I've been muddling along for a while now with a basic 3 or 4 or 5 mic setup for drum kit. OHL-R + Kick + snare + HH. While I like this KISS strategy and have been pretty pleased with the results (or I would be if I liked my HH sound) I've blocked out some time this weekend to do some experiments with mics on the toms.

Is there any advantage or disadvantage to Micing rack and floor toms from the bottom (underneath)?

I use ATM25 for toms, and still get a lot of bleed. My question is directed to bottom Micing to capture less ambient from the other drum components.

Hey guys, I'm new here I hope this question isn't too dumb. When using a mic like the 414s in figure of eight on toms, how does the signal get split, or does it at all? Is there a "matrix" box involved? I will be using a Mackie 8bus and Pro Tools. Again please forgive my ignorance on the subject, I am a neophite when it comes to Micing drums in a real live studio, but very eager to learn.