Drums Recording

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Euan_Fox

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This is probably the most asked question, but I want to get really amazing drum sounds, from the recording. Just to make the mixing easier. I would love to hear all the crazy ideas; I don't want to just do the standard micing on every part, I want to do something to make my drums sound special! Any ideas at all would be awesome, and any pictures of mic placements would help a lot! Not too sure about how to place overheads, and I have a way that I do hi-hats but I would love some ideas! Kick is especially problematic, because I want it to really bounce and thump. Any advice would be great, and this is just for the recordings, not so much the mixing, and ANYTHING will help! :)
 
Probably not the answer you're looking for but if you want your kit to sound special, make your kit sound special before mics get anywhere near it.

Often guitarists put a lot of time and money into their tone; Think of it that way.

Does your kick have that sound you're looking for in the room? If not, it's gonna be a lot harder to create it through mic foolery.
 
Recording on a nice Gretsch kit, sounds pretty nice, and the drummer is tight, I just want to get something that makes mine different from other drums sounds, that are just normal. I want special drums, because I want them to really stand out.
 
Just having a good recording of the drums will make them stand out because most people fall way short when trying to record drums at home. The standard miking that you don't want to do is probably gonna be your best bet. There's a reason it's "standard" - because it works. This is all depending on what you want to sound like. You've been pretty vague thus far. If you want your drums to sound like drums, then record them like drums. Tune them well, play them well, and use sound miking techniques. If you want them to sound wacky and weird, then just do whatever and experiment.
 
Yup...
these guys pretty much summed it up.
Starts with tuning, played well and then mic placement.
The kick can be kind of a pain til ya find THE sound. Does the kick reso have a hole? If so, you can put your mic inside and the closer ya get to the beater, the more click. Pull it back and more oomph.
But try the "tried n true" and see if that gets ya there. If not, experiment with the placement.

I use a version of the Recorderman method with close mics on the toms. Kind of a blend of that and the Glyn Johns technique. Pretty sure a couple others around here, like Greg and Rami use a variation. Check out their tunes and you'll see they get a damned good drum sound.
Maybe that'll help ya.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Probably not the answer you're looking for but if you want your kit to sound special, make your kit sound special before mics get anywhere near it.
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Exactly.
Euan_Fox said:
Recording on a nice Gretsch kit, sounds pretty nice,
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Well, if it sounds "pretty nice", then you shouldn't expect to get anything better than a "pretty nice" recording. It's all about the source. There are no hidden secrets.
 
To make the drums really stand out..........don't record any other instruments.
 
Okay, a few questions :P

@Greg_L: Thanks for replying! I really just want the kit to be the main section. Not necessarily the loudest, just really standing out. I don't know about whether I want them to sound wacky or weird, but I definietly want people to stop and say 'wow, they really sound amazing'. I was thinking of a few things, like maybe using two kick mic's, one right one nearer the skin than I normally would, and one further away, then blending the two, any ideas on this?

@Dogbreath: Thanks for your answer! What are the Recorderman and Glyn Johns techniques? I don't think the way I mic is very good, we have very basic drum mic's and mic them pretty 'standard' for what we've been taught. This is all for college, I don't know if it was important to mention that. We just mic right on the skins for the snare and tome, in-between the bell and rim of the hi-hat, facing down, somewhere between the middle and skin of the kick facing the beater, and overheads over the top (of course :P) facing directly downwards.

@RAMI: Thanks for the input, and I do understand what you're saying to an extent, but I'm not a drummer, so any talk about drum gear is completely lost one me. I may be underselling the kit. I don't know much about tuning or anything like that with drums, but my friend has just bought it, and has some really expensive gear. I know that how expensive a piece of equipment costs won't be an exact representation of how good it is, but he says it's nice. Also, when I said pretty nice, I was really just saying, I don't know what it's like, but it's probably pretty nice.

@grimtraveller: really not an option, the other instruments are a pretty big part of the song, and I really have to have them there :/

The kick is really the part I want to get great, I like the kick in the Black Crowes song 'Hard To Handle', if anyone knows it and it sounds pretty immense. I really think kick brings a track to the next level and I think that that's what I'm going to have to use as the foundation for the whole song, any tips on getting a really big, powerful kick sound would be great! :)

Thanks everyone, I know I'm asking a lot from you guys, but I figured, it's the only way to learn! :)
 
Euan_Fox said:
Okay, a few questions :P

@Greg_L: Thanks for replying! I really just want the kit to be the main section. Not necessarily the loudest, just really standing out. I don't know about whether I want them to sound wacky or weird, but I definietly want people to stop and say 'wow, they really sound amazing'. I was thinking of a few things, like maybe using two kick mic's, one right one nearer the skin than I normally would, and one further away, then blending the two, any ideas on this?
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People do that all the time. It's pretty common. Still, the simple fact remains that you gotta start with killer sounding drums in a good room. All the tricks in the world don't mean shit if the drums don't sound great on their own.
 
This is probably the most asked question, but I want to get really amazing drum sounds
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if that's really what you want, then book time at your local pro studio.

let a pro setup the mics, and record the performance in a great sounding room, on a great sounding kit.


ANYTHING ELSE....

is gonna fall short.
 
Greg_L said:
People do that all the time. It's pretty common. Still, the simple fact remains that you gotta start with killer sounding drums in a good room. All the tricks in the world don't mean shit if the drums don't sound great on their own.
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Thanks for the answer! I know people do it all the time, but I really just want them to be loud and clear, instead of muddy. I know I can mix after to get them perfect, but I would really like to get a nice base to start with. I think the drums will sound fine, I know they're in my friends bedroom so they can only be so good, but I really want to get them as good as I can, and I just thought there might be a way to place the mic's in a place different to where I normally put them? I wrote in my last answer to someone else where I mic, if you have any tips to improve on what I have been doing?
 
GONZO-X said:
if that's really what you want, then book time at your local pro studio.

let a pro setup the mics, and record the performance in a great sounding room, on a great sounding kit.
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Thanks for the answer! I was just thinking of doing that a few weeks ago, but the thing is, is this is for a college assignment where I have to produce a track on my own, and I want to take it to universities to show them that I can record on my own, and well. I know the room isn't perfect and the kit won't be the best in the world, but there must be a way to at least get something better than the standard quiet kick and flat snare sound, with the set-up we have?
 
Greg_L said:
Get the kit out of your friend's bedroom.
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Thanks for the reply! I know that would be an ideal thing to do, but really, it's sort of out of the question :/ I knew about this before I started to ask about this, and I was just wondering if, despite the problems with the recording environment, there was anything I could do with the mic's, that are general improvement's over what I've been doing so far.
 
Euan_Fox said:
Thanks for the reply! I know that would be an ideal thing to do, but really, it's sort of out of the question :/ I knew about this before I started to ask about this, and I was just wondering if, despite the problems with the recording environment, there was anything I could do with the mic's, that are general improvement's over what I've been doing so far.
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Put up a sound clip and let's hear what you got.
 
Greg_L said:
Put up a sound clip and let's hear what you got.
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I'm not too sure how to put up a sound clip, can I send you a cubase file or a omf file with my recording? Just so you can see what I get using my recording method?
 
Euan_Fox said:
I'm not too sure how to put up a sound clip, can I send you a cubase file or a omf file with my recording? Just so you can see what I get using my recording method?
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Bounce it down as a stereo file, convert it to mp3, and upload it here using "manage attachments".
 
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