Recording the room

E

ex351d

Member
I have noticed that a lot of people when record drums record the room and this gives a lot of punch and fullness to the snare drum. I would like to get this sound but I am new to recording. There are a lot of mixed ideas on the internet how to get this done. I would like to get a basic idea how to approach this method.

My setup is as follows: I have 2 SDC for overheads, just enough dynamic mics for close micing the drums. Also, I got 2 different LDC I was not going to use on drums. The LDC are sE Electronics X1 and Blue Bluebird.

What I would like to know is should I go mono or stereo to record the room. If stereo, should I use spaced pair or Mid-Side? Furthermore, what microphones would you suggest using for this application? As there are a lot of different ideas such as Shure green bullet, SM57, LDCs and ribbons.
 
How many mic preamps/inputs do you have on yoru audio interface? Does the rooms sound good? (acoustic treatment)
 
Yes, I do have acoustic treatment, however, I do not have sound isolation. I have an 8 channel interface. Using 2 for the overheads and another 4 for close mics of a 4 piece drum kit, thus, I have 2 free channels.
 
The short answer is that there's on one right way. Every room will sound different, and what works for one person may not work for you. You've obviously read up on it a bit, so I'd suggest throwing some mics up and trying out a few ideas that you've read about to see what it sounds like. Move/change the mics, try again. Shampoo, rinse, repeat. Good luck!
 
I've been hanging a mic up high in the hall (not a hallway' more like a junction) between the 'drum room and john/bedrooms. Started with a EV 635 -ok, so so. Went to one of the omni caps on the little Audix M44's. (Not that that mic mattered, but the extended low end did make a big difference over the 635.
Works very effective, use it about thirty or forty percent of the mixes.
..add. You can also delay them to get some extra mileage.
Invariably I'm also getting some low from the bass since they're typically in the same room..
 
Thank you mixsit! Famous beagle, I do not have the luxury of a lot of mics to try. Most likely I would have to buy a mic for this application.
 
usually,
you want to record a room that sounds great....
NOT a room that has been treated to NOT sound great.

there is a difference.

if the room does not sound great (meaning, everything that you can imagine that could make a room sound great),
then you are better off not recording it,
and adding ambience thru effects.


of course,
experiment
and see what you get first.
you don't have to use those mics, if they sound of sh!te
 
Yes I agree with GONZO.

Usually people use room mics in really big-ass rooms, also.

But I really think it wouldnt hurt if you try it.
 
ex351d said:
Thank you mixsit! Famous beagle, I do not have the luxury of a lot of mics to try. Most likely I would have to buy a mic for this application.
Click to expand...
Your welcome :)
FWIW however.. I for one reject (nine times out'a ten) this notion so common.. of specific mics for such and such making the perfect fit' or what ever. 'What mic for my voice, for example etc. Yeah Shure you can zing in to the last nuances in some cases, but IMHO, the context of the track- that will be the density, the tone balance of the song..the mix..
Any one of which can easily swamp all that 'best mic for this' thing.
There's dozens of different mic voicings, one that fits best one time may not be the next time. On top of that you have eq for crying out loud -as if that's for kind terrible 'last resort :rolleyes:
 
I find that a ribbon mic is my favorite room mic. You'll need a pre that gives at least 50 dB of clean gain and I usually find I compress the signal 4-6 dB to make it pop. I usually find that if I start in the center of the room and work my way towards one wall I will find a sweet spot at a ratio of about 2.5:1 distance from the kit to the wall. If the distance from the kit to the wall is about equal I find the sound is usually thin but the closer I get to the wall the bigger it can sound, until it doesn't again. Keep in mind I have a 26' x 42' tracking room with non-parallel walls so your experience may differ from mine.
 
mixsit, I intend to use a lot of EQ and most likely high pass and low pass filters to get at least the snare drum punch. But I do not own any ribbon mics. Also, all my mics are cardioid patterns, so for a M-S technique I would have to get another mic.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top