Do I really need a hihat mike?

1

1980Slingerland

New member
I've never used a hihat mike before, studio or live, and I was wondering if I should just forget about it? I'd rather not buy one to find I don't really need it. I'd rather not worry about placement/phase issues if it really doesn't make that much difference.
Here's what I use now:
57's close: snare, toms
Pro 25's: Kicks (2)
SM94 condensors: overheads
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated! I've been recording my drums for decades (mediocre to crappy quality :D ) and I finally want to work on getting a great sound!
Thanks
Ken
 
forget about it

usually i'm trying to get LESS hihat in my recordings, not MORE. :D

i say that unless you're doing really intricate hihat stuff (think stewart copeland) and need the focus, i wouldn't worry about it.

if you have the spare tracks going in, you can run one.....nothing says you have to use it.

however, running a hihat track CAN come in handy when you hardpan OH's L/R and the hat ends up waaaaaaay on one side--you can bring your dedicated hat channel more towards the middle and focus the hat more in the center--this is pretty crucial in dance/club music where the hat drives the song. in that case, personally i'd just not hardpan the OHs, but whatever. :p


YMMV


cheers,
wade
 
Thanks guys,
I do like to play dynamically on my hats in my hard rock band but I'll wait until I really am dissatisfied with my sound before I pick up a mike. In my classic rock band I know I won't need it. BTW, can anyone suggest a mike under 100 bucks that works well as a hat mike for future ref?
Thanks in advance.
Ken
 
Octava MC012, although like the others said, in mix down we're trying to find a way to get less hat in the mix!
 
I always mic the hat.
I use that mic in the mix about15% of the time.

Its nice to have it there if the drummer does alot of foot pedaling on the hats.
That stuff usually gets lost if it isnt mic'd.
 
I was just reading about this issue...

Go to google and search "studio buddy".

There is a cool little program you can download called Studio Buddy.

It's a database of Questions and Answers. The Hi-Hat issue is covered in that info.

They tell you what to do if you do mic it, and what to do if you don't mic it, and choose to let it bleed to other mics instead.

Check it out !
 
when i listen to led zep, i find it strange how much the hi-hat sticks out in the mix, when bonham (or page, whichever way you look at it) was famous for his minimal drum miking technique. suppose they must carry well or something.
 
olfunk said:
when i listen to led zep, i find it strange how much the hi-hat sticks out in the mix
Click to expand...

you mean when he plays them with his foot? that would be b/c he stomped the shit out of it. :D

he beat the snot out of his drums, too, but he was always pretty easy on the cymbals. the perfect example of a player with dynamics.


cheers,
wade
 
olfunk said:
when i listen to led zep, i find it strange how much the hi-hat sticks out in the mix, when bonham (or page, whichever way you look at it) was famous for his minimal drum miking technique. suppose they must carry well or something.
Click to expand...

In addition to Bonham's incredible technique, those couple of mics usually had a shit ton of compression on them. That will tend to bring the hi-hat level up when a drum is not being hit, which is often the case. If you listen closely, you can usually hear his hi-hat level pumping due to the compression.
 
most times the hats are too loud, i find this is usually a result of crappy sounding hats (cheeper ones often seem to be brighter and louder)

and bad technique (drummers unable or unawhare that to an extent they are responsible for mixing themselves)

only rarely, when someone is a REAL crusher, do i put up a hat mic.
aka: if it's needed, which is not really all that much. (seems to me)
 
OK then, I'm a drummer who's flexible and experienced (old as dirt). Just keep my hat hits to a low roar and don't try to move mikes around? I want to avoid phase issues and plan to try the measuring equidistant from overheads to snare to bass drum, so moving mikes around isn't in my immediate plan. Is playing softly on hats the best bet? Thanks in advance. I want as many opinions as possible, if you don't mind schooling a newby who's only done good recordings in a studio by an engineer (College course I took at U of M (MI) didn't help me much in recording, only basic stuff). I'm a QA engineer, so i'm trying to get best quality I can for home hobby recording....
 
1980Slingerland said:
I've never used a hihat mike before, studio or live, and I was wondering if I should just forget about it?
Click to expand...
Mic it!

The hi-hat is just as important, rhythmically, in many songs as the kick and snare. ESPECIALLY closed-hat stuff. Now, if you REALLY trust your drummer to be able to hit his hat consistently at just the right volume, then you'll probably get enough of it in your overheads. But what happens when the drummer doesn't hit his hat hard enough for a section or two and you need "more hat!"? How are you going to turn it up?

Like others have said, I tend to get quite enough hi-hat in my overhead tracks, and I usually don't use the actual hi-hat mic in the mix. But that's generally for big, open-hat punk playing kind of stuff where they're playing the hat like another crash cymbal. But hey, you don't HAVE to use the track if you don't need it. But you will kick yourself for not having it when the song calls for some closed-hat rhythm and you can't turn it up loud enough.

Ultimately it's your call, of course, and you've been doing it longer than I have, but if it were me and I could afford the extra $ for a mic and the extra input, I'd go for it.
 
i have never used a hi hat mic and have never needed one. i get plenty of hi hat from the overheads and the snare mic. it really comes down to how the kit sounds in the room and more importantly, how the drummer is playing it. if you have a good drummer, you could use one overhead mic, and the drums would sound good.
 
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