Best ROOM for Tracking Drums? - I have pictures...

[thelakesuperior]

Hey Everyone, I am going to be recording my friend on drums in a month or so and wanted to get everyone's opinion on which room might have the best potential to capture the drums. The playing style is going to be instrumental much like explosions in the sky type stuff and we will have about 4-7 mics on his kit. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks...I have accompanied pro's and con's of each room below to help:

The Basement:
Pro's - Lots of room and outlets
Con's - Super Echos, All Cinder Block Walls and floor

The Man Cave:
Pro's - Ceiling is not just flat, Carpet over Wood Floor
Con's - Drywall walls, very echo'ish, near busy road (can sometimes hear cars zoom by)

The New Garage
Pro's - Mostly wood with High Ceiling, Pretty quiet part of town
Con's - Cement Floor, a tiny bit echo's

The Old Garage
Pro's - Mostly wood, with Higher Ceiling than the New garage, good ambient and even echo
Con's - Cement floor, near busy road and can hear cars rush by

The Barn:
Pro's - All Wood Room, Cool Place
Con's - Wind Whistles Through, Space is on 2nd Floor and it shakes really sketchy

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THE BASEMENT



THE MANCAVE


THE NEW GARAGE


THE OLD GARAGE


THE BARN

 

[dreib]

I vote remodel the barn and record there.

 

[miroslav]

The rooms as they are....hard to say.

It's all going to come down to how the room is finished and what type of acoustic treatment is done...but I would consider the bigger spaces as having more potential, but of course, the barn will need a lot more work than the garage...etc....so there a few considerations. Probably you budget would be the main consideration.

 

[dreib]

If your just gonna record in what you have, room wise, the mancave could be cool. Your gonna have to kill some reflections though.

 

[RecordingMaster]

Judging by your post, this sounds like something you're just going to do as a one-off thing or not very often (tracking drums). If that's the case, one can assume you won't be treating an entire room just for that purpose. So I vote maybe trying the new (or old) garage with only close mics, with the exception of a pair of cardioid overheads. Try the overheads no higher than 16" above the highest cymbal, in attempt to try to avoid picking up as much room sound as possible.

I chose the garage because it has a wood floor (use a small carpet where the pedals go of course), because it's a large space (less reflections straight back into the close mics), and because it has a high ceiling which isn't just flat (more air for cymbals and such). For quick and dirty treatment, if there are any bags of insulation you guys have for the future finishing of the garage, pile them up in the corners to trap some bass/boominess and if you have a spare mattress you don't mind getting a lil' dirty, maybe lean it up against the wall behind the drums.

A useful tip: The only way to truly know which room sounds best, is by trying each one...Bring a snare and a deep tom into each room, one by one. Give each drum a good whack, one at a time, allowing the tone to decay. Listen to how the drum sound translates in each room (naturally without treatment) and choose the room that you like best for the application. Some rooms can really nastify drum sounds. If it's not sounding good in the room, you won't "fix it in the mix". If the "best sounding" room sounds OK alone without treatment, win. If not, spot treat as necessary. Good luck.

 

[RAMI]

HPro's - ......... Carpet over Wood Floor

Not to nit-pick, but it might help you make the right decision.....Capet is not a "Pro", it's more likely a "Con". The wood floor would be much better for tracking, especially drums. You generally wany a reflective floor and absorption on the ceiling.