Using Overheads As "Underheads"?

[Cody Suit]

i tryed this on a demo recording of one of my bands songs. it actually sounded good putting the overheads underneath the cymbals. they had a less distant sound then they did as overheads.

i was just using my samson 7 drum mic kit. i dont have any fancy mics yet. i am getting a shure sm48 soon tho.

any one else ever tried it? any good results?

i think i might post it in the mp3 mixing clinic once i get it on the net.

[mrface2112]

sounds like you compensated for a phase problem by flipping the mics over.


cheers,
wade

[ez_willis]

Originally Posted by Cody Suit

i tryed this on a demo recording of one of my bands songs. it actually sounded good putting the overheads underneath the cymbals. they had a less distant sound then they did as overheads.

Were the mics pointing up towards the cymbals? Were they the same distance away from the cymbals under as they were over? Overheads are generally used to get a stereo representation of the whole kit, it doesn't seem like that would be the case with them underneath the cymbals, but if it sounds better I guess it doesn't matter.

[Cody Suit]

Originally Posted by ez_willis

Were the mics pointing up towards the cymbals? Were they the same distance away from the cymbals under as they were over? Overheads are generally used to get a stereo representation of the whole kit, it doesn't seem like that would be the case with them underneath the cymbals, but if it sounds better I guess it doesn't matter.

yeh they were pointed up but im not sure about distance. but yeh it sounded better. more like a cymbal versus just a bright shiny noise

[PhilGood]

Originally Posted by Cody Suit

yeh they were pointed up but im not sure about distance. but yeh it sounded better. more like a cymbal versus just a bright shiny noise

Are you EQing the overheads? That might be why your cymbals sound like shiny noise. It's a common misconception that the overheads are stricktly for cymbals. Most people boost the highs and pull down the mids and lows, thinking this is how engineers get that sparkly cymbal sound. (I used to.) They should be used to pick up the whole kit. The overhead's EQ should be pretty flat if they're condensers. The low end that helps the toms also makes the cymbals sound real. Try boosting the mid lows with the mics pointed down if it sounds too bright.

If it's because of a phase problem and pointing them up fixes it, you could go with it, or pick up some preamps that have a phase reversal switch.

[surfmaster]

fantastic idea, for the phase cancelling and for getting a more solid meaty tone out of the cymbals. i think i will still resort to overheads though, i like to use a minimalistic approach to miking drums. ( speaker-mic and dynamic for bass, dynamic under snare, single overhead)

[gumplunger]

I've seen this done live, where the drummer only had 2 crashes and a hat in terms of cymbals and just had two mics under the two crashes and mic'd the hats seperately as well as the other drums. I'd never heard of it being done in the studio, though it did sound good live (as far as I can tell, it was pretty damn loud).