drum recording techniques

S

stephentedsmith

New member
I wanted to create a topic where we can share drum recording techniques. I'll give an overview of some of the stuff I do at my studio but would love to hear what other techniques people are using.

Snare Drum Recording Techniques
We usually end up miking the snare drum's face with a Shure SM57 sometimes together with a Beyer M201 or a Neumann KM84. There’s often a debate over whether mics should also be placed underneath the snare. Occasionally we have used this to get more of the snare spring sound. However it will almost invariably need gating and can also introduce phase issues. If we do place mics underneath we will usually go for another SM57 or possibly a C451EB.


Overhead Microphone Recording Techniques
Overheads are also very important and at ALT Recording Studios the approach we take with overheads is that they bring the drum sound together giving a more natural less disparate feel than just close miking alone can. We always meticulously check the phase relationships between each drum and the overheads as this can ruin the bottom end of the recording.

We always move the mics around loads. When were recording a drum kit in our bank vault live room we often spend much more time in the live room trying out mic positions than we do in our control room.


Kick Drum Recording Techniques
For recording Kick drums we always go for the classic AKG's D12 large-diaphragm dynamic mic as it always seems to deliver the results we’re looking for. It’s basically a microphone that emphasises the sound you want form a kick drum.

Our secret weapon for creating an extra big Kick sound is an Electrovoice RE10. This vintage mic has a frequency response that’s pretty flat for a dynamic mic and it also doesn’t produce too much proximity effect. Another trick we use at ALT Recording Studios is Brighton is miking closer to the beater head. We find were able to get greater beater presence. When doing this changes to the mic positions greatly effect the level and quality of the beater sound. We often end up essentially with 2 different recording 1 of the beater and 1 capturing the tonality of the kick.

The full article I've written is posted on our website
www.altrecordingstudios.com

http://www.altrecordingstudios.co.uk/index.php/Information/recording-drums.html
 
I always spent most of the time with the kick.

I too have the AKG mic. I put it inside the shell. I would also put a LCD a few feet in front of the kick and blend the two. I have never been satisfied with a dynamic mic alone anywhere I put it.
 
Kick Drum

Stick an sm57 inside the kick drum and a bass instrument mic about 6 inches away from the outer skin, about 1/3 up from the bottom is cool. (DO NOT POINT IT AT THE HOLE).

Small stereo's require HF frequency from the kick to be heard...
This is a very common technique and although sounds like bad technique, you need to think about the fact that the best mic to put in front of many things is actually the one that exaggerates the frequency's you can't hear that well.
Listen to some commercial releases and notice how the kick is almost as bright as the snare.

The bass instrument mic is blended with the sm57 to give the fat tone you need for bigger playback systems and a sense of depth..

Try flipping the phase on the kick mics too as it's common for the overhead mics to fight the direct mics.
 
We use a basic sure drum mic setup with 2 MXL 900's for a stereo room mic setup. Then we cheat and use Drumagog as a resampleing plugin with kick ass samples. Easiest set up ever.
 
I typically use a D112 on the kick, SM57 on the snare, MD421's for the toms, and Neumann KM184s for overheads. But I've really been wanting to try out Drumagog for a long time. It looks like the easiest way to get quality drum tracks in a pinch.
 
RDMS said:
This is a very common technique and although sounds like bad technique, you need to think about the fact that the best mic to put in front of many things is actually the one that exaggerates the frequency's you can't hear that well.
Listen to some commercial releases and notice how the kick is almost as bright as the snare.
Click to expand...

That's actually a very interesting observation.
 
Unfortunately I cannot afford loads of expensive microphones and have to try and make the cheap sound as good as possible and I have been incredibly pleased with how well my cheaper set up can sound. The mics I use the ones made by Red 5 Audio plus a SM57 on the snare.

My general rule of thumb on the overheads is to cross mic and leave them about 40cm from an average sized ceiling. I find this gives a nice blend of all the drums and a nice bit of character, particularly the reflections off the ceiling at that point.

On the snare I normally place the mic on top and pointing just short of the centre. Sometimes I will put underneath to get a bit more crack. And sitting the snare on a plank of wood will increase the crack and help it bite through the mix but reduces the dryness of the sound.

Personally I don't get on with mic'ing the kick in the beater area, just sounds a bit dull for my liking. The cheap mic I use is really good for accentuating a physical thud and works really well even with a Cajun. So it's normally inside the front of the kick directed towards the beater.
 
