One Mic, One Drumset, Best Place?

Last year, I was recording with my friend on drums in a warehouse and I used about 8 mics. But one of them, I set up in the back of an open van about 12 feet away facing directly the kit, so it would've been about 4 feet off the ground, pointed slightly downwards at the top of the bass drum. I just set it up as a room mic, almost as an afterthought, and turned the preamp as high as I could get it without hiss or clipping. Well, it was a shitty Superlux dynamic, the inferior of the 57 but it picked up the entire kit with a strong kick drum sound, far better than my condenser overheads. I was amazed. I wouldn't want to record with just one mic {at the very least, three}, but if I had to, I know I could get something useable. It's not preferable. But it's useable.
 
ido1957 said:
Yeah I don't play drums but I would think that would pick up the snare/kick and not all cymbals.
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Putting it overhead will get too much cymbal. Especially if the room is bad. Cymbals are loud. Keeping it low will more likely get the kick and snare better without the cymbals overpowering everything. That's how it works best for every room I've tried it in. I think a room mic sounds better when it's low, and a 57 is a terrible room mic.
 
Greg_L said:
Putting it overhead will get too much cymbal. Especially if the room is bad. Cymbals are loud. Keeping it low will more likely get the kick and snare better without the cymbals overpowering everything. That's how it works best for every room I've tried it in. I think a room mic sounds better when it's low.
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Yeah, I'm with teh Gerg on this one. Low and in front!
It'll be hard to pull this off though. Be prepared to play around a lot with the positioning!
 
Obviously mic position is of extreme importance, but...

Here's a quick and easy way to deal with the problem of "too much cymbal"...

Don't hit the f*ckin' cymbals so hard!

When I first started doing studio work, the drums got one overhead...that was it. The good studio guys were the guys who learned how to balance their kit, whether for recording or for playing live.

And good drummers play differently in the studio than they do when they are playing live...
 
bdenton said:
Obviously mic position is of extreme importance, but...

Here's a quick and easy way to deal with the problem of "too much cymbal"...

Don't hit the f*ckin' cymbals so hard!

When I first started doing studio work, the drums got one overhead...that was it. The good studio guys were the guys who learned how to balance their kit, whether for recording or for playing live.

And good drummers play differently in the studio than they do when they are playing live...
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No shit. But what are the chances that this guy is a pro in a studio?
 
You can pick up the GLS ES-57 for 29 bucks. Some places even do packs for cheaper than that. I own about 15 or different mics, and try all kinds on drums to see what I can get. I bought the ES-57 out curiosity more than anything. To be honest, I was surprised. I still pick it up from time to time and throw on a snare. It won't get you a pro sounding recording using it on all of your drums, but if you are considering recording a kit with 1 mic, then you probably aren't expecting that anyway. At any rate, pick up at least one of them and do a mic drum technique. There is a cool placement technique for 2 mics out there that Ive tried for curiosity's sake with some success. Just do a search for "Recorderman Overhead Drum Technique" on youtube.
 
put it where ever the kit sounds balanced to your ears.

walk about, listen.....find a good spot..put the mic there.


If you're using one mic, you gota make sure your drummer's playing is balanced.
The kit is treated as one instrument in this situation (as it should be) so try to get him to play it as such.
 
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