micing drums... (don't kill me :) )

[randomeyes]

I have a question and I am sure that it has been pounded to death already in these forums... But i have a Tascam Porta 02 and 3 ten dollar mics. I have a set of Pearl Exports Series drums. What is the best positioning/technique for micing these drums. I tried the basic triangle setup and that yielded fair results but it wasn't that great. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get better sounding drum tracks with my little setup?

Thanks

[DALtune]

You are in quite a tough spot there...
I would try close mic on the kick and put another mic on the snare, about 4 inches above the batter head and angled at the drummer, hopefully you'll grab the hats.
Try the third mic over the right side of the kit, like an overhead but in closer. Re-positioning the drums and cymbals can probably get you some results also.

I started with a porta 2 and tried all kinds of things. I would record all four tracks, pan them all hard left and mix to the two track deck. I'd take that tape and put it back in the porta 2, adjust the pan and have three new tracks. It did kill some sound quality though.

You could always record one drum at a time, but that's a pain in the ass.

[randomeyes]

Thanks. I'll try that approach. I'll be sure to keep you updated on my progress. Thanks

[randomeyes]

I tried your approach and it actually worked quite nicely. Thanks for the help. It still doesn't sound great but hey, for my setup it sounds wonderful!

[Electric Acid]

Yeah, just to add my 2 cents, i used to record my band on a tascam 4 track, with a bunch of really crappy mics, and now i have since bought about 600$ worth of industry standard mics, the mix has improved 1000% full fold from what it used to sound like. ive even tried the mics through a small 8 channel roland mixer and it was still very good. shows how much the mics have an impact on your sound...