recording/mixing a carter beauford size kit
for those of you not familiar with the drummer in the subject heading (carter beauford) - drummer for the Dave Matthews Band...he's one of those guys with many fills and plays all over his hats and woodblocks and whatnot - anyways it's a bunch of drums to mic.
I have a band coming up that has a drummer that plays alot like Carter Beauford, and has a kit almost as big - 4 toms, tibale, blocks, toys, etc...
I have enough mics to cover the kit - planning on micing the toms with sennheiser 604s just for backup coverage, snare and timbale are getting 57s on top only - hat area with toys is getting a 414 or U87 - room mic infront of kit is as well either a 414 or 87, kick will have a D12e inside - and whatever else I can muster outside (or only the 87 out front a few feet). Overheads covering kit will both be Schoeps cmc6/mk4v's
anyways - here is the theroy I am struggling with, basically trying to mix this kit before I mic it up. Looking for a sound that isnt too stereo and too wide, yet does capture enough elements of the kit without it sounding 80s.
First dillema is to worry about panning the main overheads drummer's perspective or listener's perspective without either becoming overly noticeable.
Second dillema is worrying about the snare and hat/blocks are being too off center, since that's where they are in the kit.
basically - how do you handle a huge kit, keep it sounding like a kit - yet keep in centered enough to be the backbone of a tight mix?
Sounds like a broad question - yet I am some of you know what I mean. I have a few gameplans laid out to try, just hoping someone might have something I havent though of yet...