finding best spot for mic... it all sounds the same!

[zildjohn01]

i tried 8 different spots to mic my drumset from, and the only difference i hear is in the volume of the snare... am i missing something? i can't find a spot where it doesn't sound muddy... could it be my room? could somebody please take the time to help me out?

i drew a diagram (yes i'm amazing at this stuff)


1-6 - 3-4 feet off ground aimed toward middle of set
7&8 - 6-7 feet off ground aimed down toward snare

here's the audio samples that sound almost the same to me:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

my set's in the corner of a pretty big (10x30?) room. it's pretty live too, concrete floors, brick walls, wood ceiling. thanks so much for taking the time to help me out

[ez_willis]

How does the kit sound to your ears while in the room with it?

[travelin travis]

Originally Posted by zildjohn01

i tried 8 different spots to mic my drumset from, and the only difference i hear is in the volume of the snare... am i missing something? i can't find a spot where it doesn't sound muddy... could it be my room? could somebody please take the time to help me out?

i drew a diagram (yes i'm amazing at this stuff)


1-6 - 3-4 feet off ground aimed toward middle of set
7&8 - 6-7 feet off ground aimed down toward snare

here's the audio samples that sound almost the same to me:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

my set's in the corner of a pretty big (10x30?) room. it's pretty live too, concrete floors, brick walls, wood ceiling. thanks so much for taking the time to help me out

i'm betting it's your room. if you have the mics and channels, you may be better off close micing until you can fix your room (i don't know what kind of sound your shooting for).

[RezN8]

I hear a lot of room in those tracks too. How far away is the mic from the kit? Can you get closer w/o overloading the mic? Can you move your kit out of the corner? Have you tried the mic over the top of the kit?

The cheap way to change the sound of your room is to get a ton of moving blankets and start hanging them around your kit. You can either drape them over mic stands or gaffer tape them to the walls.

Hit the search function and start researching.

I know this was just a quick and dirty test, and I mean no offense here (just trying to help) but rather than worry about recording right now, I seriously suggest spending time playing the drums - building the muscles for more solid bass drum work - using a metronome to help with rolls and stuff, etc.

[bongolation]

Originally Posted by RezN8

The cheap way to change the sound of your room is to get a ton of moving blankets and start hanging them around your kit.

Doesn't do much for the low frequencies, but it does help some.

Tip: Cheap sleeping bags are frequently less expensive during summer sales than the mover's quilts and in some cases provide more damping.

[BentRabbit]

What mics are you using?

[zildjohn01]

How does the kit sound to your ears while in the room with it?

it sounds the same from everywhere, i'm pretty sure i'm missing something though... i'd like to think i have a musician's ear, but definitely not an engineer's

i'm betting it's your room.

that was my best guess before i posted this up, but i don't have much experience with this so i figured i'd make sure

i don't know what kind of sound your shooting for

rock, leaning a little toward the heavier side. actually before i get there, a usable sound that doesn't sound like a reverb chamber would be nice

How far away is the mic from the kit? Can you get closer w/o overloading the mic? Can you move your kit out of the corner? Have you tried the mic over the top of the kit?

in #6, the mic is less than a foot behind the toms. in #7 and #8 it's over the top of the set, only a few feet above. my mics won't overload at any distance, but at some point people will start hitting them when they play. unfortunately, my kit is stuck in the corner.

What mics are you using?

these were made with a cheap nady sp5 - it's almost the cheapest entry level pro mic. listen to a few of those recordings again though -- i think my mic is the least of my problems right now.

if you have the mics and channels, you may be better off close micing until you can fix your room

i was actually leaning toward this myself. i have 4 channels of input but realized soon after i bought it that that wasn't enough for all i want to do. i may end up close-micing, then treating my room (within my limited ability) and comparing recordings.

thanks for the help, everyone.

[travelin travis]

to get less room in your mic(s), you'll have to kill some of the reflections. have you read up on room acoustics yet? if not, go to the studio building and display section and read up.

[dkerwood]

Close mic the snare and kick, and then do two overheads. See where that gets you.

[ez_willis]

Originally Posted by zildjohn01

it sounds the same from everywhere, i'm pretty sure i'm missing something though... i'd like to think i have a musician's ear, but definitely not an engineer's

I meant does it sound good, or does it sound boxy/muddy?

[travelin travis]

Originally Posted by dkerwood

Close mic the snare and kick, and then do two overheads. See where that gets you.

i think he's using one mic

[ez_willis]

Originally Posted by TravisinFlorida

i think he's using one mic

Cut it in four.

[travelin travis]

good idea.

[TragikRemix]

hey, if we're cutting it, cut into 8 and close mic (and get the bottem snare)

[dkerwood]

Alright, if you're liking the way it sounds to your ear, let's do the logical thing.

Point the mic at the drums over your shoulder at ear level. Theoretically, what you hear should then be recorded. Of course, understand that your ears pick up sound in all directions and also filters certain sounds... both are features that your mic won't do for you.

[sirslurpee]

I've always wondered why someone doesn't come up with a mic pair that slips over someones head and will record what the person hears... oh well...

[TragikRemix]

Originally Posted by sirslurpee

I've always wondered why someone doesn't come up with a mic pair that slips over someones head and will record what the person hears... oh well...

MSHilarious is working on the prototype.
look out for the MSH-2E

[dkerwood]

Originally Posted by sirslurpee

I've always wondered why someone doesn't come up with a mic pair that slips over someones head and will record what the person hears... oh well...

It's interesting... when we recorded our demo, the engineer put the two overheads on either side of the drummer's head (equal distance from the snare, of course).

Then, of course, he mixed it in reverse stereo, as if you were sitting in FRONT of the drums instead of behind them...

[daav]

judging by your diagram, the problem might be the large floating penises by your mic locations, i think they are causing some bad (and gross) reflections.

Daav

[travelin travis]

Originally Posted by daav

judging by your diagram, the problem might be the large floating penises by your mic locations, i think they are causing some bad (and gross) reflections.

Daav

I don't think they would cause any problems unless they're very erect. Personally, I couldn't work in that kind of environment.

[dkerwood]

Originally Posted by daav

judging by your diagram, the problem might be the large floating penises by your mic locations, i think they are causing some bad (and gross) reflections.

Daav

Glad to see I wasn't the only one thinking this.

[sirslurpee]

Originally Posted by dkerwood

It's interesting... when we recorded our demo, the engineer put the two overheads on either side of the drummer's head (equal distance from the snare, of course).

Then, of course, he mixed it in reverse stereo, as if you were sitting in FRONT of the drums instead of behind them...

That's pretty kickass. Do you know what kind of mics they were by chance? Were they omni-directional?

[heroics321]

You're really not going to hear much of a difference in the way the snare sounds when micing at a distance. The differences in placement are going to come at close proximity, where the mic will pick up different levels of the rim, head, shell, and snare tones. When placed at a distance, the mic will equally pick up all of those all of those.

[chester]

wouldnt getting more mics solve the problem, so you can focus each mic on one aspect of the drumset and place it where it sounds good for that part of the kit?
A lot of it could be with your room, but you cant expect great sound from 1 mediocre mic on a drumset, can you?

Im not going to lie though, i dont know much about this type of stuff.

[dkerwood]

Originally Posted by sirslurpee

That's pretty kickass. Do you know what kind of mics they were by chance? Were they omni-directional?

They were just two MXR900 large diaphragm condensers. Sounded pretty decent.