So, now for a more useful response than my previous one. I have three or four different basic methods of recording drums. Of course, none of them is ever quite the same twice, as the situation is never quite the same. The sound of each is quite different.
My favorite way to record drums (when it is appropriate) is the simplest. It uses one mic, sometimes two. The basic technique is to use one omnidirectional LD mic. There are many good choices. Some of my favorite are M 49, M 149, U 47 (if they are in good shape, which is rare), old U-87, C 12. This is placed just above and just in front of the drummers head. It should be just as close to the drummer as is possible without making the drummer uncomfortable. Ideally it should be within 12 inches of the drummers head. 6-8 is better, but only if the drummer does not move his head much. I also like the sound of "pressure transducer" mics for this. The classic example of a pressure transducer is the Neumann M 50, which is a wonderful mic. The M 50 is out of production, but they are now making two other pressure transducers, the TLM 50, and the M 150. Also fine mics. You can also use any number of high end SD omni condensers, which can be modified to with a sphere to work as pressure transducers. Both Schoeps and DPA make such spheres for their mics. Pressure transducers are basically omnidirectional mics, but they have a very interesting frequency response. As the frequency gets higher, the mic becomes increasingly more directional. This is true of all mics, but is considerably more pronounced in pressure transducers. It can tame the brightness of the cymbals, which can be very useful. If the drummer is good, and can control their dynamics well (particularly the kick drum) this is all you need. They need to be able to listen to the playback, and adjust ("mix") their own levels. Most drummers have a problem with this. I will add a kick mic if I need to. Usually I will go with a LD condenser for this. I use this method most often with Jazz, and also with more raw styles of pop and rock. It is good for rockabilly, and also for certain singer/songwriter type things. More than any other method of recording, this requires a very good drummer. Without a good drummer, it is not even worth trying. I almost never use any processing for this method. A little compression, particularly for rock stuff, sometimes a lot on rock stuff. This is best for smaller drum sets. I will, on occasion, add a pair of room mics for this. Given my choice, I like to use
DPA 4006 for the room mics, which are always my first choice for room mics. Any extremely linear SD omni condenser will do, such as Earthworks TC30K, or QTC 1.
On the other end of the spectrum is close micing. This is (in general) a tighter, more
controlled sound. This still starts with overheads. You can use one, or two. I like to put them about 3-5 feet above the snare drum, depending on the height of the drummer’s cymbals. (For instance, they will be much higher for Anton Fig than for Jim Keltner). I will alternate (depending on my mood) between small and large diaphragm condensers. AKG 414s are nice, but so are Earthworks TC30Ks. I have used U 87, and I have used 460. Different drum sets will sound better with different mics, and you just need to learn what sounds like what.
Next in importance are the kick and the snare. Kick is easy. My favorite kick mic is the Shure Beta 52. This is not the only mic which will work, but it is my favorite. On R&B sessions, I usually use a Beyer M88, and sometimes for pop music sessions I will use
a Beta 91 along with the 52. It is also sometimes cool to set up a tunnel with another kick drum, without any heads, in front of the main one. You put a LD condenser at the end of the tunnel, and mix it in with a 52 closer to the beater head.
For snare drum, I am very particular about the mics I use. On the top of the snare I use a Beyer M201 and an AKG 414. It is essential that you put these immediately next to one another, and align the capsules with one another. I like to have the capsules 1-2 inches from the rim, pointing towards the center of the snare drum. I also use a M201 on the bottom of the snare drum, pointing towards the center, angled about 15 degrees off vertical. If I must, I will replace the M201s with a pair of SM 57s. They are not my favorite, but they will work. 57s will have a different placement, as they have a different polar pattern. You want to keep the hi hat in the null space of the mic.
Toms are a little less picky about what mics you use. I like
the M201 more than anything, but 57s are fine, as are M421s, 441s. If I am doing a seventies soul type of thing, I am very fond of LD condensers on the toms. If you like the old Sly and the Family Stone stuff, that is the sound.
I am not a big fan of hi hat mics, but if I am going to use one, it will almost always be either an AKG 460 (480 these days), or
a DPA 4011 (one of my absolute favorite mics in the world). Experiment with placement, as the drummers technique and equipment make a big difference in the sound of the hi hat.
Compression is the main type of processing for this style. I am generally trying for a more pronounced attack on the drums when I am using this style of micing. I achieve this by using a slow attack, and a fast release. This means that the initial hit is not compressed, but becomes so only after. This is far more effective at increasing the attack and punchiness than an EQ. I like to do this during tracking. I know many people would rather "fix it in the mix", but I believe in making choices as I go. I always figure I only have so much capacity for decision making, and if I try to do it all at once (when mixing), then I will not be making my best choices.
The other important bit of processing is noise gates. Kick, snare, and toms all get gates. I do this during tracking as well, as it gives me the opportunity to use a technique which I could not otherwise do. I use small home made triggers, made out of piezo electric crystals from
Radio Shack Door Bell Buzzers. I send them to the side chain input of the gate, so that they open and close the gates. This has two advantages. One, it means that the signal opening the gates is a far more isolated signal. The other benefit is that the triggers are touching the drum head, while the mics are a few inches away. This means that the triggers signal is a few microseconds before the microphones, so the gates open before the mic signal arrives.
As far as reverb, well I mostly use this technique for R&B and soul, so I use a lot less reverb than I might. I do, however, use for country music as well. I am much different than some engineers, in that I like to use one reverb for the entire kit. I frequently use only one reverb for the entire mix, or two or three at most. I like to use plates of various sorts. Small rooms, or the occasional hall also work. This is also what I will do for main stream pop type music.
The third technique is sort of a combination or the first two. It relies primarily on the overheads and the room mics. For this I use Earthworks TC30Ks for the overheads (ideally) and DPA 40006s for the room mics.
The rest of the mics are pretty much the same as the second technique. The main difference is in the processing. Compression. Lots and lots of compression. My favorite way to get the sound is to run the room mics through the quad buss compressor on an SSL. You turn all of the knobs all the way too the right and that is it. You also put a large amount of compression on the overheads. Squash it like Mama Cass' throw cushion. The room mics pretty much eliminate the need for reverb, but some can be used. This is also what I do most of the time for really loud, hard rock. Industrial, grunge, punk, Nu Metal, and other styles of similar ilk. You squash the hell out of the room mics and the overheads, but the rest of the kit is left a little more laid back. Again, this is all done during tracking. Making decisions, you know.
So those are my most common approaches to drum tracking. Hope that helps.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi