Large condenser on snare?

C

CanopuS

Amateur music since 1847
Where should I position a large condenser on a snare if I want to get the most "tonal" sound possible (as opposed to crack)? I know using something like a Studio Projects B1 (Like I intend to) is never gonna get loads of tone but is there anywhere in particular I could put it to achieve the most?

Thanks
 
I'd start out about 4-6" out from the snare, a couple of inches above a plane even with the top of the drum angled down looking at the center of the top head. I like condensors on drums but they don't like to be "tight" on the head. They have to be back a bit.
 
Cool. Thanks. Just out of interest, would you use a gate? I mean, especially if the mic's gonna be 6 inches out? Ta
 
CanopuS said:
Cool. Thanks. Just out of interest, would you use a gate? I mean, especially if the mic's gonna be 6 inches out? Ta
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Most drummers aren't consistent enough to use a gate on the snare during the tracking session. Save it for mixdown if you really hafta isolate the snare.
 
Thanks. Just because I'm rather inexperienced in this, are you referring to just using a gate during tracking (which no doubt would be difficult to estimate), or using a gate afterwards? Although I haven't used a gate properly before, surely one could experiment with the settings afterwards to ensure it worked properly? Ta
 
Yes, don't use the gate while recording the drums. If there's too much bleed, you can use the gate during the mixing process, assuming the drummer was consistent in playing the snare.
 
If you are going to use a LD mic on sanre, my gut says that you won't be able to gate it during mixdown. In most cases you will get just as much, and possibly even more of the hi hat in the snare mic than snare. A lot of that however has to do with the drummers technique, style of music, and even what type of sticks and hi hats and snare is being used. If you do get a lot of hi hat, that does not mean that the drummer was bad, just that the micing style was not appropriate (or the mic choice). One common problem with this type of micing is what happens during mixdown with EQ'ing and bleed. If the hat and snare both get captured well, than it's not an issue. If however you have some hi hat bleed and decide during mixdown that the snare needs a little mor crack or sizzle, it could prove to be difficult or even impossible to achieve without also making the hats either too loud, or too bright.

My most common go to mic'ing for a snare is a Shure beta57 on top snare and an AKG 414 on bottom snare. However, don't be afraid to experiment as often as you can. Just consider the hi hat especially when you are trying things.
 
My most common go to mic'ing for a snare is a Shure beta57 on top snare and an AKG 414 on bottom snare.

i second that, and i like the Hypercardioid setting for the AKG,
you'll want to avoid getting bleed from the hihat into the SM57
and avoid getting too much bleed from the kick into the AKG

and i'm not feeling comfortable when my c414 is standing next to or a little above the snare....who-ever hits it with a stickk will be killed by my bare hands :o but its pretty save if you let the c414 look at the strainers of your snare
 
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