the most mics i've ever used on a drumkit

**rockstardave** · 01-07-2008, 09:37 AM

here's the file:
www.rockstardave.com/per/drums.mp3

here's the setup:
Audix D6 - kick
Shure 57 - sn top
audix f90 - sn bottom
senn e604 - tom1
senn e604 - tom2
senn e604 - tom3
shure 57 - tom4
cheapo's - OH/L and OH/R

mics -> onyx 1640 -> g5 -> tracktion -> aiff -> 160kbps mp3

i also mic'd the HH with an AKG c1000s, but it seemed unnecessary in this mix. also it picked up more snare than HH !!!

ok so ... liberal EQ when requires (the kick sounds TERRIBLE raw). moderate compression where applicable (mostly kick).

i could easily spend another 2 (or 50!) hours on this drum kit, but why waste my time if i dont want to commit to this sound?

i know there's a bunch of things that i dont like about this, but i cant figure out what. THOUGHTS???

**Doomith** · 01-07-2008, 12:54 PM

Imo the kick is abit boomy and middy.
The toms sounds nice, but possibly also boomy as well.
The hats and ride sound nice but the cymbals sound bad. What brand / model are the cymbals ?

The snare sounds alittle choked, could be placement / eq.

I reckon with some more EQ and better overheads you can make your kit sound alot better!

**tigert10** · 01-08-2008, 02:25 PM

Hey...just a thought. When I record drums with multiple mics I find that my sound gets very weird...much like you are experiencing. A tip that I was given that works wonders is to: Rely on your overhead mics as your primary mix. If you spend the time to get the placement and eq of your overhead mics right you have a huge jump on getting a great drum sound. Then use the other close mics to compliment the overhead sound. Typically this means that the Kick mic and the Snare mic will boost that sound, but I find that toms usually sound better through overheads and need very little (if any boost from close mics).

Try miking the kick drum with two mics. One near the sound hole in the from head, and one about 18" behind that at the same height as the first. I have found that this placement technique captures a more natural kick sound that is easier to eq for punch without being boomy. Hope this helps.