huge room....help

[dr.colossus]

due to my currnet living arrangement, my drums are set up in a 90' x 30' warehouse, playing in there live has an awesome sound....... i've experimented with close micing and room micing, as well as baffle arrangements...i just want to know if anyone has any sugestions for recording techniques in such a large space?

[Track Rat]

Man, I envey you. I LOVE big spaces, especialy for drums. Try laying a couple of sheets of plywood on the floor and set the drums up on them. I kind of like using condensors as tom mics about a foot off the drums. Tight mics on the kick and snare. Omni condensors overhead. Also something like a AT4033 about 3' out in front of the kit a couple of feet off the ground. Then a couple of room mics further out in the room compressed heavily. No reverb in a box, all natural. I like it. YMMV.

[Jeroleen]

I too envy having such space. I live in New york City. The days of having such space are, for the most part, over for regular guys although since Sept 11th there seems to be space opening up in Manhatttan. Unfortunate way for things to change but...I woujld suggest moving the drums around the room. Since the room is not completely symetrical, I would imagine a corner would sound different than a long wall and a short wall would sound different than the center of the room etc.

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Doc: C:]

First of all, put out those fires over there down under. Put a croc in Steve Erwin's outhouse.

If you want a "smaller" sound from a big room, try using small room reverb -- it might work.

Don't get lost outback.

Green Hornet

[dr.colossus]

i'd love to do something about those fires, but i'm about eight hours away, and i have a hang over....damn crocs are a pain in the arse, had two in the driveway last week, don't worry i got rid of 'em, they were fiesty "little darlings"......

one problem i have is the cieling height, its about 20' and the cymbals seem to get lost.... but it does sound awesome in there, i 'm used to micing in small areas, or for live gigs, so this is a bit of a new adventure.... i'm going to try that technique thats in the drum section, nice open micing should do the job nicely....

but any more tips and trips on recording in an open space would be awesome, so keep 'em coming

[tubedude]

I;d give anything for a room that big, I'd buy about $60 worth of aluminum stud and some drywall and make a control room though. I'd kill for that ceiling height too... the cymbals should be there, they should just explode and be gone, just like you should want them to... man, lucky bastard. Try recording in a 12 by 12 room with 7 foot ceilings sometimes... what a bitch.

[dr.colossus]

i'd love to set up a control room in there, but i share the warehouse with another band and flooring business, and its not mine to go building stuff in.... i have to keep my kit packed away in a corner when not in use, and all recording has to be mobile...so no real spur of the moment recording for me (that eats me up inside big time)....also this place is about 20 min away from where i live....

tube your right about the cymbals, they are there, but the problem is they just disappear, i am a ride heavy player so i thrive on a heap of sustain from my cymbals, (22" ride, 22" crash, 20" crash) so with these figures you can see that i'm not the kind of guy just after the initial explosion, when i hit a cymbal, it stays hit!!!!!