1 overhead vs. 2

R

Rickson Gracie

New member
ok, i have a blue dragonfly and i also have 2 (not a matched pair) of mxl603s's.
would it be unreasonable to disregard the MXLs and try to get a good drum sound with just the one dragonfly? (cant afford a pair of those at this time)

im also using an audix d6 on the kick and a sm57 on the snare going through a digi002 rack. i plan on using the blue robbie tube mic pre for the draginfly. i was using a Maudio dmp3 on 603s's previously. i also have sennhieser e609s on the toms.

the sound im going for is a retro 60s, 70s sound but i want it to sound as potentially close to professional as i can as we all do.

(lets assume that the acoustics in the rooms are as best as possible)


any tips on placement is also appreciated.
 
If you want more of a kit sound, put the overhead behind the drummer, pointing down towards the drums. If you want more of the cymbals, mic from the front. I prefer using one mic for the overheads only because it's one less phase issue I have to worry about.
 
Rickson Gracie said:
SO it's common in pro studios to only use one overhead?
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I once saw a clip from a Rolling Stones recording session where they had Charlie Watts in a stair well with only a kick mic and a LDC for an overhead. It sounded fantastic. I myself like the stereo overheads, but hey, whatever works.
 
I've always used 2 overheads simply because I almost never mic the toms and hi-hat. I've always been able to get a very balanced sound with just 2 overheads, kick and snare mics. What I want to try next, is 2 overheads, tom mics, snare, kick, a mic on the hats and an omni room mic. Might not use all the channels in the final mix, but at least I'll have options to choose from.
 
Normally you'd reserve your best two condenser's as overhead mics. The reason you even have overheads is to capture the stereo image of the drumset. It's best to be a matched pair, but there isn't an engineer patrol waiting for you to make a mistake, just about anything goes.


At minimum, you could get a great recording with just two good condensers placed above and behind the drummers head.

The rest is just a matter of filling in sound. (Kick, snare, hi hat, toms, etc).


But I leave that part to the person's own self research, since more than one style works.
 
I've been using a Baby Bottle for OH. I like it for certain things like real heavy music where the big wide stereo drum track doesn't work.
 
i just feel that the dragonfly is probably a much better condensor than the MXLs so i feel like im not using the best i have available if i dont use the drangonfly.
 
If you have the tracks, why not set all three up and see what you like from there? i'm using 1 o/h at the moment, kinda helps focus the drum kit in the big recording space i have.
 
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