drum mic setup

ollie99

ollie99

New member
right so I need some advice.
When I am going to record drums I am going to have 2 overheads and a kick drum mic as well as others but what I am not sure about is the others.
I have 2 toms and I was originally planning on putting these 2 pretty cheap tom mics I got with a drum mic set a while ago on them, and then put a es-57 (sm57 copy) on the snare. However I recently bought an sm58 for vocals and apparently that is very similar to a 57 so I was wondering whether I should use it and how should I fit it in?
I was thinking also about the possibility of adding other mics to the set up for hi hat or bottom of the snare or something like that. The other mics I have are: 2 behringer c-2 condenser microphones, one pretty cheap snare mic that came in that set, and 2 58 copies. Should I use them? And bare in mind that I am using a tascam us-1800 interface so I only have 8 xlr inputs and 6 of those will already have been used up on the other mics.
Thanks.
 
A pair of condensers could be used as room mics. You could try the 58's for a more lo fi sound. I also have a US-1800. If you have a mixer with outputs for each individual channel or an external pre you can use all of the channels for mics if need be.
 
I think it never hurts to mic as many drums as possible, simply because you don't have to use all your tracks, but it's good to have them there and give yourself the choice. I personally only use 4 drum mics, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't mic all my toms if I could. I'm happy with what I get with 4 mics, just for the record.

As far as which mic to use where, I think the best thing to do is eliminate mics with a shoot out. Put your 57 copy on the snare, record, listen. Pu the 58 on the snare, record, listen. Choose the one that sounds better. Now, put the winner against another mic....do the same for every drum and the overheads.......Eventually, you'll have the best sounding mics for each drum. It's time consuming, but how much are you charging yourself for studio time? :D It's worth the time and effort.
 
JG96 said:
A pair of condensers could be used as room mics. You could try the 58's for a more lo fi sound. I also have a US-1800. If you have a mixer with outputs for each individual channel or an external pre you can use all of the channels for mics if need be.
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I have a mixer with 6 inputs but can only send 2 channels, so are you saying that if I can connect that mixer up as well then I can use an extra 2 mics? If so then I have no idea how I would hook it up.
 
RAMI said:
I think it never hurts to mic as many drums as possible, simply because you don't have to use all your tracks, but it's good to have them there and give yourself the choice. I personally only use 4 drum mics, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't mic all my toms if I could. I'm happy with what I get with 4 mics, just for the record.

As far as which mic to use where, I think the best thing to do is eliminate mics with a shoot out. Put your 57 copy on the snare, record, listen. Pu the 58 on the snare, record, listen. Choose the one that sounds better. Now, put the winner against another mic....do the same for every drum and the overheads.......Eventually, you'll have the best sounding mics for each drum. It's time consuming, but how much are you charging yourself for studio time? :D It's worth the time and effort.
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Yeah that is true actually, and makes perfect sense.
you would think that the 58 would be better for the snare considering it is genuine but there's only one way to find out.
 
ollie99 said:
you would think that the 58 would be better for the snare considering it is genuine but there's only one way to find out.
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Yeah, but that's the thing, you never know. I did a shoot out exactly as I described above, and because of that, I have a "cheap" AudioTechnica ATM63HE :eek: on my snare because it sounded better than the 57 I always had there.
 
RAMI said:
Yeah, but that's the thing, you never know. I did a shoot out exactly as I described above, and because of that, I have a "cheap" AudioTechnica ATM63HE :eek: on my snare because it sounded better than the 57 I always had there.
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Looks like you can't even buy that mic anymore, but mics aren't exactly like milk are they, if you treat them well they will stay good. (that was a bad analogy I know)
 
Greg_L said:
Then it doesn't make any sense to use room mics.
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what's the main use of room mics anyway? I guessed it would be to capture some natural reverb of the whole kit but if you should only use them if you have a really good room then there won't be a noticeable amount of reverb?
 
ollie99 said:
if you have a really good room then there won't be a noticeable amount of reverb?
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Not really. A good room doesn't mean a dead room. Especially for drums, a great room can be a huge, reverby cathedral of a room.
 
ollie99 said:
what's the main use of room mics anyway? I guessed it would be to capture some natural reverb of the whole kit but if you should only use them if you have a really good room then there won't be a noticeable amount of reverb?
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Room mics are to capture the kit within the natural ambiance of the room. Yes, sort of like a natural reverb if the room sounds that way. People always talk about "miking the room" like it's some magical secret to great recordings, but it's only beneficial when the room is good. If you're in a shitty basement with creaking pipes and a washing machine running in the corner, would you want to mic that room? Fuck no. In a bad-to-mediocre room, you're better off with close mics and traditional drum overheads and by adding reverb later.
 
Greg_L said:
Room mics are to capture the kit within the natural ambiance of the room. Yes, sort of like a natural reverb if the room sounds that way. People always talk about "miking the room" like it's some magical secret to great recordings, but it's only beneficial when the room is good. If you're in a shitty basement with creaking pipes and a washing machine running in the corner, would you want to mic that room? Fuck no. In a bad-to-mediocre room, you're better off with close mics and traditional drum overheads and by adding reverb later.
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oh okay. still, if I had enough inputs then, as rami said earlier, it would do no harm.
 
ollie99 said:
oh okay. still, if I had enough inputs then, as rami said earlier, it would do no harm.
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I'm a big fan of miking everything you can. You don't have to use it all. Even still, room mics would be last on my list unless the room just kills. I'd go for a bottom snare mic or mic the hats or even the bottoms of the toms before room mics.
 
I think you said you'll have two unused inputs? Mic the bottom of the snare and add a second kick mic. Those will be more useful than bad room mics.
 
Yeah I say track em and trash em if they suck. In my opinion room mics add a sense of realism to the drums. And sound badass when you slam em with compression. But fortunately I record in a large barn house with half decent acoustics and high ceilings.
+1 on trying each mic on each drum. I have heard the es-57 is more smooth whereas the SM-58 is going to have a cut in the lows, and a boost in the high mids.
If you want to use 2 more mic's through your mixer you can plug 2 mics in. Pan one left and the other right. Connect the sends to the line inputs on the tascam via trs cables.
 
Just saw Greg's last post. A kick mic deep in the kick and a LDC or subkick outside of the kick can give it more of a 3D sound. The inside mic gives attack and the outside has more resonance and body. Bottom snare mic can be cool too. Look out for phase issues when using many mics though.
 
Why would you do that? Just hook the mics straight into the 1800. It's got what, 8 inputs? There's 8 drum tracks for ya. You don't need the mixer.
 
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