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How would you mic a drum kit with these mics?

Re-20
D112
2 Oktava 012's
Sen 441
3 Sen clip on live tom mics (model ?)
Studio Projects C1
Sm57

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Comments

anonymous Wed, 08/11/2004 - 08:29

I should add... It's going to go down in a small room. 13'x16'x8'. It's my little one room studio I built in my garage. 4" 703 board covering 1/3 to 1/2 the wall and ceiling surfaces.
Well, here's my first inclination.

Octava's in an XY or ORTF as OH's
D112 on kick
Re-20 on floor tom (or C1?)
57 or 441 on snare
Sen clip ons for the racks

What do you think?

Midlandmorgan Wed, 08/11/2004 - 08:39

Hard to say exactly, but here's a starting point:

Kick - Both D112(opening) and RE20 (inside)
Snare - SM57
Toms - Sennheisers
OHs - Octavas...set in the classic 3 stick from the snare measure...

Record it, and then see how good it sounds with only 3 mics (RE20 and OHs)...blend in toms (careful with phase alignment) and snare if needed

anonymous Wed, 08/11/2004 - 08:49

Thanks Midlandmorgan. I see what you're saying with the kick and the 2 mics. I'm not used to having 2 decent kick mics at my diposal. Re-20 is good for punch, D112 for the low end. Cool.

About the 3 stick from snare OH's... you're suggesting a spaced pair, correct? And if so, would this reveal the small room sound more than an XY. How far apart are you suggesting? An equal triangle?

Thanks for your reply.

Midlandmorgan Wed, 08/11/2004 - 09:40

There are many methods of doing the OHs...Recorderman (a very knowledgable fixture around here) has posted some tips....

I will say this: the 3 stick idea is just that-an idea...some people do it with 2 sticks, others some other equal distance...It really will depend on your particular setup...I generally run 3 feet (!) but I have a 12' cathedral...well diffused. Clever mic positioning can all but eliminate ceiling impact when using supercardiods...

One really cool way I like to use is the 'drummer's perspective' technique, that is put one mic real close the the drummer's left ear, the other real close to his/her right...

Experiment with what works in your room...and note there are no 'one way' to do the drums...it can change even for different songs on the same project...

anonymous Wed, 08/11/2004 - 12:14

Taking off from Midland Morgan's suggestions, try switching his suggestions for the 57 and the RE20 and see how that sounds. Also try the 441 on the bottom of the snare. With two mics on the kick (and snare if you stick something under it) you'll need to watch for phase issues.

Could the 441 sound good on the Hi-Hat? I'd try it anyway-- I don't own one but it might be worth trying.

JeffreyMajeau Fri, 08/13/2004 - 06:11

RE20 on the kick, Octava's as overheads, SM57 on snare, C1 on snare wires, maybe - if not there then C1 a couple feet off the snare to give it some "air" and mix sparingly in.

Getting the sound starts with the overheads. Play around with position to get a really good picture of the kit in the overheads. It should sound like a drumkit, not just cymbals. One thing I've done is put one condenser over the drummer's shoulder, over by the floor tom , pointing at the snare. Then on the other side I'll put the other condenser, equidistant from the snare.

Spend the bulk of your time on getting the overheads sounding like a drumkit and then add the RE20 for low end reinforcement (I hate the D112) and I typically mic the wires on the snare, rather than the snare head. SM57 will probably work just dandy here, though the C1 will have a bit more bite. On a snare, the condenser could distort, being a "faster" mic. The 57 is slower and may be more suited. I just mix the kick and snare mics in to add a little definition to the overall sound.

Doublehelix Fri, 08/13/2004 - 06:48

I'd put the D112 *inside* the kick, and the RE20 outside the hole. The D112 will pick up the beater click much better than the RE20.

Also, for the snare, try the 441 on the snare bottom and the 57 on the snare top as has been suggested. What a great combo! I use it all the time! (flip the phase on the bottom snare mic)

Otherwise, all the other suggestions are just fine!

JeffreyMajeau Fri, 08/13/2004 - 09:56

Doublehelix wrote: The D112 will pick up the beater click much better than the RE20.

That's part of my issue with the D112. I don't like that overemphasized beater click. Sounds like 1988 to me. The overheads will pick up the beater attack, too. Actually, the overheads should be like 95% of the way there towards your drum sound and then you add the RE20 to fill out the bottom and the undersnare mic to give things some "crack". A condenser on the hihat with it's null pointed at the rest of the kit will add some "lushness" to the sound, especially if it goes through a nice pre.