Rule of thumb?

[Jblount]

How high should overheads be for a large drumset? I have like 6 cymbals I have to pick up. Advise is welcome.

[eeldip]

6 cymbals! that is pretty silly.

distance will depend on the room and the pick-up pattern of the mic, as well as what sort of sound you are going for.

but, as a rule of thumb, i start out about 6-7 feet up...

[Chris Hillman]

Originally posted by eeldip
6 cymbals! that is pretty silly.

distance will depend on the room and the pick-up pattern of the mic, as well as what sort of sound you are going for.

but, as a rule of thumb, i start out about 6-7 feet up...

Wow that's higher than I've ever gone, I'll have to try that. I go about 30" above the cymbas, but my kit is a bit of a lowrider, so i guess 30" above a higher mounted kit could reach 6 or 7'

[jake-owa]

6 or 7 feet!

I'd say a foot or two depending on how many mics you have on toms.

[Tim Brown]

Originally posted by eeldip
6 cymbals! that is pretty silly.

distance will depend on the room and the pick-up pattern of the mic, as well as what sort of sound you are going for.

but, as a rule of thumb, i start out about 6-7 feet up...

Why is it silly? I use 11 Cymbals and a 32" Gong....of course, I'm only using 6 drums.


I like my overheads to be approximately 6' from the floor....which puts them about 24" above the cymbals.



Tim

[carlosguardia]

I don't understand how 6 cymbals can be silly. I recorded a drummer the other day that had the best cymbal setup I've heard so far; he used 9 cymbals that were:

All Zildjian

1.- KZ Dyno Beat 13" hats
2.- 8" K custom dark splash
3.- 10" K splash
4.- 14" A custom fast crash
5.- 16" K custom dark crash
6.- 17" K custom fast crash
7.- 22" K heavy ride
8 & 9.- 17" and 19" K china one on top of the other back to back.

I picked them all up using 2 ECM 8000 each about 7 feet in the air, each on one side of the kit, each the same distance from the snare. All in an open space (no sound reflections anywhere, I used my back yard and really long mic cables) and enhanced the drum sound by adding an SM 57 on the snare and a PG-52 on the kick.

Carlos

[Jblount]

I played around with it. Found a sweet spot about 2.5 feet above the cymbal level. Thanks for all your inputs.

I got.....heinz 57
14" Sabian B8 high hats
10" wuhan splash
12" wuhan splash
14" Sabian max stage crash
16" Zildjian fast crash
20" Sabian max stage ping ride

[Dom Franco]

I have gotten very good results with two omni's facing forward on either side of the drummer's head about ear level. This gives you something similar to what the drummer hears.

Add a little bit of close miked kick and snare panned center and you have a very natural kit sound.

Dom

[sjoko2]

another rule of thumb - there are many
measure exactly three stick lengths from the 'impact zone' of your snare to each OH, that's a good way to minimise phasing problems as well

[Kramer]

Originally posted by jake-owa
6 or 7 feet!

I'd say a foot or two depending on how many mics you have on toms.

6 feet is not much higher than that.Im sure he's talking about six feet up from the floor.I go about that high with overheads and it works great.

[Digidude824]

I thought that the first rule of thumb is, that there are no rules? lol

[mixsit]

Originally posted by Dom Franco
I have gotten very good results with two omni's facing forward on either side of the drummer's head about ear level. This gives you something similar to what the drummer hears.

Add a little bit of close miked kick and snare panned center and you have a very natural kit sound.

Dom

Same here. I even go a bit lower, about elbow level. Pulls the drums up and the cymbals back a bit, relatively speaking. Lately I've added a cymbal pair above -about the same distance from the snare as the primaries- just for candy options.

Wayne

[chessrock]

I've actually been taking mine waaaayyy down, lately. Almost parallel with the toms, and away from the cymbals as much as possible.

Getting a lot more drums now, and less cymbal. Much better that way.

[mixsit]

ChessRock
I'm just about floor tom height on one side and a bit lower on the hat side. And, looking from above, I have the pair rotated CCW* slightly -helps center the kick-snare (and away from that PITA hat ) You're going lower that that?
The other thing I like about this is, more meat (dry and tight) and the mics isolate nicely down in the gobo partions.
Maybe someday I ought to try micing the toms.
Nah.

* That's 'anti-clockwise' in metric.

[Gidge]

try overheads the way Mike Hedges described in "Behind The Glass" as the "Glyn Johns way"....2 overheads, both 2 1/2 sticks length from the snare, the 1st over the floor tom looking toward the snare and the 2nd directly over the center of the snare, then adjust for phase.....

[coplinger]

Originally posted by chessrock
I've actually been taking mine waaaayyy down, lately. Almost parallel with the toms, and away from the cymbals as much as possible.

Getting a lot more drums now, and less cymbal. Much better that way.

Chessrock- Where exactly are you putting them? What mics are you using? We have been having trouble getting enough toms in the mix without the cymbals too hot. We have been using the '2 sticks from the snare, one over the snare, one over the drummers shoulder' technique. A small room with very low ceiling might be part of the problem, too. We are going to experiment with different placement and a different room this weekend.

[theletterq]

Originally posted by chessrock
I've actually been taking mine waaaayyy down, lately. Almost parallel with the toms, and away from the cymbals as much as possible.

Getting a lot more drums now, and less cymbal. Much better that way.

It sounds to me like you just have an insane amount of bad luck with drummers and or their cymbal choices.

[eeldip]

Originally posted by Kramer
6 feet is not much higher than that.Im sure he's talking about six feet up from the floor.I go about that high with overheads and it works great.

yes, that is what i am talking about. i stand by 6 cymbals being silly. i also consider double and triple necked guitars silly. but i like cheap trick (6 necked guitar?)

not saying it is bad... just excessive. if that is what your music is about... then go for it.

[Jblount]

With the type of music we play, I use different combinations of cymbals. It demands a lot from me. If I could, I would use just hi hats and a ride. BUT.... Its not that simple. Six cymbals is not that excessive. My drumming heros (the people I have watched to learn my style from) use any where from 8-28 cymbals.