Shure Beta52a - kick
Shure Beta57a - top of snare
Audix i5 on - bottom of snare
Cad GXL 3000 - toms (You can't beat LDC's on toms)
Naiant X-M pair - Overheads
Cad M179 - Room

Sometimes (rarely) I'll use a high hat mic (Audix F15) and a front of kit mic to pick up the whole kit but closer than the room mic (Apex 210 Ribbon)
 
My go-to drum kit mic rig is an OH pair in M/S configuration positioned only about 7’ up off the floor, and it sits positioned so the that the OH center is between the kick and snare, where the drummer’s knee is.
I always go for audience perspective (for a right-handed kit), and because of its position, the OH rig places the kick at about 11:00 and the snare at about 1:00.
While many people like to have the kick dead center (along with the bass guitar)…I prefer the slight spread of the kick/snare in the stereo image, and I will then also pan the Bass guitar slightly off to the right at about 12:30, which creates a nice balance between the kick and bass, with the snare being just to the right of, and next to the bass guitar, and then the high-hat right after the snare at about 1:30.
This setup creates a small space in the middle for my vocals and lead instruments, but still keeps the “main” drums (kick & snare) and bass guitar fairly centered. If the OH mics were to be raised any higher…that slight spread of the kick and snare would disappear.

I also spot mic only the kick and snare. The kick from the inside, pointed at the beater, but off-axis by about 45 degrees, so that I don’t get too much air hitting the mic, which still gives me nice fat THUMP and it also picks up the attack. I prefer the Sennheiser e602 for the kick over other kick mics.
On the snare I use a Sennheiser e604. I’ve tried other mics…the Shure 57, a Sennheiser MD441, and a few others, but this little e604 really rocks, especially with a wooden shell snare.

For my M/S overhead mics I’m using a pair of Groove Tubes AM52 FET mics. I tried a few positions until I settled on the 7’ up off the floor, between the kick and snare, and over the drummer’s knee.
What I found with the OH pair in this position, rather than somewhere out front or higher up...is that I get an almost perfect balance between all the drums and the cymbals.
Out front, the cymbals would project too harshly off their front edges into the OH mics…but “inside” the kit circle, the OH mics are over the tops of the cymbals…so the leading edges of the cymbals are not projecting directly into the OH mics, and therefore the cymbal crashes are much smoother and in good balance with the drum kit.
Also…the toms are spread out real nice in the stereo image. My studio kit is fairly large, with 7 toms going L-to-R (audience perspective) 16” floor, 14”, 13”, 12”, 10x10”, 10x8”, 8x8” and 18” floor…plus there is a 4x14” timbale above and between the 16” floor and 14” toms.
The cymbals are all thin or paper thin crashes…2 on the left and 2 on the right, with a pair of rides more toward the center, the main being a larger, darker ride, and then there is a smaller flat ride on the opposite side. Keeping the crash cymbals spread L/R helps to prevent the annoying masking of the center items (vocals, lead instruments) whenever there are crash hits. My drummer says they are a bit tougher to reach on the one side and he has to pivot slightly…but he lives with it for the sake of the recording. :)
After experimenting with various cymbals, I settled on classic Zildjian A and K cymbals, and the hats are 13” Zildjian Mastersound. I also have a pair of Zildjian 12” Recording hats, but the Mastersound are usually the go-to hats. They sound great.
The drum kit is a Pearl Export, and I use Evans Blue Hydraulic heads on everything except the snares and timbales. I have a few different snares, but the go-to favorite of my drummer and me, usually ends up being the wooden shell, 5x14” snare.
Overall…I get a classic, fat-n-punchy sound which works real well for that old-time Rock flavor. Occasionally we’ll tune “up” the snare for a slightly brighter pop and some added “tonk” for that Alt-Rock or Country flavor…though between the OH tracks and the individual spot mic on the snare, I can often create almost any snare sound I want during the mixdown without ever changing the snare at the kit.

While the kit does have a huge L-to-R spread…it never sounds “disconnected”, which IMO, is mainly due to the M/S overhead configuration and the fact that it is “inside” the kit rather than outside and way out in front, and also that it is only 7’ up over the kit. That keeps the kit very tight sounding without as much ambiance, while at the same time offering a huge spread because it’s closer to the center of the kit, which pushes the toms and cymbals further out L/R.
I really like this setup. I haven’t messed with it in the last few years. We just touch up the drum tunings as needed…and we are ready to record. The kit and mics are always set up in my studio…I just bag the mics right where they hang.

miroslav
 
Recording drums is a matter of priorities:

Firstly is a well rehearsed, competant drummer.

Second is a well tuned, fresh sounding drumkit.

Third is a good room.

Forth are good mics/pres etc.

Fifth is making sure your levels are good, and at 24bit.



This is an ideal world. Number one can be overcome. Using Beat detective/ Pocketing techniques, most drummers can be made to sound bang on time.

Second, third and forth can be solved (at least for skinned drums) by using Drumagog and good drum samples. I would highly recommend Steven Slate Drums.

Fifth, simple. Just make sure you're peaking at -12dbs on the input, no more.
 
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