recording drums - the low budget way

[Mr_Green]

Hi all

I have a basement, and My plan is to record My first album there.
the style of music which I play,is blues / rock ( check out My website at: www.mrgreen.us )

now, as for Mics that I already have:
one U-87
one SM 58
one SM-57
that's about it..

what kinds of new mics, would I need to buy, and how many of them ?
the Drum set will include:
SNR, base drum, HH, 2 cymbals, one ride, one or two toms, one or two floors.

room's width: 26 square meters

room acoustics: half dry, with few foams here and there

recording console would be: Tascam 388, or Mackie onyx 1640 or a combination of the two.

I don't want to guess anything. I would appreciate your experienced ideas.

thanks

[donsolo]

now, as for Mics that I already have:
one U-87
one SM 58
one SM-57
that's about it..

Phil Collins was done with a pair of LD oheads in spaced pair, a 57 on the snare and a u47 on the kick.

How much were you looking to spend beyond what you've got?

What sound are you going for? Close Mic, Room, triggered?

There's TONS of great mic kit options for realatively cheap. Samson's 8Kit is $300 and I like it way better than the CAD option and Audix and Shure both make good options

How many channels preamped do you have?

This is going to really affect your way of miking the drums.

I like either XY or spaced pair on Overheads. I try to record in the deadest place ever, if I do that and strap a C4 multiband with low-level enhancer across the entire drum bus, I'm pretty happy with the sound. I'll aux send out the reverb from snare. That's about all the ambience you'll need IMHO.

I'm ok with the way my toms sound with clip on mics, I tend to blend them a touch lower and use the overhead sound for them.

As for me, I use NT5s for overheads, a C02 on the underside of my snare, a 57 (soon to be an i5) on the top of my snare, Samson's Qkick (similar to Beta 52) way up inside and a C01 on the outside. I tend to take off teh front head and gently muffle the kick.

of course, it all depends on the sound you're looking for.

As for pres, I just try to use the clearest ones I can get my hands on.

The best investment you can make is hiring a drum tech at least once to come in and show you how the drums are SUPPOSED to sound. Good tuning is key.

Of course, keep in mind, this is my budget setup but I've been getting killer sounds out of it.

just my 02

[warhead]

I think the best low budget way is to use that U87 on overhead, SM58 on kick and SM57 on snare and rock on...! Blues rock well played wouldn't really need more than that if the playing is tasteful (good blues drummers mix themselves while playing and don't require close mic'ing like a lot of these young rock guys who can't consistently hit or express themselves in ways other than LOUD!).

War

[Mr_Green]

Originally Posted by donsolo

How much were you looking to spend beyond what you've got?

What sound are you going for? Close Mic, Room, triggered?

How many channels preamped do you have?

1. 300$ - 400$

2. "on your face" sound

3. 8

Originally Posted by warhead

I think the best low budget way is to use that U87 on overhead, SM58 on kick and SM57 on snare and rock on...! Blues rock well played wouldn't really need more than that if the playing is tasteful (good blues drummers mix themselves while playing and don't require close mic'ing like a lot of these young rock guys who can't consistently hit or express themselves in ways other than LOUD!).

War

I thought to use the U-87 in front the drum set.to buy a new pair of condensers,one condenser mic above the SNR and the other one in a direct line above the Floor tom, sm58 at the Kick and sm57 at the SNR.

is it a good idea ?

[flail19]

Originally Posted by Mr_Green

I thought to use the U-87 in front the drum set.to buy a new pair of condensers,one condenser mic above the SNR and the other one in a direct line above the Floor tom, sm58 at the Kick and sm57 at the SNR.

is it a good idea ?

Have you seen this? 3 mic set up

[donsolo]

Bumpy

It's hard to get it all over your face if you're using 3 mics though...the modern sound IMHO is based on compressed to death close mics

There are really good exceptions though.

[JoFo]

So many fun ways to mic drums. But I agree with Warhead. you can get a really good drum sound with 3 mics if they are placed right. I like to get the mono overhead as much over the center of the kit (mostly the snare) as I can, and don't hit the cymbals to hard. keep the FOK mic as much in front of the kick as possible (almost like miking a jazz bass drum head with no hole), but keep it up a bit high and out some more. Ok it probably won't smell like teen spirit, but it will still give you lots of good sounds to work with.
That Article had a good spot for the 3rd mic (by the floor tom), but you could also place it in a high corner of the room and try some room sounds. OR you can use it on the snare, but If you get the Mono Overhead in a juicy spot, you don't really need it (I think).

theres my 3 cents.

[max cooper]

You could add a Radio Shack PZM or two to that setup.

Or even a Crown PZM if you have the dosh.

[cdog]

Get another U87 or rent one for L-R spaced pair overheads.

Put the 57 on the snare.

Rent or buy a Audio Technica AE2500 for the kick.

Use the 58 as a room mic.

Plug the mics into the Onyx.