Turns out recording snare drums isn't so hard afterall...

[bgrotto]

So yesterday I was booked to do a basics session for a local band's EP at a fine studio here in Boston called Mad Oak. I've heard a dozen engineers recommend I mic the shell of a snare (as opposed to the bottom, which I despise and rarely use), and for the past couple dozen sessions I've done I meant to do it, but either forgot or felt too under-the-gun to experiment.

Well, yesterday was only a three song session (but we ended up finishing four!!), and we were just going for drums and bass, so I had plenty of time to noodle with the studio's VAST mic, pre, outboard, and instrument collection. So I threw an old (as in OLD, like, those all-silver) 414 on the snare drum's shell. It kicked ass. A lot. Immediately.

It was so simple: standard stuff for the top mic (57 - API 312- dbx165a - Tube Tech Pultec Clone), and a 414 into a 512 for the shell.

Hot damn, I'm psyched. And I didn't even have to fiddle with mic choice/placement/etc.

Happy days.

[scking]

Have you ever tried putting a 57 right over the rim, pointing straight down? It's a whole other sound than pointing it into the middle of the head.

[Jax]

Originally Posted by scking

Have you ever tried putting a 57 right over the rim, pointing straight down? It's a whole other sound than pointing it into the middle of the head.

I've tried this, but it gets in the drummer's way too much. It's a cool sound, but if the drummer needs to do a fill, it's a car accident.

I prefer the old "two-fingers" trick. Space the bottom edge of the snare mic off the rim by the width of two fingers, then aim the middle of the capsule at the middle of the snare. The mic usually ends up about 1-2 inches past the rim and over the head.

[TheSweetener]

Originally Posted by bgrotto

S I've heard a dozen engineers recommend I mic the shell of a snare (as opposed to the bottom, which I despise and rarely use)

What about the phase of the "shell mic", did you flip it?