Micing the drum kit - suggestions, please.

T

tzer

New member
I am planning on recording my band using what we have available to us (not renting or borrowing extra stuff)

We have:
1 Shure SM57
2 Shure SM58's
2 Audix CD11 (not 100% sure on the model, but it looks very similar to an SM58 with an on/off switch)

1 Oktava MC012 (Condenser Mic) + BlueTUBE - Two-Channel Tube Microphone Preamplifier

1 CHURCH AUDIO PRO BINAURAL MIC + CHURCH-AUDIO ST-20B STEREO PREAMP

and I just acquired some old mics from my dad including:
2 Realistic M-100 Dynamic
1 Sony F-98 Cardioid

Here are my thoughts on mics to drums:
1. Kick = ???
2. Snare = SM57
3. Overall = Either the Church Audio pair OR the Oktava condenser
4. Tom toms = 1 SM58 or Audix CD11 per pair (3 pairs of toms altogether)

Kick goes to track 1
Snare, track 2
toms, tracks 3, 4, 5
Overall, track 6

Anyone wanna take a shot at mic/drum relating?

If not - can you recommend which of these mics you would choose to mic the kick?

Any input is appreciated!

--tz
 
Other than that 57 on the snare I wouldn't use any of them. What I would do is save some money and and get the Samson drum mics 5 kit. But if you are deadset on those mics then do it the way you are gonna do it.
 
scorpio01169,

I am not dead-set on anything and I understand that purchasing the correct mics for the job is the ideal situation. What I am interested in is IF you only had these mics to work with AND you had to record a drum kit, which would you use to mic the kick?

Thanks for your input! Maybe as time rolls by I will be able to put together the funds for all the right mics for everything. Until then, I hope to use what I have the best I can.

--tz
 
tzer said:
scorpio01169,

I am not dead-set on anything and I understand that purchasing the correct mics for the job is the ideal situation. What I am interested in is IF you only had these mics to work with AND you had to record a drum kit, which would you use to mic the kick?

Thanks for your input! Maybe as time rolls by I will be able to put together the funds for all the right mics for everything. Until then, I hope to use what I have the best I can.

--tz
Click to expand...

I'd use the SM58 i suppose...I used a generic dynamic mic on a kick drum (Digital Reference mic..dont know which one specifically) and it came out aight.
 
Samson drum mic kit?

Um, forget that. I'd rather have all 57's or 58's than Samson anything. Don't waste your money on that crap.

In the future, you might want to buy a large diaphram dynamic mic for your kick drum like a Sennheiser 421, a Shure SM-7B, an EV RE-20, or a Heil PR-40. You could also get another Oktava for a second overhead.

But right now, I'd try a version of Glynn Johns technique. The mic I'm not familiar with is the Church mic. (If it's binaural, you might try putting it a couple feet in front of the drumselt and 2-4 feet off the floor)

Put the 57 on the snare. Try the 58 on the floor tom but angle it so it's sort of pointed at the snare. Experiment here. The idea is to get a lot of floor tom, but to add a little of the stereo image back because you're going to have a mono overhead. For the mono OH, use the Oktava above the snare but in a way that it gets some toms too. Now try either the other 58 or the audix on the kick.

This is just a suggestion to start with. Glynn Johns did a lot of albums using that configuration. It's a classic sound, but the drummer has to be able to play nice and balanced.
 
Jonk said:
Samson drum mic kit?

In the future, you might want to buy a large diaphram dynamic mic for your kick drum like a Sennheiser 421, a Shure SM-7B, an EV RE-20, or a Heil PR-40. You could also get another Oktava for a second overhead.

But right now, I'd try a version of Glynn Johns technique. The mic I'm not familiar with is the Church mic. (If it's binaural, you might try putting it a couple feet in front of the drumselt and 2-4 feet off the floor)

Put the 57 on the snare. Try the 58 on the floor tom but angle it so it's sort of pointed at the snare. Experiment here. The idea is to get a lot of floor tom, but to add a little of the stereo image back because you're going to have a mono overhead. For the mono OH, use the Oktava above the snare but in a way that it gets some toms too. Now try either the other 58 or the audix on the kick.

This is just a suggestion to start with. Glynn Johns did a lot of albums using that configuration. It's a classic sound, but the drummer has to be able to play nice and balanced.
Click to expand...


Thanks! - I am familiar with that technique and I have actually used it with a reasonable degree of success. It's good to have that technique reinforced here.

The Church Audio (company name) mics are a pair of very small (stealth) mics used mostly for recording live shows. Those mics, in conjunction with the preamp capture some really amazing audio all by themselves.

The last time I was recording this drummer, I had the Oktava over his head (~6' off the floor) pointing down at the snare and hi-hat.

I put the SM57 in front of the kit about 3' out and even with the top of the kick. I had the Church Audio pair in front of the kit at 6' off the ground, 6' apart from each other (left and right of the kit) and about 5' in front of the kit.

The recording came out very well (to my very amateur ears, mind you).

I was not recording to multiple tracks in that session. So the entire kit went to a stereo track.

This time I have multitracking capabilities, so I felt that having the kick and snare isolated on their own tracks and the overall kit on a third and fourth for left and right would give me more options when mixing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top