4 SM57 set-up for drums

[Hexenmeister]

I was just reading the new issue of DRUM! magazine and there's an article about miking drums. It mentions one producer who uses 4 SM57 mics for recording drums, which supposedly creates an organic drum sound reminiscent of the 60s and 70s.

Here's what the article says. (I tried to find it on their website, but had no luck)

- 1 mic positioned 6 inches to the side of the floor tom, 4 inches above the rim and aimed straight across the kit towards the hi-hat.

- 1 mic 4 feet directly above the convergence of the snare, hi-hat, and rack tom.

- 1 mic 3 or 4 feet in front of the kit pointing in between the toms and bass drum.

- 1 mic 2 inches inside the port of the front bass drum head, pointing between the beater and the edge of the drum.

The article says that any mics could be used, but that in this particular experiment they used all SM57s.

So what do you think about this set-up? It seems like you'd be relying a lot on the natural sound of the room.

If anyone can possibly record something with this set-up, I'd love to hear it.

 

[kid klash]

Ya know,

I did EXACTLY that, four SM57's, for a bunch of sessions in the 70's and 80's, one of which got airplay... a piece about Mt. St. Helens blowing her stack. Country stations loved it.

Lots of rock tracks too, that wound up on CD's.

Anyway, if that's the vibe you're going for, four SM57's sounds just like the 70's and 80's to me.

To me, It's all about placement, mic-wise, regardless of the mic you choose. I've actually used this specific mic setup, with great results. After the mics and pres, it's all about the condition/tuning of the drums, and then, most importantly, the player making them talk.

FWIW.

YMMV.