Best room mic techniques

[system7studios]

Hi all,

I am currently completing my dissertation upon stereo drum room recording, where the question basically is which is the best stereo microphone technique to use. The mic techniques I am using are Blumlein, mid/side and spaced omni.

Does anybody have advice as to height or distance of the arrays to the drum kit please? And any other general tips?

Thank you

 

[system7studios]

Also should the room be measured and the drums/microphones be placed at a certain plot in the room? The room I am using is a rectangular shape.

 

[RawDepth]

I never measure anything because every room has different modes and nulls. Instead, I walk around the room beating on a small tom tom. When I discover the point where the tom sounds fullest and comes alive, that's where the drum set goes. Later, (if I want room mics,) I move each mic around listening through headphones while someone plays the drum kit. Again, when I discover the point(s) where the mics sound their best, that's where they get planted. Not scientific, I know, but this might be one situation where a dumb approach works better. I prefer the Blumlein method because it tends to minimize phase issues between the pair.

Hey, wait! If you have reached the point where you are writing your dissertation, shouldn't you have already learned these things by now? Slept through class, did we?

 

[famous beagle]

I never measure anything because every room has different modes and nulls. Instead, I walk around the room beating on a small tom tom. When I discover the point where the tom sounds fullest and comes alive, that's where the drum set goes. Later, (if I want room mics,) I move each mic around listening through headphones while someone plays the drum kit. Again, when I discover the point(s) where the mics sound their best, that's where they get planted. Not scientific, I know, but this might be one situation where a dumb approach works better. I prefer the Blumlein method because it tends to minimize phase issues between the pair.

Hey, wait! If you have reached the point where you are writing your dissertation, shouldn't you have already learned these things by now? Slept through class, did we?

Let me first say that this is a sincere question; I'm not trying to be a smart ass. I don't have much experience with room mics on drum kits. Can you really make a good judgement about the room mic position if you're in the room while the drummer is playing? I know you said you have headphones on, but if the drummer is playing at any decent volume at all, depending on the room size, wouldn't that severely hinder your ability to make judgements about what you're hearing in your phones?

 

[RawDepth]

Let me first say that this is a sincere question; I'm not trying to be a smart ass. I don't have much experience with room mics on drum kits. Can you really make a good judgement about the room mic position if you're in the room while the drummer is playing? I know you said you have headphones on, but if the drummer is playing at any decent volume at all, depending on the room size, wouldn't that severely hinder your ability to make judgements about what you're hearing in your phones?

Yes, somewhat, but actually, you could use in-ear-monitors with shooting range muffs placed over top. That might help considerably. A better situation would be to listen to the drums through monitors from over in the control room. However, I don't have a separate control room. My drum room is also my control room. An alternative method might be to record the drums while moving the mic(s) about and then go listen to the playback to decide about positioning. Where there is a will, there is a way.

 

[system7studios]

Thanks RawDepth, some interesting points. No I am not writing my dissertation until next year. This semester is for research

 

[famous beagle]

An alternative method might be to record the drums while moving the mic(s) about and then go listen to the playback to decide about positioning. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Thanks for the tips! Yes, as a mostly one-man operation, the above is what I usually have to do when recording any kind of acoustic instrument like drums, acoustic guitar, etc. However, I did have a friend over a while back, and we set up his drums in our music room, which is a large room with 10' ceilings and a good deal of sloped walls/ceilings that help give it a usable sound. When we did that, I was able to monitor his drums from the control room over the monitors, which was fun. We didn't use room mics, though --- just kick, snare, hi tom, low tom, and 2 overheads. I don't know if the room would be good enough-sounding to merit room mics or not. Maybe I'll try it next time though and see.