can i mic my drumset with one microphone? from where?

[Marcos Myara]

i dont want PROFESSIONAL sound, just decent, i have one decent mic and i wanna record each instrument, whats the best position to place the microphone?

and is it gonna be better if i take the ball off the mic?
Marcos.

 

[The_Darkness]

hmmmmmm

Thats gonna be tuff. 2 mics are hard to do but 1?
Try it directly over the toms and snare. Either way you will have either a weak snare or weak bassdrum. Or try it in front of the kit abot 4 feet away like a room mc. That should get it all but you'll have to record t reeeeeal hot.

 

[Axis]

no you can't

at the VERY least you will need 2 decent mics that can be used as overheads, and even then you will need to be able to play your kit EXTREMELY balanced. What mic do you have already?

I suggest you look into getting a few more mics to record drums

 

[t_chance]

PZM ???

Could a PZM in the right space pull it off?

 

[Marcos Myara]

i tried like one foot away from the drumset (in front of it) but i found two problems, the snare seem to loose "pressure" u know, and the cymbals are too loud....

when i buy a recorder ill use two mics but by now, im using the mic directly connected to my sound card and using cakewalk home studio...

damn, this is really goin to be tuff..

Marcos.

 

[Gidge]

ok, here we go.......

i would not suggest you record a drum kit with one mic, but it can be done, and the results can be quite usable.......

just look at the drumkit as one instrument like a voice....you wouldnt record a vocal with 4-8 mics......

have the drummer play....walk around the kit, around the room....find the spot where you get the best balance of the kit and stick the mic there....where depends on the sound of the kit and the player.....could be overhead.....could be right by the drummers ears....could be behind the kit....could be right out front the kit a few feet pointed at the snare...find it and mic it.....

remember to have decent heads and tune them.....

what mic and preamp are u using?.....

 

[Marcos Myara]

ok, i have a roland dr-20 , its a decent mic FOR ME, im not RICH

and it was pretty hard to buy it, so i dont think it will be easy to get "some more mics" hehe

and what do u mean with play my kit extremely balanced? u mean, tuning it all in a balanced way or limitating my strengh when hitting the drums??

Marcos.

 

[Marcos Myara]

no preamp here, its plugged directly in my sound card..

i dont have a multitrack recorder yet..

ok that helped alot, and what about the mic ball? should i take it off or just use it normally?

Marcos.

 

[Gidge]

playing balanced means hitting the drums about the same way consistantly thru the song.....

for instance, if you hit the snare real low at times and harder at others, with one mic, you are stuck with that sound...if the snare had its own track, you can compress it and fix it.......that shouldnt be a problem if you are a decent enough drummer, and you are not expecting pro results......

as far as the ball, try it both ways and see what gives a better sound.....

 

[darrin_h2000]

I recall that being done alot before the late 60's and there are picks online, of mics 5' in front of the set. The beatles did it that way.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Standard trick:

With someone playing the drums, put your finger in your ear and walk around the room, listening with your unpluged ear. When you find a spot in the room where the drums sound balanced, put a mic where your ear was.

It really works. Also works great for miking other instruments, like electric guitar, fiddle, etc.

 

[Gidge]

Standard trick:

With someone playing the drums, put your finger in your ear and walk around the room, listening with your unpluged ear. When you find a spot in the room where the drums sound balanced, put a mic where your ear was.

It really works. Also works great for miking other instruments, like electric guitar, fiddle, etc.

ok, ive bookmarked this post because noone will believe me when i pass it on.......

 

[MartyMcFly]

I dont know about the Beatles using one mic for drums...I've seen alot of those old pics and I'd swear they would have to use at least 3-4 mics...they werent cavemen... If you have seen a pic with just one mic for the drums then it was prob in the middle of some takes.

 

[Gidge]

i think they put the drums on 1 TRACK alot....im not sure aboot one mic.....

 

[SS454]

I agree with Gigde. you can get anSM57 for $100 and do a stereo thing. I've heard it done before and it sounded great!

 

[M.Brane]

I used to use a single omni dynamic directly above the drummer's head on some of my 4-track stuff. If your room and drummer are good It can actually work quite well for some stuff. The downside to this position is the kick won't be very punchy. Using a wood beater on the pedal will help.

 

[Marcos Myara]

hummmm mcfly, darrin didnt say anything about 1 mic.....
he said they used MICS (plural) like 5 foot away from the drums...

and thx for the information people, ill try the ear thing later...

Marcos.

 

[memriloc]

Beatles...

If memory serves I think Mr Martin used (upto the later days) 2 mics....A D12 on the bass drum and somthing else as an overhead pointed inbetween the snare and the two toms....

 

[darrin_h2000]

In the old pics I saw, in the beatles issue of homerecording last year I only saw one mic, five feet in front of the set, but thats not to say that there wasnt a mic inside the drum itself.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

The Beatles used a Coles 4038 ribbon mic as an overhead mic.