Fusion Jazz Drum Recording.

[Rassoodocks]

Hey guys. Just a quick question to all you drum recording gods.

I'm looking to buy a recording interface for my computer. Currentley i'm looking at 4 ins as being enough. I am recording fusion jazz/rock and I do like a slightly roomy drum sound. In saying this, i'm no expert and i'd like to give you an example of what drum sound i would like to 'emulate' ... and... you guys can point me in the right direction as to how many mics it's going to take ?

Radiohead
Amnesiac Album
"Pyramid Song"

Now, i don't think i could outline a better example of what drum sound i want... The recording does sound quite close but it's not in your face. Can anyone give me any tips concerning the amount of mics i'll need to achieve this sound ?

Cheers,
Rory.

 

[Tweeksound]

I love Radiohead.
The drum sound in "Pyramid song" is really cool.
The sounds they get are mostly to do with a great drum set in a decent space played with great technique. A recorded sound is only as good as the weakest link in the audio chain. A lot of people forget the actual instruments are at the very beginning of this audio chain. No amount of mics or channels will give you that sound without a good quality set, room, and player.
Assuming you already know this maybe these tips can help.
The cymbals are light but very present and centered. They're wide and that makes me think they had maybe a close X/Y stereo on the overheads.http://www.dpamicrophones.com/ Here is a good source of basic mic technique.
The snare is woody sounding. Not very bright and snappy. Perhaps a dynamic on the top and a LDC on the bottom. This can give a deep woody tone with the softness of the snares that you can process and add to taste.
The deep woody tone will not be realized with a tight cheap metal snare.
The toms are very jazzy. You could put two dynamics between three toms and get good results. The toms are panned as they almost always are in todays music. So in this case a mic for each tom could help.
The kick is very soft and not very present. It may have been just mixed low or miced at a bit of a distance (not 3"from the beater head) as this will give a deeper more fealt beat rather than a punchy midrange thump.
It sounds to me like the close drum sounds in this song are attained by close micing with a judiciouse amount of very good reverbs and stereo panning.
As well as good EQ technique. Compression helps with adding punch to instruments and if done well can add punch but not intrusiveness.
Good luck. Drum micing is an art in and of itself. I am not an expert. I've just miced a few drums and am still learning.
As for the number of mics to use, it really depends. Especially with a jazzy sound like this. It's quite possible with a great set and a great room and some real good mics and mic technique to get this sound with just a stereo pair.
I'd say 4 channels should be your minimum though. This will give you room to try new and different approaches. I have easily used 6 channels but It was rock and metal music that I usually work with. In that situation you need a bit more controll and flexability.