Anyone remember this mic placement technique?

E

emergencyexit

New member
Hey guys,
A little while back I saw this 10 or something step method for a different type of overhead micing for drums. It seems to be great for anyone who only has overheads and a bass drum mic (maybe snare too). I've seen it pop up everyonce and a while because its so great. I used it twice but now I have completely forgotten it and I didn't write it down (VERY STUPID OF ME!!! :o ). I was wondering if anybody remembered it by chance? It was something like first take two drum sticks lined up by the ends and put them strait up from the middle of the snare drum, put the capsule of the mic right where this is pointing strait down. Then take the second mic and measure two stick lengths above the drummers right shoulder. Put the second mic there facing strait down. Then there were a couple other steps and the ones I just said could be wrong. Does anybody remember this?

Thanks guys,

Ben
 
There is a 2 or 3 year old thread about it that someone revived recently because I remember seeing it a few days ago. I'll try to find it. Maybe a search for "drum micing" or something like that.
 
Actually, it's often called the "Glynn Johns" method. If you do a Google search of "Glynn Johns Drum Mic" you will find a ton of stories about it, including mics used, signal chains, etc...

I recently used this technique and I will never go back. The sonic picture of the drums was perfect. The cymbals sit so naturally in the mix, it's hard to believe.

Good luck!
 
um, isn't the glyn johns method slightly different?

i have used both methods during a session last fall and as far as i can remember they were not the same thing.
 
visa said:
um, isn't the glyn johns method slightly different?

i have used both methods during a session last fall and as far as i can remember they were not the same thing.
Click to expand...

I don't know the minute details of the subject. I just know that the basic idea of the technique often gets brought up in Glynn Johns discussions since he mic'd Bonham like that. Using his name is just an easy search term for everyone's two cents on the subject.
 
For what it's worth, I just tried it and I love it. I can't say it changed the SOUND of my drums too much from an XY pattern, but it did 3 things.

1) It made the snare alot more present in the overheads. I ALMOST didn't need to add a snare mic, but I still did. Before, most of my snare came from the snare mic. Now I'd say most of it comes from the overheads.

2) It gave me great seperation on the toms. I had to close the panning of my overheads a bit, because hard left and right made the toms sound 3 feet away from each other. It's great because I was never able to get that much seperation on the toms before.

3) It gave me great attack on the toms because of the position of the mics.

I'm glad I tried it, I'm definitely a convert now.
 
Yeah, the two methods are different. John Glyns has the mic over the floor tom, while the method this thread is asking about has the mic over the drummer's shoulder. They're similar but not the same.
 
Hmm

I'm not quite getting the right mic placement on this.

Left Mic, directly above snare, (two stick heights).

Right Mic, directly above drummers right shoulder...correct? two stick heights from what???

An imaginary line over from the snare? At an angle from the snare itself? Or...from the other mic?

I think I have everything else down.

Justin
 
The shoulder mic is 2 drum stick lengths from the same exact spot on the snare that you measured for the other mic. That way, they are both the exact same distance from the snare, eliminating phase problems.
 
RAMI said:
The shoulder mic is 2 drum stick lengths from the same exact spot on the snare that you measured for the other mic. That way, they are both the exact same distance from the snare, eliminating phase problems.
Click to expand...
This is the part that I don't quite get. My loud drummer guy is about 6'4", 245lbs. I think that 2 stick lengths might be lucky to put the mic behind the drummer's right shoulder blade. Even if I dropped the angle to *maybe* get the mic to clear the side of his right arm, he'd still have his body blocking the entire left-hand of the kit from the right-side microphone.

Is the two stick lengths a hard-and-fast rule, or is the important thing the equidistance from the snare? I'd think it'd be more the latter than the former. This would also open up the formula a bit depending upon the width of the kit.

G.
 
HA! Never thought of that. I'm 5'11" so it wasn't even an issue. I guess it would be safe to assume that equal distance is more important that the actual 2 stick lengths. Especially since who's to say all sticks are the same lengths.
 
I'm 6'4"...... when I tried this method a few months ago, two stick lengths was right in the way, no matter how I moved it around. I have to use about 2 1/2 stick lengths.

Works for me :D
 
Yeah, for me, even though I'm pretty short and two stick lengths was fine, I raised them up anyway. I got a better sound when they were like 3 - 3 1/2 feet above the snare.
 
JustinMack said:
I'm not quite getting the right mic placement on this.

Left Mic, directly above snare, (two stick heights).

Right Mic, directly above drummers right shoulder...correct? two stick heights from what???

An imaginary line over from the snare? At an angle from the snare itself? Or...from the other mic?

I think I have everything else down.

Justin
Click to expand...

Also, they're equidistant from the kick, too.
If you read into like page 3 of that thread there's a better description of how to set it up.
 
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