How many mics do you use?

hand in glove

hand in glove

New member
Hey Guys,

i was wondering, what kind of setup do you use when it comes to micing your average 5 piece kit? In my experience i think i've always found using 4 the best because i've had issues with phase sometimes using to many.

In other words, 1 on the kick, snare, and 2 overheads. I've tried micing the toms individually, but i've just never had very pleasing results even when muckin around for hours on mic placement and different mic types. Either way...

What about you guys? I'd like to see what your guys setup usually is like...

And also, is it just me, or are those drum mic kits quite dodgy for recording drums? Because i've used a shure set before, didn't sound very nice at all.
 
8 mics because the teacher wants it that way.

1 k
1 snr
1 hh
1 t1
1 t2
1 t3
1 loh
1 roh

The mics probably didn't sound very good because of your room.
 
Seven to eight mics. I always tight mic the toms. I take my time and listen. No phase problems here usually.
 
I seem to remember this exact question not so long ago, however

2-3 on kick
2 on snare
4xtoms
Hihats
2xoverheads
 
I like a 4-mic setup. Simple, and captures the kit pretty well. I'm toying with adding a room mic too. I don't like too many tom fills, so I don't see the need to mic them individually for most stuff. Of course, a lot depends on your drums, room, mics, preamps, and the style of music you're making. If you're doing metal and/or using lots of triggering/replacing, miking each piece is probably more important.
 
For a five piece I use 7 mics; one for each drum and two for the overhead (X/Y). My studio kit is a six piece so I use 8 mics.
 
no phase problems here either, despite 8 mics.

(1) kick: akg D550, skins on, mic through hole on resonant head, about 8" away from batter head, pointed at beater
(1) snare: sm57 (surprise), top, 1" away from head (close to rim), 45 degree angle
(3) toms: CAD dynamics, resonant head miked, close to center, 2-3" away
(2) overheads: small-capsule condensers, stereo image pointing straight down
hi-hat/rotos: akg c100s, just kind of thrown in there...

i'm currently in the experimental phase of introducing a room mic. so far, it seems my room isn't really good for this...

My CAD set doesn't sound exactly professional, but for around $250 used, it was a frigging bargain. At least I'm finally getting drums on cd that sound like drums.
 
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