GREAT way to get fat drums, fast, with 3 mics...

tubedude

tubedude

New member
This isnt mine, I wish it were, but I've been experimenting, and lemmee tell ya, the cymbals are there just right, everything is nice.
2 overheads and a kick... I rarely even LOOK in this forum, but this deserves a look by everyone that might be interested...
heres the method, copied from someplace else... Credits to RECORDERMAN...

here's my trick. It's fast and it works perfect every time.
1. Place the "Left" overhead mic directly over the center of the snare at the hieght of two drum sticks-held end-to-end(from the center of the snare, straight up, to the capsule of the mic).
2. Next; take the drum sticks (still held end-to-end) from the center of the snare over to above your ( i.e." the drummers") right shoulder and place your "right" overhead mic here.
3. Fine tune the placement by using a mic cable and measurinb the distance from the center of the Kick to each of these mics is also equidistant from the kick and snare.
4. listen with headphones and have the drummer lightly hit his kick drum, and adjust the "right" mics angle until the kick is in the middle of your "image".

What this has done is:
1. Place the snare & the kick in the center when you pan these mics hard left and right.
2. Place the overheads in a position which is in-phase with the kick,snare and overheads.
3. balanced the over heads so that the Rack and floor Toms (as well as all cymbals) are correctly ballanced.

this is actually a great "picture" of the kit at this point. maybe a hair of Top end (depending on what mics your using) and a little this, and a Kick mic. BUT whatever you add (snare mics, toms, etc) you'll now be inphase. This also makes your snare & toms louder inrelation to the cymbals & is more of a true OH mic set-up (Not just "cymbal" mic's )

It may look weird but try it...it trulelly ROCKS
 
Just to add a little. If you read further down in RECORDERMAN's post, he mentions that he likes to use lots of mics in combination with that overhead setup, not just a kick. The OHs should give you a decent balance by themselves, but personally I'd add at least a kick and snare mic for rock.
 
I prefer 4, but one should definitely get the essence of the track with the overheads, using a kick and snare mic just to help in getting some of the tones the overheads didnt capture, say the kick's boom or the snares crack....if you have the resources, 2 mics on the toms could be used also....but again, the majority of the sound should come from the overheads.....
 
Well, I'm trying a minimaliost approach.. I prefer a kick mic on the opposite side of the kick head at the same distance from the center as the overheads are with reveresed phase, a snare mic, and a semi-distant room mic. So its 5 for me. Maybe some tom mics, but they almost arent necc, especially with this setup, sounds great, and real good stereo.
 
Hey tube, why don't you just mic the bass drum close like you would normally do then drag it over to line up with the OHs (you know like you posted about in mixing/mastering). Or are you putting in further out to try and capture more of the whole kit, not just the kick? By the way, what mics have you used for the overheads in this setup?

Oh, another benefit to this overhead technique would be less room sound if you have a less than perfect sounding room. ;)

I'm really itching to try this once I get some free time - just got a Beta 52 for kick too and haven't had time to use it yet...:D
 
We tried a couple different mics, just being weird, we tried 2 cheapo Marshall 2001's (very brite, snare cuts your head off) and we also tried 2 RE-20's (the weird part) just to try them cause there was a pair. EV's Sounded pretty damn good actually. Mackie preamps, so, take it as you will... the important thing is, although where I was didnt have the best mics to try this out with, the balance of the kit was very good.
As for putting the kick mic out further, I'm kinda starting to like it back some anyway, and I build pillow tunnels to block the rest of the kit. I use a room mic to get the kit sound when I can.
 
for kick, if you want a deeper sound, you have to back the mic off a bit to give the sound some room to develop?....am i way off here?...
 
Its pretty common to mic righ on the beater for the pop or whatever youwanna call it, the click, and then to also have a mic at the sound hole or a few feet in front of the kick to get more meat, and then mix em together to taste. The EV's definatly kill on kick drum, they are the best I've ever heard. I think I should have a pair of mxl 603's to try this on in about a week or two, I'm still deciding whether to buy them or hold out for something like the 4033's. I like this technique man, I really do. The kit sounds great no matter what mics we use, except some are too bright, period.
 
I dont get the chance to record drums alot, so i dont get alot of practice/experience:(

but i have tried my Marshall mxlv67 out in front of the kick, a 57 on the snare, and 2 603's as overheads.....ive tried doing it without a snare mic and i can never get THE snare sound i wanted from the overheads....always have to mix in some of the snare mic.....

about how far from the snare are the overheads....whats a good starting point to start experimenting......I doubt id ever do it without a snare mic, but if i HAD to, this technique would be good to know.....
 
2 stick lengths. Give or take depending on the drummers wildness. I like a snare mic too, but you can get by without if you want, somewhat. The mics are pretty damn close. :)
 
Good read guys!

Does this work well in a pretty poor room? Say a 15 x 15 room with a little wall tretment and no cieling treatment?



F. S.
 
Yeah, the close proximity of the overheads makes for less room sound than a really high pair, but a nice balanced sound.
 
yeah, ive got a piss poor room to record in, but my broke ass doesnt even have a kit yet....i will take donations though.....it is the time of year for giving.......
 
Oh I know

I have only gotten 2 or 3 chances to practice mixing drums. Our drummer takes his kit with him cause he gigs around with others at times sooooo. I would love just a good basic kit (double kick, 3 toms and one floor tom. It's only money;). That's what I tell the wife anyway.

Not to say I haven't mixed drums live but it is turning out to be a different beast. The 18 inch kevlar cone subs are a little more forgiving on the kick than the car stereo is. Something about your body shaking that hides the less that perfect kick mix.

I'll get it yet........

F. S.
 
hellllllll yeah!

i just tried this out...and boy is it awesome!

even with the "not-so great" equipment that i got! later today or tomorrow i'll mix what i got...and i'm sure you'll be surprised at the results...i know i was. Only thing with some problems is the Kick drum, just never seems to be loud enough in the mix...we'll see though.
 
quick question

ok, so i'm using this method, and it sounds really rockin.

but it took me an hour or 2 to get it sound good. is there a way to balance the too overheads with eachother pretty easily? i got a 57 and 58 as overheads, panned hard left and rigiht (like said), etc. But my mic cables are different, and so they send out very very diffent volumes to the 4-track.....which i guess is the main problem.

just wondering - and i'll post a rough mix of the tracks hopefully tomorrow.
 
ive heard in many many instances in pro studios they spend a whole day just setting up a drum kit and the mics and getting a sound dialed in....dont feel bad if it took an hour or 2....feel bad if you spend that long and it still sucks....

with that said, maybe there are quicker ways to get it dialed in but i havent got a clue.....
 
Part of the beauty of this is how fast it is... measure with sticks from snare to mic centers, then from kick center to mic centers, everything should be even...the left mic lower than the right, both pointed at the snare... use headphones to adjust the RIGHT mic until the kick is in the center, and you're done.
 
Hey TubeDude

Do you think you could post a picture or drawing?

And if you could even post a smaple mp3 of this technique?

Thanks
Tukkis
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top