Hand Drums!!!!!!!!!!!!

[the dude]

this will be my first attempt at micing hand drums (djembe, congo, bong, etc.) for a 4 song demo that i am currently recording. We have 2 tracks available and are planning on setting up my condensor mic (AT 3035) and 3 of us will be playing the drums at the same time. any suggestions on getting a good sound? Mic placement? We will then record the three of us again on a second track and pan them right and left to give us a good full drum sound. overall, 6 drums will be heard. jammin the fuck out! thanks all! peace

[coloradojay]

Originally posted by the dude
this will be my first attempt at micing hand drums (djembe, congo, bong, etc.)

I use an sm57 on my bong and you can really feel the water bubble on playback! Smokin-the-fuck-out!

Seriously though for Djembe/Conga, the Bass hits can take a little distance to propagate, so you don't want the mic too close, where the bass is coming back off the walls late. But if it's too far away the bass hits can seem off time anyway.

For Congas, I like using two mics- one aimed at the tops for the slap and one below and in a wall corner for the bass, but that doesn't seem like an option here with only 1 mic.

You want to experiment in your room to find the best mic position, keeping the mic the same distance from all of the drums if possible, and have it far enough that the bass is heard, and sounds in time with the higher frequency notes. You might try the mic in a corner playing towards it, I've had some good results with that, but haven't tried it with multilple simultaneous players.

[the dude]

THANKS MAN, I APPRECIATE ANYTHING MYOU CAN GIVE ME AT THIS POINT. EVERYTHING ELSE ON THIS DEMO IS REALLY TIGHT AND SOUNDING GREAT SO, JUST DONT WANT TO FUCK THE DRUMS UP. THANKS AGIN, J

[TexRoadkill]

I would play around with one stereo take of all three drums as well. You might get something cool.

"Take it easy, Dude. I know you will."

[the dude]

the dude abides. . .