Getting the big, full tom sound on tape

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fivestar

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....er....hard drive rather. anyhoo...this is just kind of a "how do you" thread rather than a "help me" thread. So how do you, personally, capture that big, full tom sound, which to me, will make or break a drum track?
 
First, set up a 2nd bus (in addition to your main drum bus) just for your toms and kicks. Insert an eq on the new bus. Pull the mids out of the eq a ways. Now add the toms to the new bus, slowly brining up the volume on the new bus and listen as the toms begin to shine through the mix. Adjust the eq and levels to taste. And you have a quick recipe for good toms. :cool:
 
I usually experiment with mic choice and placement before I do anything, and try to get as good a sound as possible first. It varies from kit to kit and drummer to drummer, as well. Make sure the toms are deep and full, first of all. It's really hard to put stuff in that's not there to begin with.
I don't know what kind of equipment you have, but you can get excellent results with many different micing techniques. Kick, snare, and stereo overheads, kick and overheads, close micing each piece, the list goes on. There are a bunch of threads in this section talking about the different methods, with answers by people who can explain it better than me!

Myself, I close mic the toms as well as use some of the other techniques, so I can do as glyptic suggests and use the tracks to round out the sound. I use shure beta 98 mics. Awesome for toms.
 
I usaully use either EV 408e's, or the little OKtava mk012's on toms. Sometimes both and blend the two together. If the drummer has REALLY good technique and control I will even use AKG414's. AS far as mixing, if I want huge chunky toms I will gate, comp (just a touch), EQ, and occasionally even use an aural exciter or mutiband comp, but it really has to be on the right stuff. First and most important though, get new heads on the kit and get it tuned well!

Boingo, I have EV 408's, senn 604's, senn 421's, beta 56's, 98's, and even PG's. All of which seem perfectly usable to me. Of those, my EV's and the beta 98's are my favorite. However, if you get a chance, try out some of the little oktava's on toms. You might realize how much beef those 98's have been missing. It has to be the right drummer (setup) though to contain the bleed. I only said to try the Oktava's (rather than some other sd condensor) because they are so cheap. I bought 12 of em when the GC monster had them on sale for $50 each. I figured that way if one broke I could just throw it away rather than have to get an RA number, ship it back, pay for it etc...
 
Hmm.. Thanks, I'll have to check out those oktavas. I've used and liked b56s as well. I think the 408 is a great tom mic, a really meaty sound, and also sounds great on some horns and guitar cabs. They kind of pleasantly take the shrill out of some sources. I looked for some for a long time, as I don't care for the new model (468) nearly as much. I couldn't find any and got the 98s instead.
 
If you are going for really "huge" drums (mostly I am talking about toms), do you record birch drums or maple drums? Most people use birch for recording, but then I read someone say the other day that depending on your goals, you might also use maple. They didn't go into what they meant at all, but that got me thinking. I didn't know anyone really did that. Maple are what people use for "huge" sounding drums live, so I didn't know if it is the same way or not with the majority of people recording on birch.

You can get 3 Sennheiser E604s for $300. It would certainly beat something like 3 SM57s on toms, which some people will suggest on a budget. That's probably a pretty good deal to get a decent sound for close micing your toms without sacrificing limbs.
 
Wow

You guys know your stuff!
I was going to say new heads and tuning ,but I think were past that.I haven't tried those mics.
I have a akg418 that is real picky on the EQ.
Tom mics I think are real Important! I've fudged poor recording with a lot of EQ and Effects...
 
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