Big mic selection for guitar amp and drum

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A1A2

A1A2

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Hi,

I am lucky enough to have access to a studio with some nice gear, but the thing is I have never used any of them, and I won't get too much time to play around or experiement there. So, I was hoping if some of you guys could give me some pointers on what to do with the following gear and instruments, so I can make the best use of my free studio time :)(without any enginners there...)

Preamps

Avalon VT737
DBX 586

i am sure I'm missing some pres here, so, let's just assume we have enough pres to track the drum with max of 8 mics

Mics

U87Ai
TLM-193
AKG Solid Tube
AKG C-414B-TLII
AKG C-418
AKG C-4000B
AKG D-112
Earth Works TC-30K x2
Audio-Technica AT825
Audio-Technica AT835ST
CAD E-300
Shure BETA 87
Shure 55SH
57 (dunno how many)
Superlux PRO-238C
Superlux PRO-268AH
Superlux PRO-248S
Superlux PRA-218B
Superlux PRA-228A

*Note*
The tracking room is super dead (they use it primarily for voiceover) and size wise, it can barely fit a drum kit and a drummer in there.

The song I'm writing is somewhat similiar to "Us and Them" from Dark Side of the Moon, with clean slide and semi distorted guitars, female vocals, bass, and a upright piano.
It's a Tama drum kit and a 100w Marshall amp.

I hope this question is precise enough.

Big thanks in advance

Al
 
The only obvious choices might be the D112 on kick and the 57 on snare. Everything else is a matter of preference.

You could also use the AKG414 on snare or as an OH. The U87 is a common room mic but you don't have a lot of room sound to capture.

Any of the large or small condensors can work as overheads. The Earthworks are probably an obvious choice for Oh's also. If you want a more vintage sound than a mono LD or ribbon (not sure if any of those are ribbons) as an overhead will work. Since you are limited on space you might try taking one and sticking it right by the drummers head. Close mic the kick and snare and let him rip.

For guitar and vocals there are so many options just grab a mic and see what works. If you only used the U87 and SM57 on everything you would be in good company. I know the Superlux are supposed to be nice but I've never tried one.
 
thanks, Tex

Should I start with 2 OHs, 1 snare, and 1 on kick first? I am not really a big fan of mic'in a kit with too many mics (that concept kinda bothers me for some reason)

I've read somewhere that some people use 2 mics for kick, one inside, one 3 feet away, is that gonna give it more "boom"

Is XY a good start for OHs?

thanks alot

Al
 
Should I start with 2 OHs, 1 snare, and 1 on kick first? I am not really a big fan of mic'in a kit with too many mics (that concept kinda bothers me for some reason)


This would be the best way to go in a small dead room. In fact, I use the Earthworks mics you mentioned for OHs all the time. Place them in a "V" pattern (they are the best mics for this), that is tip to tip and adjust the angles slightly until you have the right imaging on your set. The Avalon would be the perfect pre and compressor for the mics but you would need a stereo pair of them as they are only one channel.

In any case, get your overheads right first. Then add a D112 for the kick.

Try a pair of Sm57's on the snare. One on the top and one on the bottom. (Important -Reverse the Phase on the bottom mic).
 
A1A2 said:

I've read somewhere that some people use 2 mics for kick, one inside, one 3 feet away, is that gonna give it more "boom"

Do you have enough room to do stuff like that? If so I would just stick the U87 a few feet away from the kit and compress it heavily in the mix. Add in the kick and snare mics as needed.

I would avoid double micing the snare or kick until you really get a handle on multiple mics. They can be a bitch to mix if you don't get it exactly right.

Any of this advice should be taken with a grain of salt because with good drums and good mics you have tons of options and you never know what will work until you try it.
 
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