recording drums with very limited resources

jaapie

New member
i'm trying to record my drum set in my bedroom without moving too much stuff around, but i don't really have the greatest equipment. i've got three inexpensive cardioid mics, but my computer only has a stereo mic in. i have an old mixer that i can use to mix the three down to stereo. i've been using adobe audition to record stuff. are there any techniques concerning mic placement, mixing the mics, EQ etc that i could use to help the drums sound better. Best case scenario would be something sounding like john bonham's drums on physical graffiti, but i'll settle for the best i can do with my limited equipment and expertise. any suggestions?

p.s. i can't really afford to buy better stuff at the moment, so i'm just trying to get the most out of what i have.
 
Just experiment. Do you have a mixer to mix the three mics down to the stereo input you're talking about or do you record with just one mic? If its one mic then about two feet in front of the kit and just above the cymbals pointing down always worked for me but you'll need to mess with it. If you can use all three use one as a cymbal/room mic, one snare, one kick. By the way you'll never get jon bonhams sound in your bedroom with cheap mics going into a stock pc soundcard, just cant happen. Its good to aim high but I don't want you to think you're going to get a sound that your room can't reproduce, it just sucks getting your hopes up.
 
I'm still learning how to get the best sound from my limited equipment at the minute too..

Last night i recorded a drummer with 3 mics ...1 condenser above the drummers head pointing down at his right knee, a shure sm 57 on the snare and another condendenser in a make shift cage beside the kick drum ...

the results aren't actually too bad ... although i have added a noise gate on the kick and snare, EQ'ed them and used a compresser to get them to sit in the mix with a guitar and bass ...

If there is anyone out there who wants to give me a tutorial on EQing drums ....you are more than welcome to ...lol :)
 
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