Any feedback/comments/suggestions on my Drum mix?

[DKRecords]

Hey everyone,

I recorded my cousin playing drums this past weekend, and I'm now in the mixing stage. I'd be interested in any comments or suggestions on how it sounds so far.

My mic setup for this was as follows:

- Kick drum mic'd from inside (about halfway into the shell aimed close to the beater) using an Audix D6.
- Kick drum mic'd from outside on the beater head side using a Nady DM90
- Hihat close mic'd with CAD95 small diaphragm condenser
- Snare close mic'd with Shure SM57 on top and Nady DM70 on bottom
- Tom's high and mid close mic'd using 1 DM70
- Tom Low close mic'd with Nady DM80
- Cymbals Right (Crash and Ride) close mic'd using 1 Audix F15 small diaphragm condenser
- Cymbals Left (Crash) close mic'd using 1 Audix F15 small diaphragm condenser

Let me know any comments or suggestions you have. Thanks.

 

[BurningBridges]

Honestly, the micing job isn't terrible, but the kit itself sounds pretty dead. Specifically that snare. It has no crack or sizzle to it. The only drum that I really like is the kick.

Personally, I don't like close micing the cymbals. I'd rather use overheads, and if I have inputs left over I'll spend them on close mics on the cymbals.

To be honest, this isn't really the best performance or the best sounding drums to judge your ability to mic/record/mix drums with. It's hard to tell you what you could have done differently/did right when everything just sounds so lifeless. I would suggest re-grouping with a better performance and a nicer kit, or at least tune the kit you have or something.

 

[Greg_L]

Honestly, the micing job isn't terrible, but the kit itself sounds pretty dead. Specifically that snare. It has no crack or sizzle to it. The only drum that I really like is the kick.

Personally, I don't like close micing the cymbals. I'd rather use overheads, and if I have inputs left over I'll spend them on close mics on the cymbals.

To be honest, this isn't really the best performance or the best sounding drums to judge your ability to mic/record/mix drums with. It's hard to tell you what you could have done differently/did right when everything just sounds so lifeless. I would suggest re-grouping with a better performance and a nicer kit, or at least tune the kit you have or something.

I agree with all of this.

Put the "cymbal" mics in a more traditional overhead setup. What you've done sounds unnatural. I'm hearing a lot of phase problems and comb-filtering. But before you do that, tune those drums better.

 

[DKRecords]

Thanks for the feedback! I also agree about the sound of the kit, but I'm not that much of an expert on tuning a kit. Guess I should learn a bit more there. I have tried spaced overheads before, but I decided to try close miking the cymbals this time. I never tried that before, but I will probably go back to overheads next time.