A new way to mic drums

[WayneSMT]

Don't know what

Don't know what you're smokin dude, but you better slow down, you're losing way to many brain cells. Still laughing at the "SWOOSHING SOUND", god I can just see that. Thanks for the laughs or as the Japanese would say Raffs.

 

[Supercreep]

I just hit a bowl and am thinking that instead of a drumkit, you could mount a whole bunch of mics and smash them with a drum. You could hold two drums and hit the mics very fast. It would be awesome.

 

[snowman1]

reality

sounds like a reality check needs to be administered...but the thought was nice...maybe if you put the mics in the drums and try that???

 

[Rock Star 87]

This is a great thread. I just wanted to share that with you.

see, marijuana is entertaining.

...maybe if you put the mics in the drums and try that???

i highly doubt that would work, even if i was stoned.

 

[mcolling]

where is that bloody clip????

 

[scrubs]

Man, I'm not sure what's worse, the idea, or admitting to liking Len

Both are evidence that should be used to keep kids off drugs. "See kids, do drugs and you'll think this shit is cool!" ^^music "the more you know"^^

 

[robin watson]

All said and done, you'd get some pretty cool Doppler effects!

 

[Yareek]

Actually, I saw 12 Rods play a few years back, did something kinda similar. Dave King (drumming god) was playing one of his first shows with the group. The singer had some goofy Shure Elvis-looking mic, and during the choruses, he would grab/stop the ride cymbal with his hand and the mic. The mic was running through some reverb and delay, and it just sounded badass.

I think an easier way to mic the drums would be a stereo pair of condensers over the drummers head, but that's my two cents.

- Jarick

 

[northsiderap]

Here ya go.

Okay here's a sample of me holding two SM58s while playing. You can clearly hear the added weight as my sticks DRAG across the drum heads.

I cheated and put an EV644 shotgun on the bass drum.

Not CD quality, but you get the idea.

Not too bad. Only the higher frequencies turn out to be really directional, so the cymbals do 'swoosh' a bit. Someone would use them for something if you made them.

Send me a bunch of prototypes and I'll rate them/try them for you.

When you start producing them, send me a bunch more.

 

[Rock Star 87]

nice clip northside, and see, that doesn't sound too bad. anyways, i have to say that as a musician and self-proclaimed visionary, no idea is stupid. just because it doesn't fit the mold or what music HAS BEEN FOR THE PAST 100 YEARS doesn't mean it won't work. i really liked Northside's clip, and it should be a lesson to you.

oh yeah, i haven't smoked in a week, so

 

[patlang12]

Okay here's a sample of me holding two SM58s while playing. You can clearly hear the added weight as my sticks DRAG across the drum heads.

QUOTE]
so did you play with just the mics only or did you use sticks as well?

 

[notbradsohner]

mine didnt turn out nearly as well, ill throw them up here tomorrow

 

[patlang12]

I wonder what it would sound like if you miked the drums normally and did this? You might get a lot of phase cancellation

 

[Bdrum]

WHAT THE @&^%)($#@(*((*()?????

Okay here's a sample of me holding two SM58s while playing. You can clearly hear the added weight as my sticks DRAG across the drum heads.

I cheated and put an EV644 shotgun on the bass drum.

Not CD quality, but you get the idea.

Not too bad. Only the higher frequencies turn out to be really directional, so the cymbals do 'swoosh' a bit. Someone would use them for something if you made them.

Send me a bunch of prototypes and I'll rate them/try them for you.

When you start producing them, send me a bunch more.

I'm impressed! you can actually hear the snare

 

[mcolling]

THAT is what I call close micing!!! well, it actually sounds decent. Are you sure you didn't use any other mics than the kick & two sticks...? And, ya, were you actually hitting the skins with the mics?

 

[northsiderap]

How I mic'd the drums

I held two hard-panned SM-58s, one in each hand cupped between my palm and my three fingers from the pinkie...

The sticks i gripped between my thumb and index....

Like I said:

Two hard-panned SM-58s mixed through a Behringer pre and an EV644 shotgun mic with its nose just inside of the bass drum through a Fairchild pre.

That's it.

Fun. I'll bet there'd be more problems with stick resonance noise than anything. How about mounting them securely on the drummer's wrists???? You could play anything anywhere.

----Don't knock it 'till you tried it

 

[zaragemca]

There is also the situation with catching difference frequencies in order to better reproduce differents sound,which is why differents mics would be place on differents parts of the drum,snare,toms,floor-toms,bass-drum,and if the engineer is sophisticated enough each track would have the proper parametric equalization,and them the mics which are place to catch general environment for the body of mixing,etc.You could not do that with mics on the sticks.And the bleeding form the Cymbals would be a major problem.Gerry Zaragemca.

 

[Drummerbones]

I quit drugs many years ago, but after reading that original post, I think I might have to start up again...WTF!!!!!

 

[mcolling]

I held two hard-panned SM-58s, one in each hand cupped between my palm and my three fingers from the pinkie...

The sticks i gripped between my thumb and index....

No, no, no! If you read the first post again, you're supposed to actually hit the skins with the mics! Here's the first post again:

PS. LMAO at this fist post. Haven't read it in a while. Len???? AHAHAHAHA

i'm on a buzz from smokin' that herb last night, and I came up with a good idea while listening to Len (the band that did "Steal My Sunshine", and it's a great album"), and i thought of something. If someone could put a mic in each stick, and design it so that it wouldn't clip, maybe a lot of insulation, and also put a mic in the bass drum kicker thingy, wouldn't that be a lot easier and clearer than open mics on the kit. I haven't figured out how to mic the hi-hat yet though. I'm not a drummer, but I like to think i have a hint enough to respect them and realize the struggle involved in micing a kit. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dgatwood]

Wait.... SM58s? Why? Why not SM57s? They already look like big drum sticks. I mean, sure, the cheap plastic covers will fly off the first hit, but if you're the owner of one, you should already know that you're supposed to tape those things in place so that doesn't happen. Isn't that right? Or maybe it's just the SM57s I've worked with....

If not SM57s, how about those Nady condensers? They're small enough you could probably play with them. Whether the mic would ever work again after the first hit is another question, but....

Alternately, something I think would sound cool would be taking advantage of the direct transmission of the impact through the wood of the drumstick to get a different tone color. Take a pair of cheap electret elements like you find in a cordless phone. Glue them with hot glue in such a way that the metal side of the can is in direct contact with the stick. Add a 9v battery and a twisted triplet of unshielded bell wire for the signal to an XLR connector taped to the drummer's back. Tell the drummer to play normally. Watch as the drummer counts off, smacks the sticks together, and blows out every speaker in the room.

Maybe it's just me....