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

[heylow]

John Vanderslice gave me this advice...it can be found on his latest record on the first and last song.

A mono mic:

Take your mic (preferrably something like a ribbon mic, if not, no matter) and stick it about 4 feet infront of the drums, just below chest hight....kinda right below where the rib cage and stomach meet. Press record. Listen.

You should be hearing a nice balance right about there of kick and snare. If not, move it up and down a bit...not much...just look for balance. Keep in mind this will not sound like 8 drums close miced but the results are awesome on his record and I really liked it when I tried it. I even put a snare and kick mic up and blended this "mono" track in instead of overheads....its cool..I cant wait to try it on a serious track.

You should be able to play with frequencies if needed.....i.e boost a bit of 80 hertz and you get a bit more kick drum if needed.



heylow

 

[Henrik]

I've gotten pretty good results with one mic drum recordings. On the set I recorded, the best placement was in front of the drums and in the same height as the snare drum. I think the mic was about 2 ft away from the kick drum's front head, looking at a point between the kick and the snare. Others I've talked to about one mic drum recordings have placed the mic about six feet above the floor, in front of the kit, angled downwards, looking on the snare drum.

Good luck!

Cheers
/HEnrik

 

[VOXVENDOR]

When I'm doing a rough take, just for the sake of remembering a tune or critiqueing a band practice, I put the Mic, just in front of my tom (I only play 4 piece), and pointing down to the top of the bass drum....

I use a 4033.. I seem to get a chunky drum sound, yet the cymbals are crisp and don't overpower

If you are using a condensor, I would not suggest doing it any higher than waste level... Especially overtop of the kit.. you end up with really bright loud cymbals, and a roomy sounding distant kit....

At least in my mileage.

Joe

 

[Marcos Myara]

I would not suggest doing it any higher than waste level... Especially overtop of the kit.. you end up with really bright loud cymbals, and a roomy sounding distant kit....

thats exactly my problem!!!!!!!!!!!!
great dude.... i was getting that really bright loud cymbals and a roomy sounding distant kit, now, whats the WASTE LEVEL?
u said i should put the mic not higher than the waste level
im sorry i dont know what that means, english is not my default language..

Marcos.

 

[VOXVENDOR]

Keep the mic down at the level of the drums.....

Not up above the cymbals.. and point it at the drums...... the cymbals will "leak" into the mic in just enough, and you will have an upfront drum sound.

This works best with condensors. but will work with any mic.

Joe

 

[Herm]

One mic in front will work well for the number of mic,s (mic) you have.
Try out in front of the kit about 6 feet and at about 4 to 5 feet high and give it a shot.

In 1967 the beatle where using a akg d12 on the kick and akg d19c on the rest
1 to the right of the floor tom, 1 to the left of the snare and hat and one overhead

 

[Dave Brophy]

".... i was getting that really bright loud cymbals and a roomy sounding distant kit, now, whats the WASTE LEVEL?
u said i should put the mic not higher than the waste level
im sorry i dont know what that means, english is not my default language.. "

He meant WAIST level.(Where your belt buckle is.)

 

[littledog]

I liked "waste" level better - keep the mic below your butthole! (Then again, maybe English isn't Vox's first language either...)

 

[alanhyatt]

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.

Our new LSD-2 Larger Stereo Diaphragm mic will do it. We have been in beta testing for the last two months and we have miced entire drum sets with just one LSD-2. They will be out in January!!!

 

[Track Rat]

LSD in 2003! What a far out way to start a new year.

 

[M.Brane]

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

Our new LSD-2 Larger Stereo Diaphragm mic will do it. We have been in beta testing for the last two months and we have miced entire drum sets with just one LSD-2. They will be out in January!!!

How is the "imaging" on that mic, Alan?

Sorry, couldn't resist that one.

 

[alanhyatt]

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

How is the "imaging" on that mic, Alan?

Sorry, couldn't resist that one.

Well we knew the fun would begin when we chose that name. The mic is totally adjustable from X/Y to M/S and all the way to mono. Brent Casey did a killer job on this one. We will have more on it very soon, and a picture to post in a few days!!!

 

[Track Rat]

Killer!

 

[Brent Casey]

Why couldn't one record an entire drumkit with a single mic?
One can record an entire MARCHING BAND with a single mic...


Brent Casey

 

[t_chance]

Hey fella's

I wish I would have known you guys were working on this LSD.
I tore apart a couple of MK219's and was in the process of trying to build one myself. I guess I'll get out the Iron and put'm back together. I'll leave it to the experts.

 

[flapo1]

Hi Guys!!!

Go easy with Marcos, AFAIK he's from Brazil and we as "Latin American" tend to have some problemos with english. And for the mics, It's very difficult to find decent mics at "normal" (normal for the USA, I mean). For example, when I was after my first LD condensor I couldn't find any vendors that had that kind of mics in stock ANYWHERE near the city I live on (about 1 million pop.) nor in Guadalajara (about 4 million pop.).

So my guess is in Brazil is as hard (if not harder due to the distance) to get nice mics.

Last time I ended waiting till my brother went to the US to ask for him to bring them on. It was worth the wait (a SP-C1 and a MXL 603s).

So maybe Alan could point Marcos (like he was so kind to do for me) for some distributor over there in Ronaldo's neighborhood.

Forto abraco, everyone!

 

[M.Brane]

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

Well we knew the fun would begin when we chose that name. The mic is totally adjustable from X/Y to M/S and all the way to mono. Brent Casey did a killer job on this one. We will have more on it very soon, and a picture to post in a few days!!!

In all seriousness that looks pretty cool. I like to record with X/Y whenever I can. Never messed with M/S yet but it looks interesting. The fact that you can adjust to taste looks like a great option.

What price range are we looking at for this one?

 

[alanhyatt]

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

In all seriousness that looks pretty cool. I like to record with X/Y whenever I can. Never messed with M/S yet but it looks interesting. The fact that you can adjust to taste looks like a great option.

What price range are we looking at for this one?

Well, you have to see this thing to believe it. It will be at this weekends AES Show. Target is $999.99 list, maybe $799.99 street, but this baby is one fine piece or work that even Dirk Brauner and Neumann will hate to admit that it is pretty darn good.

 

[bloodloss]

I know the Flaming Lips use one mic to record drums, and the results are quite impressive. I think they have a pretty decent room for recording, though (Warner knows how to hook them up).

 

[M.Brane]

IMHO the room is #2 on the importance scale. A truly good drummer is going to sound good no matter where you put him or what he's playing on.