Recording Live Drums: Ditching the Overheads

[lucejavalos]

Lately when recording drums I've stopped putting overheads over the kit, the room I record in has pretty decent acoustics and is treated well but the ceiling is very low(and also every mic stand I have can't seem to handle the weight of LDCs) so I figure what's the point. Instead I'll close mic the drums and then I'll put two LDCs in a blumlein pattern a few feet or so in front of the kit and point them towards the cymbals.

Just wondering if anyone else has tried alternatives to setting up overheads on a drum kit.

 

[grimtraveller]

I stopped using overheads some years back because one of the drummers that I used to record with could get a little, um, violent, with the cymbals and they could sometimes drown out other parts that I wanted more of. One day I tried putting my overheads underneath the height of the cymbals and try as he might, the cymbals never once overpowered the rest of the kit. It was something of an "a~ha !" moment for me.
I also began experimenting with where I placed the underheads and found that when they were behind the drummer with one pointing towards the snare and the other pointing towards the floor tom, I got a more balanced sound. The room I record drums in is my kids' bedroom and it's probably the second worst room on the planet for recording drums, with its carpet, low ceiling and wardrobes, drawers, beds etc. But I'm of the opinion that as long as the drums sound like drums and are played well, they're good to go. I hear so many people talk about how hard it is to record drums well. I'm not fussy. I just want them to sound like drums !

 

[RRuskin]

Overheads aren't a requirement.