) the "traditional" but with a MONO overhead (205, 319...) plus a MONO room mic (205, 319, PZM) to try to get a little bigger sound out of the garage)? d) maybe a minimal setup would be the best (recorderman - never tried it - or K/Sn/OH) then what mics/pres? Any thoughts, ideas, experiences would be very, very much appreciated. Thanks!