How to record drums?

[datafeist]

I am total newbie with recording drums. Can someone tell me the steps how to record drums? First kick, then snare,...or all the drums together in one take?

[Fat Pastor]

Go to the Low End Theory forum. There's a sticky that goes in depth and has really great guidelines and tips.

[ScottTunes]

Originally Posted by Fat Pastor

Go to the Low End Theory forum. There's a sticky that goes in depth and has really great guidelines and tips.

A great starting point is 1 mic in a room... After listening to a mix of instruments with just one drum mic, WHAT DO YOU NEED from your drums to satisfy your song? Then, simply add the mics that will satisfy your needs for that song.

I've been happy with "one" mic drums, and I've been happy with 20 mic drums (BIG kit). Depends upon the song, band, and "talent." Use your ears...

Drums are, as you no doubt know, THE most difficult part of a song to record. Drums can be approached as "one" instrument, or many...

I mic everything, and include at least 1 room mic... My favorite approach is 2 mics (1 LDC 3 feet up, 3 ft in front of kit, and one LDC OH, directly over the snare/kick)... Then "sweeten" from there...

[vernier]

All the drums together.
.
.
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[thepilgrimsdream]

Lookup the john glyn method

youtube is your friend

[datafeist]

Can someone explain how many preamp you need when you record via the john glyn method? Its all at once so you need at least 4 preamps...not?

[suedesound]

unless you're going very minimalist you will need at least 4 pres regardless of the method. i liked the suggestion of starting with one mic (or a stereo pair) and see what else you need from there. you'll most likely want a spot mic on kick and snare but try to capture the whole kit first then add as needed. imo drums are the funnest thing to record (i am a drummer), i have my go to setups but i try to do something a little different everytime.

[Enlightened Hand]

Originally Posted by datafeist

I am total newbie with recording drums. Can someone tell me the steps how to record drums? First kick, then snare,...or all the drums together in one take?

-All at once. The drum kit is one instrument.
-Your microphone approach depends on the sound you want. You have to decide on that first. Then pick a mic-placement approach that fits your decision.
-The room matters enormously in whatever sound you want. So you have to consider the room when deciding on your sound. Then you need to learn how to best set up a kit in whatever space you're going to be working in.
-A kit must be well tuned for most recording (unless you're going for a specific effect). Tuning is not something many drummers have down, despite what they think.
-You will need a preamp for each microphone you use.
-Picking microphones is an art and an entire discussion unto itself.
-A person could write a book (and probably has already) about "how to record drums". So don't think this thread is going to answer that question definitively.

[Mr. Tom]

Start with kick (dynamic) and a oh ( ld condenser or ribbon).
That's should do it, depending on the drummer.
Maybe add a snare mic...

The Glyn Johns method is my favorite if two mics won't cut it!

And remember:
Have a good time, all the time!

Best,
Tom

[datafeist]

How you can get the kick, snare, hi-hat on different tracks in your daw when you record the drumkit at once?

Daw is logic...

[Jason West]

Originally Posted by datafeist

How you can get the kick, snare, hi-hat on different tracks in your daw when you record the drumkit at once?

You use multiple mics.

What genre of music are you recording?

Have you visited any of these for info?

how to record drums - Google Search

[datafeist]

Yes i did. So when you put 4 mic's you will get 4 written tracks in your DAW at the same time. Right?

Thx

[mikymike]

Originally Posted by datafeist

Yes i did. So when you put 4 mic's you will get 4 written tracks in your DAW at the same time. Right?

Thx

Yes, this is true, unless you sum the mics together before you hit the DAW.

[suedesound]

no offense but i suggest you do a bit more research. there is a plethora of drum recording advice on the internet as well as explaining how your daw works.

[psycho_monkey]

Originally Posted by datafeist

Yes i did. So when you put 4 mic's you will get 4 written tracks in your DAW at the same time. Right?

Thx

Originally Posted by suedesound

no offense but i suggest you do a bit more research. there is a plethora of drum recording advice on the internet as well as explaining how your daw works.

+1.

Seriously.

Do your own research.

If you want to learn how to record, buy a book, take a course, find someone and pay them to teach you.

Otherwise, if someone would like to teach me how to be a hotshot stock market trader, for free, over the internet, when I know nothing about it, I'll see you at stockslutz.com....

You can't become a top flight recording engineer overnight, and if you're still struggling on how to separate recorded signals to DAW, recording a full kit with all the phase issues, room issues and so on involved, is probably attempting to fly a space rocket before you can read.

Be realistic. take small steps. Most of all, don't expect stuff handed to you on a plate. You'll learn the most by trial and error, and by doing your own reading around what YOU want to learn.