Speakin of mics... (the drum sub thread)

[postboy]

Just read the thread on mic delay...I do it all the time and it does help! Easy as pie in a DAW!

On another subject...mic related...I am getiing ready to do an arena gig where all the band members are wearing "in-ear" monitoring. Long story short, the drummer has a sub aiming right up at him from under the stage. do you have any advice on dealing with the low end buildup in the drum mics, especially the Overheads?

The thing that bothers me about this isn't the sub itself, it's the fack that most of the instruments are DI'd and there isn't much else going on live except the drums (no triggers either).

anyone with any experience with this type of scenerio ? Also, how do you guys deal with proximity effect with Audience mics and ground support?

anything is welcome!

thanks in advance!

bruce

[Remoteness]

I love when the band & singers all wear "in-ear" monitors. It simply makes the recording process a delightful experience.

One big question: If everyone's on "in-ears," why isn't the drummer using them with a Bass Shaker or similar device?

Second big question: Did you say, a drum sub aiming right up at him from under the stage??? That's crazy stuff my man.

If this is so, consider mic'ing the cymbals by pointing them up and close. Many people that know me, know I hate this way of drum mic'ing. I usually set the overheads as high over the kit as possible. That helps me with the bleed from the drum side fills and/or band backline. I get great results and killer isolation when I place them this way. But this is a very different story. The rest of the mics should be placed as close to the drums as possible. Proximity is everything in this case. The closer you get to the drum, the more attenuation you will have to do, the less bleed you will need to fix.

Keep in mind, I never had to deal with this kind of situation. I'm just taking a guess on this one. Anyone else have an idea?

When you asked, "How do you guys deal with proximity effect with audience mics and ground support?" did you mean people talking into the audience mics? If so, I hear you loud and clear. I've been bagged a fair amount of times with this one, when you can't get a good enough placement. Usually, it's the FOH or lighting crew, chatting away. Many times, we use those positions for the rear or mid audience mics. IMO, the only answer is, you got to get the mics up high enough over their heads, so you don't have to hear their chatter between songs.

I hope this helped.

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by Remoteness

One big question: If everyone's on "in-ears," why isn't the drummer using them with a Bass Shaker or similar device?

I'll go with Steve on this - if the band can afford in-ears, and the drummer is also wearing them, a shaker is a way, way better idea than a sub under the stage.

Talk to the act, and see if you can get one in for a try out.

[postboy]

Dave,

maybe you know the anwser. The act is Kenny Chesney, the sound co is owned by Dale Morris. Any clue???

Thanks for the help!

Bruce

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by postboy
Dave,

maybe you know the anwser. The act is Kenny Chesney, the sound co is owned by Dale Morris. Any clue???

Thanks for the help!

Bruce

I don't know off hand who's playing drums with him these days (most of the road guys are of a different generation than I am), but the big question for you is: Are you doing a one-off, or are you going to work for the sound company? If it's a one-off, ask Kenny's crew how to handle it. If you're going to become part of the crew, I'd borrow a shaker and let the drummer try it at a sound check. If he's been on the bus for a few weeks, he may even enjoy it...

It seems like I read that Dale Morris is also Kenny's manager - how's that for a cool way for a manager to get more than his regular percentage?

[Steve Smith]

To add to the fray.. you can buy a shaker that mounts on a drum throne for under 100 clams...

[postboy]

Dave,

This is a "one-off" . Man I gotta believe that this crew is using a shaker. It's a pretty good bunch of players.

And, yeah, Dale IS Kenny's manager! I wouldn't feel to bad for Kenny though...

So, I guess I will have to deal with this day of show.



I'm still looking for some advice on the Audience mic setup. The show has a 15 to 20 ft thrust downstage center, and I want to mic this for a future 5.1 mix that I am doing, anyway it's a typical arena (Denver, Pepsi Center) much like the Gaylord.

Any advice on placement??? *note: there is a bit of sing-a-long in this show, so I definetly want to get that stuff! Also, the production sound has 6 subs per side.

Thanks again for the greast input already!

peace,

bruce

[Remoteness]

One setup that comes to mind is...

Two shotguns, on stage left & right near stacks pointing out into the audience, maybe another shotgun at center stage pointing out, with two other mics (C414, TLM103, etc.) at FOH pointing at stage and finally two additional shotguns or (other type) at FOH pointing towards ther back of the arena. Try to play with the FOH mic positions to get it right. Sometimes you may need to move them around to find the right pocket.

Good kuck and stuff....

Remember, tell us how it went on that other thread.

[postboy]

When you place mics so close to the subs, do you find that mic's like 416's reject the low end well enough? If not, how do you deal?

I really want to capture the vibe of this gig and any sing-a-long stuff.

In the interest of keeping mics out of the "shot" it would be great to keep the downstage mics close to those position. Also, do you tend to keep your far mics at the FOH position behind the bike racks? Doesn't that pose it's own problems? (i.e. crew conversation's etc...)

thanks again Steve!

[Remoteness]

No mic should be placed on or near the subs. If it's your only option, notch out some lows, etc. The 416's are not really long shotguns like the 816's, so you got to EQ them a bit. I always EQ and filter the house mix out of the front 416's. This helps bring out the audience response and sing-a-long stuff.

During soundcheck, once everything is everything, and the tracks are sounding great, I like to spend the rest of the time EQ'ing the audience mics, to maximize the audience soundscape, especially the front set. The back set favor the house mix. I'm not affraid to print to tape like that! (But what is tape you may ask?)

As I mentioned before, when placing audience mics at FOH (or anywhere there's conversation), you have to get them high off the FOH platform. Try to get them as high up as possible. 8 to 10 feet above the chatting noise floor is a good thing, especially when they're disrespecting the artist.