Room mics for kits,which mics, which placements?

[Jules]

I find M149's golden in a big room, about a foot from the side walls, pointing AT the wall, in cardiod. You maybe able to skip pre's for em and go straight into a compressor... they have such a hot output..

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

I love my pair of Neuman FET 47's........ Used them stax over summer on nearly everthing... KIK, Rooms, Bass amp, vocals, accousit and electric GTRS... they Rock on most things..

They have a slightly scooped midrange which makes them sound so nice on most things and especially rooms which can sometimes accentuate the harshness of the rooms (room dependant of course).

So i would not hesitate to reccommend a pair of FET 47's.. u could do WAY worse....lol... like RODE's..lol

if ur interested i am selling my pair.. contact me 4 more info

PEACE
Wiggy

[Jay Kahrs]

I think I've used just about every mic I own as a room mic on a drum kit. It could be anything from an SM57 if I want something trashy to TLM 103s if I want something more accurate. PZM's are another favorite as are ribbon mics like a 77DX. Placement? I walk around the kit and see where it sounds best. Then I put the mic there and listen from the control room. Sorry for the not too helpful answer.

[FOURTHTUNZ]

Hey guys thanks for the posts, there are a ton of mics that I've never had the bread to try so, I have a lot to learn, and this is after 20 years of recording! I've made alot of recordings, just not alot of money,I'm in Maine, the way life shouldn't be! never mind.
Jules I wish I had the $$ for a pair of 149's, looks more like fet47s! Jay, I'd like to permanantly mount my shack pzms in the live room,maybe someday...thanks
Daniel

[Jules]

I would buy a Royer SF12 stereo ribbon mic for Overheads.

Great also on

Perk
Acc gtr
xylophone
Futher back drum room duties

Ideal for digitally recording cymbals

[alphajerk]

a lot of people might gasp in sheer horror, but i kinda dig 4033's for room mics. usually it gets set up as a talkback mic for the band but all too often i like the sound coming out of it. cheap too. maybe the 4040 might be better... i dunno. its cheap too.

i never point it at the drums. its made its way onto recordings. andi have used it as a scratch vox mic before and wished the vox didnt make it onto the mic.

as always, ymmv.

i also have a 3 mic soundelux setup that i put up today playing around to record a track tomorrow. two U195's flanked to the sides and a U99 off the kick several feet. pretty natural and cool sound.

once, i pointed two mc012's into a pair of extra cymbals i had to act as a "dish" for the mics to pick up.... really strange sound.

[NathanEldred]

Originally posted by alphajerk

i also have a 3 mic soundelux setup that i put up today playing around to record a track tomorrow. two U195's flanked to the sides and a U99 off the kick several feet. pretty natural and cool sound.

Very cool Alpha...what pattern do you have the U99 in?

[alphajerk]

right now its in cardoid... BUT that could change after i run some passes. its a bitch to engineer AND play. just setting levels took several trips back nad forth to the CR and back.

i had to move the U99 way back off because i was killing the pre with level. into a flamingo, i think the gain is the lowest it will go and the output is at like 7-8.

the two U195s are equidistant from the snare center. i think i might try to get the U99 the same distance as the other two.

[mixer]

used to use u87s but now i have come to love the sound of at4050s set in omni about 8 to 10 ft away from the drums about an inch above cymbal height...generally roll them off at the input at about 80 hz.....of course it all depends on the room and its character ....i like to walk around while the drummer is playing place the mics then go in the control room and have an assitant do the small moves.....

[Drumsound]

I'm getting killer room sounds right now from a pair of 4050s in omni. I've got them only a few feet in front of the drums and about two inches higher than the cymbals.

On the last project I used one 414 just higher than my knee about five feet from the ride cymbal.

Another favorite is a mic about waist high about four-six feet off the snare pointing at it. Beyer 834 sounds really nice there.

[FOURTHTUNZ]

Originally posted by alphajerk
a lot of people might gasp in sheer horror, but i kinda dig 4033's for room mics. usually it gets set up as a talkback mic for the band but all too often i like the sound coming out of it. cheap too. maybe the 4040 might be better... i dunno. its cheap too.
.

Man I love this place! Alpha, I think Brian T among others mentioned that the AT's are good room mics, so many mics too little money! Thanks
Daniel

[mwagener]

I use a lot of room mics, just in case, and some of them might not make the final mix. "Fritz" the Neumann K100 binaural head lives in the back of the room facing away from the drums or over the drummers head, so it hears what the drummer hears. Two Fostex R111 ribbons are pointed into each far corner at the ceiling. A long shotgun mic is usually set up about 5 - 8 feet above the snare (started out as a talkback mic but sounded great as an additional snare mic). A Shure SM91 plate mic gets taped to the control room window in front of the drums, and a lartge diaphram tube sits about 4 - 5 feet in front of the kit in the triangle between kick and rack toms. That one goes through a graphic eq (Urei 529 room EQ) with the top end sloped down and through a 1176 compressor on British Mode. Most drummers want to hear just that mic, because it makes the drums sound so trashy.

Somewhere else on this forum I saw that Jon uses a pair of Octava 219 a few inches above the floor for room mic. I just bought a pair of those (Musicians Friend $ 149 a pair) and am about to try Jon's setup, any pointers Jon?

[Bob Olhsson]

Originally posted by mwagener
I use a lot of room mics, just in case, and some of them might not make the final mix.

This is an awfully important point about miking drums. Just because you see a zillion mikes on a drum kit does NOT mean they were all used. It's a lot faster to set up everything but the kitchen sink and make your decisions from behind the board than to go back and forth adding or moving mikes around. Less is generally more when it comes to drums unless the player is really bad.

[jon]

Hi Michael,

I tried the MK219s about a month ago as room mics, thru the desk pres and squashed with the channel comps, and liked it. FWIW there are photos in the thread "Rock drums tracking session - Day 1". The MK219s provide a specific 'warm/garagey' sound, as the highs and lows are a bit rolled off on their frequency response.

Have fun. I love tracking drums!

[e-cue]

Depending on the room, I was using a U87 and 2 414's (usually the TBLS) for a long time. Lately, the Behringer B2 mic on Omni has been beating the 87. The B2 (even on cardiod) picks up a LOT of the room (too much I'd say for vocal apps). If you are in a room with boucey parallel walls, the B2 can pick up a really cool flutter echo, which may or may not be your desired effect.

Whatever mics I use, I almost always end up using 3: 1 mono, 2 stereo. Lately, it's been the B2, and 2 sound grabbers taped to plexiglass gobos. Or a B2 with 2 Coles ribbon mics. This is perfect for that "coldplay" drum sound. (if your room sounds similar to the room coldplay cut in)

[mwagener]

Thanx Jon. We're setting up drums tomorrow. The first day will go for picking the drumset and heads but on Wednesday I get to mic placement etc. Sure will give your setup a try.